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Accidents · NTSB ENG19WA022 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Bell 222 accident near Addis Ababa, Et, April 26, 2019

On April 26, 2019 at about 4:28 am local time, a Bell 222 (helicopter), registered ETAVF, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Addis Ababa. It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.

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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
April 26, 2019 · about 4:28 am local time
Place
Addis Ababa, Et
Type
Accident
Injuries
No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
Weather
not recorded
Aircraft
Bell 222 · all 222s on the register
Registration
ETAVF · no longer on the register
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules

The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record

On April 26, 2019, a Trans Nation Airways, PLC, Bell 222UT helicopter, registered in Ethiopia as ET-AVF crashed near the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after both engines, Honeywell LTS101-750 turboshafts, lost power. The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Transport Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. The NTSB has appointed an Accredited Representative in accordance with the provisions of ICAO Annex 13 as the State of Design and Manufacture of the engines. Any information regarding this accident will be released by the Ethiopian AAIB.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.

The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English

What happened, in order

  1. Loss of engine power (total) during enroute defining event

The aircraft

  • Landing gear: fixed

Weather at the time

  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Flig2
Passengers3

About this page

Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ENG19WA022.