Paramount Airlines
 Paramount Airlines Mil Mi-8 at Freetown Lungi Airport | |||||||||
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| Ceased operations | 2007 | ||||||||
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| Fleet size | Mil Mi-8 | ||||||||
| Destinations | Lungi International Airport as well as other cities within the country.
Lungi airport lies across the Sierra Leone River from Freetown, which means that either air or sea transport are the only practical ways to travel between the airport and the capital, unless one travels via a three-hour roadtrip. Paramount Airlines also flew helicopters to other places within West Africa including Abuja, Nigeria. Flights were grounded by the Sierra Leone government for safety reasons in 2007 after a flight from the capital Freetown crashed on landing at the Lungi International Airport, killing all 22 people on board.[1] The airline is on the List of air carriers banned in the European Union.[2]
AccidentsMain article: 2007 Paramount Airlines helicopter crash  On June 3, 2007, a helicopter flight from Freetown crashed on landing at Lungi airport, killing all 22 people on board. 19 of the victims were supporters of the African Cup of Nations, which Togo had won 1-0.[3] The two pilots were of Ukrainian origin. The passengers had chartered the aircraft specifically for the flight.[4]
According to an eyewitness, both pilots jumped out immediately prior to the crash. Later reports stated that 22 were killed, and that the Russian copilot was the only survivor.[5] The aircraft caught fire upon impact and was destroyed before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames. The government of Richard Attipoe who was serving as Togo's minister of sports.[5]
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paramount Airlines.
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