Retired Colonel and security analyst Festus Aboagye has dismissed speculation that the August 6 military helicopter crash at Adansi Akrofoum in the Ashanti Region involved a mid-air explosion.

The tragic incident claimed the lives of eight people, including Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah; Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed; former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye; National Democratic Congress (NDC) Vice Chairman Samuel Sarpong; and Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Limuna Muniru Mohammed.

The crew members lost in the crash were Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

Speaking on Channel One TV on August 13, Col Aboagye sought to “clear some of these conspiracies” surrounding the cause of the crash.

“The first thing is that there’s no evidence. The evidence that I have, call it empirical or recorded, is BBC. When the BBC does a report, they have done a lot of fact-checking. So BBC is saying that the eyewitness told us ‘loud noise’, a ‘bang’, suggesting that there was an impact, and then there was an explosion,” he said.

He further explained that if the aircraft had exploded while airborne, physical signs would have been evident at the scene.

“Assuming that it exploded mid-air, we must see the tops of the trees burnt, which will be part of the evidence,” Col Aboagye noted. He stressed that current findings point to an explosion occurring after impact rather than during flight.

A state funeral for the victims will be held on Friday, August 15, at the Black Star Square in Accra, where national leaders, military personnel, and citizens are expected to pay their final respects.

The tragedy has plunged the country into mourning, with calls for a thorough investigation into the crash.