Ecuadorian Navy Bell 430 Crash

An Ecuadorian Navy Bell 430 crashed in the remote La Frutilla sector of Santa Elena Province while flying a planned Salinas–Guayaquil mission. The Ecuadorian Navy confirmed that both naval pilots were killed. The aircraft carried registration HN-407, dated from 1997 and had joined the navy in 2010. The service grounded its five other Bell 430 helicopters for comprehensive inspections and opened an accident investigation; no cause had been established when the grounding was announced.