The helicopter was flying in support of a training operation in Hawaii. AP
The helicopter was flying in support of a training operation in Hawaii. AP
The helicopter was flying in support of a training operation in Hawaii. AP
The helicopter was flying in support of a training operation in Hawaii. AP

Four killed as military contractor helicopter crashes in Hawaii


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Four people were killed when a contractor’s helicopter crashed on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the US Navy said on Tuesday.

The Pacific Missile Range Facility said the aircraft crashed on the north side of the installation shortly after 10am. It was flying in support of a training operation.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the crash of the Sikorsky S-61N.

The S-61N is among the helicopters built between 1959 and 1980 by Sikorsky Aircraft, which is now part of Lockheed Martin. It was designed to carry a substantial freight or passenger payload.

The helicopters were optimised for use over water, for example to support oil rig operations. Versions were also used by all branches of the US military. Licensees in the UK and other countries have also built the aircraft.

A Kauai County representative said county police and firefighters responded and were assisting the military. Kauai police were helping the navy with security and investigation support, Coco Zickos said.

An investigation will begin to determine the cause of the accident, the range facility statement said.

The Pacific Missile Range Facility is a navy base on the western edge of Kauai where the military tests missile defences and units conduct exercises.

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Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions

There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.

1 Going Dark

A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.

2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers

A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.

3. Fake Destinations

Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.

4. Rebranded Barrels

Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.

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NYBL PROFILE

Company name: Nybl 

Date started: November 2018

Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence

Initial investment: $500,000

Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)

Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up 

Updated: June 20, 2023, 11:44 AM