A new shock for the government came this week when the accounts court (Tribunal de Contas) discovered that the country’s fleet of firefighting Kamov helicopters have been uninsured since 2011.
Government aircraft are not required to be insured by law, but all are agreed that flying without insurance puts property at risk.
According to news reports, two helicopters have crashed and had to be taken out of service in the last two years as there wasn’t the money to repair or replace them. The reason given for the lack of insurance is that EMA, the state-controlled air service, does not have enough money. Said RTP news at lunchtime, EMA had to choose between paying for fuel or paying insurances.
