9 hurt in PAF chopper crash
Nine persons were injured as a Philippine Air Force UH1D helicopter on casualty evacuation mission crash landed in Sarangani yesterday.
Nine persons were injured as a Philippine Air Force UH-1D helicopter on casualty evacuation mission crash landed in Sarangani yesterday.
Capt. Alberto Caber, spokesperson, Armed Forces of the Philippines Eastern Mindanao Command, said the incident happened at about 9:40 a.m. in Sitio Lamsalo, Barangay Upper Suyan, Malapatan.
The military said strong winds caused the crash.
“There were prevailing strong winds when the said helicopter was landing,” Caber said in a statement released to the media.
The nine people on board, including the pilots, crew, and soldiers, suffered slight injuries and have been secured, he added.
The Eastmincom chief, Lt. Gen. Aurelio B. Baladad, has dispatched additional helicopters from the Tactical Operations Group 11 to continue casualty evacuation and rescue operations.
The UH-1D helicopter was on a mission to pick up five soldiers of the 73rd Infantry Battalion, 10th Infantry Division, wounded in a clash with the New People’s Army.
The encounter, the result of a pursuit operation against the Maoist guerrillas, occurred Friday afternoon. It left one soldier killed in action and five wounded, said Caber.
The Eastmincom chief said the wounded troops were not immediately evacuated last Friday because of cloudy weather.
“Hindi makapasok (helicopter) kahapon, cloudy e, cloudy kahapon, ngayon nakapasok kaya lang nga malakas ang hangin. Kaya yun ang suspected na cause,” according to Baladad.
PAF spokesperson Col. Enrico B. Canaya said that the area of the crash is elevated and strong wind conditions could be a contributory environmental factor.
He added that grounding of the aircraft type is still being evaluated if necessary.
“An investigation will be pursued following the incident. What’s important for now is that the pilots and crew and passengers are all safe,” said Canaya.
The helicopter was purchased under the P1.26-billion UH-1D acquisition project of the PAF in the AFP Modernization Program that has been wracked in controversy after claims of bidding irregularities and the aircraft being defective.