Air Force blows up helicopter in Sarangani crash

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has blown up one of its seven UH1-D helicopters that crash-landed in Saranggani province early this month.

The crash landing occurred as the helicopter was giving air support to ground troops engaged in a firefight with New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

AFP spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla said the decision to destroy the helicopter was based on the recommendation of air investigators who found out that the aircraft was beyond recovery repair.

Padilla said prior to destroying the helicopter, ground troops secured the vital parts and other pieces deemed helpful to the investigation.

The UH1-D, with nine people on board including crewmembers and pilots, was dispatched to Barangay Upper Suyan in Malapatan town on Nov. 7 to pick up a dead trooper and nine wounded soldiers who figured in a series of clashes with the rebels.

It rolled several times before landing on its belly on a slope. The passengers, though injured, were able to escape before it burst into flames.

“What our Air Force investigators did after finding out the helicopter is beyond recovery was to apply our standard operating procedure,” Padilla said.

To ensure that nobody would take advantage of the aircraft, the unburned parts were set on fire while hard parts were blown to pieces.

The helicopter was part of the 21 UH1-D models the government procured from a US-based contractor under the controversial P1.26-billion defense acquisition project.

Only seven of this type of helicopter had been delivered to the Air Force. The contract was cancelled after the contractor failed to deliver all the helicopters on time.