PHOTO from Philippine Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade
MANILA, Philippines–A Sokol helicopter of the Philippine Air Force providing escort to Cabinet officials crashed in Marawi City on Thursday afternoon, leaving two persons injured.
The chopper carrying 11 people was part of the aircraft convoy of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, who were on a separate chopper.
Army’s First Infantry Division spokesman Captain Franco Suelto said two were hurt from the incident–a gunner of the chopper identified as Staff Sergeant Darius Valdes of the Air Force and a civilian identified as Santiago Savedra.
The ill-fated chopper crashed a few minutes after takeoff from the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade headquarters at Camp Ranao at 2:23p.m. “Naging maayos yung pag-maneuver ng piloto at walang nangyaring masama,” Suelto said.
Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, military spokesman, said the chopper crashed “due to loss of control when heavy winds struck the aircraft.”
The Sokol was carrying military officers and crew members, including Major General Ricardo Visaya, commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division and Colonel Alexander Macario. They were supposed to fly to Cagayan de Oro City.
Gazmin’s chopper, meanwhile, made it to Languindingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro at 3:13 p.m.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. has directed the Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey F. Delgado, to determine the cause of the accident.
“Thanks for the concern, everyone. Volts [Gazmin] and I are safe. We were not in the chopper that was reported to have crashed,” Roxas posted on Twitter.
Visaya said he was accompanying the cabinet officials who were trying to solve power problems in the area.
“Pag take off about mga after two or three minutes siguro biglang parang hindi makalipad pa ng mataas tapos biglang kumaliwa, diretso bumagsak. Hindi sumabog e, so wala namang namatay sa amin,” he said.
He said the helicopter was about 50 feet from the ground when it encountered problems.
Last year, one of the Sokols was grounded in Camp Aguinaldo for about a week due to a “weak battery.”
There are eight Sokol choppers in the Air Force inventory. The Polish-made Sokol is a medium-size, twin-engine and multipurpose model manufactured by PZL-swidnik. The first six arrived in 2012 while the rest arrived in February last year. The Philippines spent P2.8 billion for the acquisition of the brand-new choppers.
PHOTO from Philippine Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade
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