Those who died in the Tanay helicopter crash were given honors on Friday, May 5, 2017. (Photo from the Defense Press Corps)
The Philippine Air Force servicemen who were killed in a helicopter crash in Rizal received departure honors at the Villamor Air Base on Friday afternoon before they were flown to their respective hometowns.
Three Air Force personnel, including a pilot, died after a UH-1D helicopter crashed in Tanay, Rizal on Thursday afternoon after a training on disaster response at Camp Capinpin.
Capt. Christian Paul Litan, the pilot, was sent off to his hometown in Batangas; while the gunner, Airman 1st Class Joseph de Leon, was flown to Lingayen, Pangasinan. They were brought to their hometowns through Huey helicopters.
Staff Sgt. Byron Tolosa, the crew chief, hails from Barangay Villamor in Pasay City.
The crash happened as the helicopter was about to land at Sitio Hilltop in Barangay Sampaloc in Tanay, Rizal past 2 p.m. The aircraft and its personnel had just finished participating in a disaster response training for the day.
The pilot in command, who was wounded, 1st Lt. Ceazar Rimas, was brought to AFP Medical Center.
Col. Antonio Francisco, Air Force spokesperson, said the investigation on the crash is still ongoing. But the all UH-1D units had been grounded as part of their standard operating procedure after a crash.
“I cannot give you any details or concrete result of their initial investigation,” Francisco said. “It will pass through very thorough investigation. We still have to consider lots of things like the environment.” /atm