PAF chopper crashes in Tarlac; 6 dead

AIR ASSET In this photo taken in February, President Duterte (third from left) inspects an S-70i Black Hawk helicopter, one of the newly delivered air assets of the Philippine Air Force at Clark Air Base in Pampanga. A similar model crashed in Capas, Tarlac, on Wednesday during a night flight training. —MALACAÑANG PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Six Philippine Air Force (PAF) personnel died after an S-70i Black Hawk combat utility helicopter crashed in Capas town, Tarlac province, during a night flight training on Wednesday, authorities said.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday ordered the grounding of the PAF’s newly acquired fleet of Black Hawks following the accident.

Lt. Col. Maynard Mariano, PAF spokesperson, said the six people aboard the helicopter, including the pilot, did not survive the crash. He declined to identify them on Thursday, pending the notification of their families, but said the fatalities included a lieutenant colonel, two majors, a master sergeant, a technical sergeant and a sergeant.

Police Col. Renante Cabico, Tarlac police director, said the helicopter went down at Sitio Manabayukan in Barangay Patling, Capas. The 790th Air Base Group based in Barangay Sta. Juliana, about 7 kilometers from the crash site, informed the Tarlac police about the incident at 6:10 a.m. on Thursday.

Vital training

Mariano said the multirole utility helicopter of the 205th tactical helicopter wing had been on night flight training en route to its station in Clark Freeport in Pampanga when all communication with the aircraft was lost. He said the accident happened between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

“The helicopter was earlier reported to be late from the estimated time of return to its station at Clark Air Base, Pampanga, thus, prompting the eventual search,” Mariano said.

He said night flight proficiency training was part of the capabilities of PAF pilots and crew prior to their full deployment “to assist our front-line units in their missions.”

“Although with inherent risks, this competency is vital and necessary for the transport and logistics requirements of Unified Commands,” he said.

“We grieve for the loss. The PAF will conduct a thorough inquiry to determine the circumstances of this unfortunate event,” he said. “For the meantime, all the other Black Hawks will not be flown until the conclusion of the investigation.”

From Poland

The Sikorksy S-70i Black Hawk helicopter involved in the crash was part of the first batch of five choppers delivered in November last year for the PAF. A second batch of six was delivered early this month with the last batch of five expected to arrive in the country in November.

Sixteen S-70i Black Hawk helicopters were acquired for a contract price of $241.5 million by the Department of National Defense from Polish company Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze, under license from Sikorsky United States, through a government-to-government transaction with Poland.

The PAF has been using the initial batch of Black Hawks in humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations, including the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and other medical supplies. INQ