Cause of NE chopper crash still unknown

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) team investigating the April 28 crash of a Huey helicopter in Nueva Ecija that resulted in the deaths of nine people, including former Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) chairman Raymundo Punongbayan, is having difficulty determining the exact cause of the tragedy.

Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla Jr., PAF public information chief, said the burnt condition of the engine and fuselage of chopper No. 324 was making it hard for the PAF probers to ascertain the exact cause.

However, Padilla gave assurances that despite the burnt evidence, the team may release its preliminary report next week.

A PAF team has salvaged the engine and other burnt parts of the Huey helicopter from the crash site in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija and flown them to Clark Field, Pampanga for the probe.

All four of the chopper’s PAF crew — the pilot, 1Lt. Reynaldo Gerodias, and co-pilot, 1Lt. Jason Salazar, and their two crewmen, S/Sgt. Edgar Ramolete and Sgt. Wilbert Tacata — have been positively identified.

Besides Punongbayan, the four other fatalities belonged to Phivolcs and the Philippine National Red Cross.

Meanwhile, Padilla said a number of PAF helicopters have been inspected and have undergone safety and maintenance checks.

However, he said the PAF will still keep these choppers grounded until the whole fleet of Hueys is declared air-worthy after maintenance checks.

The PAF has regarded the Hueys as the Armed Forces’ workhorse for its operations, ferrying troops and supplies in conflict areas and evacuating combat casualties.

The Hueys’ versatility extends to disaster relief and other mercy missions such as those conducted during the floodings in Quezon and Aurora last November and December, the PAF said.

The PAF said the ill-fated Huey was one of the eight choppers which the PAF received from the United States under its Excess Defense Article (EDA) program in January 2002.

The aircraft sustained damage after landing hard during a training sortie in August 2003, but was put back into commission in May 2004 after a thorough structural repair.

The PAF said the chopper was operated by the 207th Tactical Helicopter Squadron of the 205th Helicopter Wing based in Villamor Air Base.

The PAF has a total of 80 Hueys, about 40 of them now in storage. Also in its fleet are Sikorskys and Bell helicopters.