Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Defective helicopter cause of saranggani crash, mere speculation - AFP


The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it is highly speculative to say that the recent military crash was due to a defective helicopter.

AFP appealed that people wait for the final report of the investigation conducted by the Philippine Air Force accident investigation board instead of speculating on the cause of the military helicopter crash at Malapatan, Sarangani on Saturday.

The AFP spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla Jr. said it is unfair to say it was because of  the defective helicopter.

"The reason of the accident in which a UH-1D helicopter crashed in Sarangani is still being confirmed by the accident investigation board of Philippine Air Force."


The same was also stated by the Philippine Air Force, which said it is not impossible for any military asset to meet an accident.

The accident investigation board was able to do a site inspection immediately after the accident.

It has also started to interview victims of the helicopter crash.

"For now, they are doing an interview with the survivors of the helicopter crash so the investigation of the accident investigation board has not yet ended and they still have to finalize it" said Col. Padilla.

Last Saturday morning, a UH-1D helicopter crashed in Malapatan, Sarangani while evacuating injured soldiers from the 73rd Infantry Battalion of Philippine Army.

Nine soldiers were injured from the crash with no reported fatalities.

Months before the accident, The Department of National Defense was beset by controversy over their acquisition of purportedly old and defective UH-1D helicopters but the Philippine Air Force was firm in refuting claims of unreliable machines.

See: Philippine  Air Force carries out flight demo of controversial helicopters 

They insist that other nations military are still using the same model, and that spare parts are still available in the market.

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