PAF Huey helicopter crashes

[Steeljack]

GMA is buying VIP helicopters while the PAF make do with Vietnam-era UH-IH Huey choppers...

2 PAF crewmen hurt in Tanay chopper crash
By Tarra Quismundo, Joel Guinto
Inquirer, INQUIRER.net
Last updated 07:35pm (Mla time) 12/14/2007


MANILA, Philippines – Two Philippine Air Force (PAF) crewmen were injured when a UH-1H helicopter, with at least five on board, crashed in Tanay town, Rizal province on Friday, Philippine Air Force chief Lieutenant General Horacio Tolentino said.

The Vietnam War-era helicopter, which took of from Villamor Airbase in Pasay City, was on a re-supply mission when it crashed at around 2 p.m., Tolentino said in a phone interview.

Rescuers identified the injured airmen as Staff Sergeants Ronny Layug and Ricardo Aviles, a crewman who had survived a Huey crash in Mountain Province earlier this year.

They said the helicopter crashed on a mountainous sloping area some 3,000 feet high in northeast Tanay.

One crewman suffered a broken femur or leg bone, while the other suffered back injuries, Tolentino said. Both were immediately airlifted back to Manila and rushed to the V. Luna Medical Center in Quezon City.

The pilot, Captain Marie Pinky Moises, and co-pilot, Lieutenant Ceszar Pascua escaped unscathed but remained in Tanay as strong winds made it too risky for the rescue helicopter that retrieved the injured airmen to attempt a second rescue sortie, said Major Butch Guevara, rescue pilot from the (PAF) 505th Search and Rescue Group (SRG)

“We had to determine our priority. It would be risky for us to go back there for another pickup because of the weather,” Guevara said.

“The winds were very strong because the clouds were already coming in. The weather was already deteriorating at that time and it was already hazy. They found a landing zone, which was a ravine around 200 feet deep,” Guevara told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) after touching down at the Villamor Air Base at 5 p.m.

Guided by an MG-520 attack helicopter, the PAF rescue team found the downed chopper's passengers some 50 meters from the crash site.

It was uncertain still whether the Huey was about to land or was taking off after a mission to re-supply an Army unit camped quite a distance away from the headquarters of the Philippine Army's 2nd Infantry Division in Camp Capinpin.

The Huey was said to be a total wreck.

An investigation team is expected to be sent to the crash site to determine why the helicopter crashed. The Huey, a Vietnam War era chopper, is the Philippine military's workhorse used in combat, troop transport, and re-supply missions among others.

All the PAF's 43 UH-1H helicopters have been grounded pending the results of an investigation into the incident, Tolentino said.

[VtEC]

dapat naman ng talagang e retire mga HU1H.vintage na mga ito.
bakit dinalang hingin yong mga tomcats na retired na ng US navy he he he

[Jun aka Pekto]

Hueys are very dependable and still very useful choppers even though they're Vietnam-era aircraft. OV-1 Broncos are also Vietnam-era but are still desired by many air forces. DC3s predate WW2. But many are still flying around.

With proper maintenance, these aircraft could fly for years more. I'd say it's the weather that was a factor and the Huey shouldn't have been there where it was when it crashed. Even if it was a brand new chopper, it still would've crashed because of the weather.

Poor weather support. Tsk Tsk.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Whoops. It's OV-10 Bronco not OV-1

[Isuzoom]

hay naku!.....sana meron kasamang general or politician para ma palitan na ang lahat na basura ng airforce....mas malaki ang maintenance kay sa brand new....mga kawatan kayo!!!