A naval helicopter crashed near a public market south of the Philippines capital Manila, killing two Philippine Navy pilots.
The Philippines Navy reported that the Robinson R-22 helicopter was on a training flight. This was the only Robinson R-22 in the navy’s fleet, which is also said to be quite old. The tragic accident happened around 6 a.m. near a market in Cavite province.
Cause of the accident is not known , but military spokesman Colonel Francis Padilla said that both pilots “carried out emergency procedures and crashed.” He said both pilots were injured but later died in hospital.
It was the latest fatal training accident for the Philippines military. The accident happened last week on 11th April.
Local resident Joan Nicolas Laristan reported that while she was washing her clothes she saw the helicopter flying unusually low near a church, colliding with two trees before landing near an empty shed of laborers which is just about 50 meters (164 ft) from her home.
“I was really scared because the accident happened so close by,” Laristan told news agency The Associated Press. “I ran back to my house and grabbed my kids.” Other residents said they were woken up by the loud sound of the crash.
Many residents expressed relief that the helicopter did not reach their homes or the nearby public market, where crowds had started gathering after daybreak.
Police investigator Armangel Genuino said the helicopter had taken off from Sangley Airport for a routine training flight around Cavite province and crashed less than 10 minutes later.
The instructor pilot and her Navy colleague were pulled from the wreckage by paramedics and rescue teams, but were later pronounced dead at two hospitals, Genuino said.
The Navy expressed regret over the deaths of the pilots and said an investigation was underway. A Navy statement said, “We will leave no stone unturned to prevent such an accident from happening again.”
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP), General Romeo S. Brawner Jr., paid tribute to fallen pilots Lieutenant John Kyle Borres and Ensign Izah Takad at the Libingan ng MGA Bayani, Taguig City, the day after the crash, on April 12. The Philippines Army said, in a post on social media, that General Brawner expressed sympathy with the families of the martyred pilots in this difficult time and assured them of the organization’s full support.
Emphasizing the paramount importance of safety, the Philippine Navy reaffirmed its dedication to rigorous aircraft inspection and maintenance protocols to ensure airworthiness. He has vowed to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident to prevent future incidents.
The Philippine military is one of the weakest in the region and has struggled for decades to modernize and strengthen its navy, army and air force while dealing with long-running insurgencies.
In recent years, it has begun to focus its attention on external defence, including in the disputed South China Sea where the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard have faced an aggressive Chinese coast guard and suspected militia fleet in a high-seas territorial confrontation .
In January 2023, two Philippines Air Force pilots died when their Marchetti SF260 turboprop aircraft crashed in a rice field.
In June 2021, the Army temporarily grounded its entire Black Hawk fleet after an S-70i helicopter crashed during night-time training, killing all six on board.
