The Philippine military released photos of crashed Sokol 921 helicopter in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province.
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 7, 2014) – A Philippine Air Force Sokol chopper carrying a dozen people crashed shortly after take-off Thursday afternoon at an army base in Marawi City in the southern province of Lanao del Sur, officials said.
Capt. Franco Suelto, a regional army spokesman, said the Sokol (921) was piloted by Major Marebell Manambao. He said two passengers were injured in the crash.
“Staff Sergeant Darius Valdes and civilian passenger Santiago Saavedra were injured from the crash. The chopper was carrying 11 military officers headed by Major General Ricardo Visaya and they are okay, including the two pilots,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
The chopper’s tail and rotor were also damaged in the crash, he said.
He said the helicopter crashed 10 seconds after it took off from the headquarters of the 103rd Infantry Brigade where Visaya’s group accompanied Defense chief Voltaire Gazmin and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, among other government officials, who were in an another aircraft. The group was in Marawi to discuss the power crisis in Lanao del Sur province.
“We still don’t know the cause of the crash, but it happened ten seconds after the chopper took off from the army base,” Suelto said.
The downed W-3A Sokol multi-purpose combat helicopter was one of 8 choppers – worth nearly P3 billion – purchased by the Philippines from PZL Swidnik of Poland in 2008. Last year, President Benigno Aquino in his State of the Nation Address, criticized the purchased of the choppers made during the time of President Gloria Arroyo, saying, it was example of an “irresponsible purchase” because it did not meet the specifications set by the Philippine Air Force.
Aquino said the door gun was blocking the (door) opening for mounting and dismounting troops in a combat situation, thus is unsuitable for its intended role as a combat utility helicopter.
According to the defense website – maxdefense.blogspot.com – the Department of National Defense also made a follow-on statement a few days later saying that the Sokol was indeed flawed for the said mission, and instead will be assigned as a search and rescue helicopter for the 505th SAR (Search and Rescue) Group. It reported that Gazmin even said that the 8 Sokol choppers will be the last order of its type, effectively killing hope for possible additional Sokol for the Philippine Air Force in the future. (J. Magtanggol)
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