Two Philippine Navy (PN) pilots reportedly died Thursday in a helicopter crash close to a public market in Cavite City.
The fatalities were identified as Lt. Jan Kyle Borres and Ens. Izzah Taccad, both from the Naval Air Wing.
The Robinson R22 aircraft was on a training flight when it went down in Cavite City at around 6 am, the Navy said in a statement.
The victims were taken to the hospital but died from their injuries, the statement said.
The Navy vowed a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the accident
“No stone will be left unturned as we endeavour to prevent this kind of accident from happening again,” said PN spokesman Cmdr. John Percie Alcos said.
Alcos said the Robinson R-22 trainer helicopter with tail number NHT-421 tried to make an emergency landing, but crashed near the Cavite City public market at about 6 a.m.
The ill-starred chopper took off from Sangley Airport on a training flight with Borres and Taccad on board. The victims were taken to the hospital by responding teams from the Philippine Fleet and Naval Air Wing, “but it is unfortunate that they were not able to make it,” Alcos said.
The downed chopper was the last of its kind in the Navy.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the bereaved loved ones. All necessary support will be extended to them,” Alcos added.
The crash was the latest fatal training accident for the Philippine military.
Two Philippine Air Force pilots were killed in January 2023 when their Marchetti SF260 turboprop plane plunged into a rice field.
In June 2021, the military temporarily grounded its entire Black Hawk fleet after an S-70i helicopter crashed during a night-time training, killing all six on board.
“We still do not have the exact reason why they intended to land. That will be part of the thorough investigation,” Alcos said. With AFP