Investigators looking into Thursday’s helicopter crash that injured the top police official and seven others are looking at possible pilot error, a problem with the chopper’s condition and inadequate takeoff site preparation.
In an interview on radio dzMM, Philippine National Police Deputy Chief for Operations Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the takeoff site was drenched with water to prevent dust from being kicked up as the chopper lifted off, but the ground could have dried up before then.
Eyewitness accounts said the Bell 429 chopper took off from the Laperal Compound, in Barangay San Antonio, San Pedro, Laguna, the temporary site for impounded motor vehicles that PNP chief Archie Gamboa inspected, but kicked up sand and debris as it was lifting off, creating poor visibility.
As the chopper rose, one of its landing skids got entangled with power lines, causing the pilot to lose control. The chopper crashed landed on its side.
Eleazar said Gamboa was “okay” and would return to work on Monday.
Major Generals Jovic Ramos and Mariel Magaway, the PNP’s comptrollership and intelligence heads, respectively were still in critical condition, he added.
The PNP’s six other helicopters have been grounded pending the results of the investigation, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said.
Eleazar inspected the crash site with experts from the Philippine Air Force Safety Office and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines on Friday.
“We requested their assistance because they are the experts in this field,” Eleazar told reporters.
Eleazar said the helicopter has no black box, an electronic recording device that preserves the recent history of an aircraft.
Eleazar said they aim to finish the investigation at the soonest possible time but did not give a specific date.
“We need a thorough investigation. This is not a case where we are looking for a murderer or a pursuit operation where time is of the essence. Still, the faster, the better,” he said in Filipino.
He said this is the first time the PNP is conducting an investigation of an aircraft accident.
He also said the grounding of the entire PNP fleet would not affect other police operations.
The helicopter accident prompted a legislator to renew her call on electric utilities, telecommunications companies, power generators the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and all industries that use overhead wires and cables to install their facilities underground to avoid aviation accidents.
At the same time, Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera appealed to her colleages in the legislature to immediately pass a bill that mandates the relocation and installation of wire and cable systems underground.