Bad weather, human error caused Ecija chopper crash

Bad weather and the pilot’s unfamiliarity with the terrain caused a military helicopter to crash last month, killing all nine people on board, including former chief government volcanologist Raymundo Punongbayan, officials said yesterday.

"(Philippine Air Force) accident investigators revealed that the unfavorable and unpredictable weather conditions over Gabaldon (Nueva Ecija) at the time, aggravated by the pilots’ unfamiliarity with the terrain, was the primary cause of the crash of the ill-fated helicopter that caused the demise of all nine passengers aboard," PAF spokesman Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla said.

Padilla said aircraft technicians from the PAF 410th Maintenance Wing and 205th Tactical Operations Wing conducted "teardown inspections" of the helicopter and concluded there was no material defect in the aircraft that might have caused the crash.

"It was found that the engine was in proper working order when the crash occurred," Padilla said. "This significant finding allowed investigators to eliminate the material factor as the probable cause."

Air Force investigators also recommended lifting an order that temporarily grounded the entire fleet of UH-1H Huey Vietnam war-vintage helicopters. About 40 Huey helicopters form the bulk of the PAF airlift capability.

Punongbayan was among the nine people who were killed in the same type of aircraft that crashed in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija last April 28.

Punongbayan, a Philippine Red Cross director and former director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), was conducting an aerial inspection of a planned resettlement site for victims of last November’s deadly landslides around the town of Dingalan, Aurora.

The helicopter was flying over Gabaldon on the way back when it crashed into a steep ravine and burst into flames.

Among those killed in the crash were four scientists from the Phivolcs and four Air Force personnel.

The eight other fatalities were identified as Dr. Norman Tungol, Phivolcs chief geologist; Dr. Jessie Daligdig, a scientist of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST); and Dindo Javier and Orlando Abengonza of the Phivolcs documentation section.

Air Force helicopter pilot Lt. Reynaldo Gerodias and his co-pilot Lt. Jayson Salazar, along with crewmembers S/Sgt. Edgar Ramolete and Sgt. Whilbert Tacata, also died in the crash. — With Felix de los Santos, AP