The five members of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) were hurt after the chopper they were riding has made an emergency landing in a vacant lot in Taytay, Rizal, on Wednesday morning April 13, 2011.
Spokesman Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol of Philippine Air Force said that except for “bruises and minor cuts,” the five members were unharmed and that the cause of the emergency was still under investigation.
During the interview Okol said, “They were on a routine training mission when the incident happened.”
The Huey II chopper, with tail No. 662 emergency landed in the village of Daan Putol, Barangay San Isidro at about 9:50 a.m. and immediately we dispatched the rescue team, he said.
The Huey II was piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Roberto R. Bitas, Jr. (–foul word(s) removed–)isted with 1st Lieutenant Paul Ryan Yu as co-pilot.
“When the emergency was happened, Bitas successfully executed the emergency procedure to recover the aircraft” added Okol.
According to the initial report of Senior Superintendent Manuel Prieto Rizal police director, he said the chopper was slightly damaged while the p(–foul word(s) removed–)enger sustained minor injuries. Among the p(–foul word(s) removed–)engers identified were Staff Sergeant Ruel Realin, Sergeant Edmund Cubillan and Airman 2nd Cl(–foul word(s) removed–) Elias Alinday Jr.
They were immediately taken to the Villamor Airbase for medical treatment.
The body number-22662 of the helicopter in which the propeller was damaged because of the impact caused it to roll over on its side, told Taytay Mayor Joric Gacula to the reporter of Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“The chopper landed just several meters away from a line of houses and luckily there was no injured in the residents,” Gacula said.
According to the police, the PAF members who were on flight training have experienced mechanical trouble forcing them to emergency landing on a vacant field away from the residential houses.