A UH-1H (Huey) helicopter of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) crashed as it was about to take off on Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at a military headquarters in Cagayan de Oro City. The Huey chopper with tail number 318 rolled over while it was about to take off inside Army’s 4th Infantry Division Headquarters.
The crashing of the Philippine Air Force Helicopter happened at around 3:30 PM at Camp Evangelista as confirmed by Philippine Air Force spokesperson Lt. Col. Enrico Canaya.
According to the report from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the chopper’s two pilots and two crew members were bound for Tactical Operations Group 10 at Lumbia Airport used safety harness and were able to fly three to five feet above the ground before the chopper roll over.
All the crew of the Huey helicopter were unharmed except for the copilot who suffered a sprained foot but was immediately discharged from the hospital. The crashed incident prompted the Philippine Air Force to ground all the Huey choppers, there are more than 20 Hueys in the Philippine Air Force inventory.
The Huey helicopters are the primary helicopters of the Air Force particularly the US Air Force, who used the Hueys as military utility choppers during the Vietnam War in the late 1950’s to early 1970’s.