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Army helicopter crashes in southern mountains; 5 injured

ROC Central News Agency

Kaohsiung, Dec. 18 (CNA) An army CH-47SD helicopter crashed into a ditch in a mountainous training battleground near Cishan township in the southern county of Kaohsiung Thursday, injuring five officers aboard, a Defense Ministry statement confirmed later that day.

Five airborne transport battalion officers were aboard the twin-turbine, tandem-rotor transport rotorcraft that took off from the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command (AASFC) 's Gueiren base in neighboring Tainan County at 10 a.m. for a routine training flight.

Only two of the injured officers, identified as Chen Chien-yu, a technician, and Wang Huang-kun, a non-commissioned officer, remained in Kaohsiung Military General Hospital for treatment of their injuries, including bone fractures and lacerations, the statement said.

The other three -- pilot Maj.Wu Cheng-wang, co-pilot Maj.Lin Si-yi and Lt.Col. Shen Hsiao-hsing, an inspector, -- returned to the Gueiren base after treatment, the statement said.

Initial investigations show that the helicopter crashed into a ditch on the east wing of the training battlefield, located south of Jhongliao mountain in Cishan, the statement said.

The chopper's two propellers were broken and the turbines and fuselage were seriously damaged. As the crash site is in a remote mountainous region, the Kaohsiung county fire department had to seek military assistance to get to the area.

According to Col. Huang Kuo-ming, commander of the Aviation and Special Forces Command's flight training division, the mountainous training battlefield has been in service for more than 10 years.

The pilot of the ill-fated plane recalled that the helicopter landed at the battleground without incident, but he discovered that the No. 2 engine seemed to lose power for about 30 seconds when the helicopter took off again and had reached an altitude of 50 feet, whereupon he lost control and the aircraft crashed.

The AASFC currently has another eight helicopters of the same type. They were all imported in 1998 from the United States. The Defense Ministry statement said they will all be grounded pending investigations into the cause of the crash.

The CH-47SD, the latest version of the Chinook, features several new or improved components and systems that enhance capabilities while reducing operating and support costs. (By Sofia Wu) ENDITEM/J