Finding the ‘black box’ that contains crucial data which could help determine the cause of the Super Huey helicopter crash proved to be difficult for the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
The chopper, which was deployed to conduct damage assessment for Typhoon Tino, crashed in Agusan del Sur’s Loreto town on Tuesday, Nov. 4, killing six PAF personne,l including two pilots and four crew members.
‘As of now, we’re having a hard time because as you saw in the other videos, it [the Super Huey] was really on fire upon impact,’ said PAF spokesperson Maria Christina Basco in an interview in Filipino on Thursday when asked if the black box of the plane was already found.
The black box contains a flight data recorder that logs technical data like speed and altitude, and a cockpit voice recorder which records audio from the cockpit.
While the black box is yet to be found, Basco said investigators are also gathering eyewitness accounts, the videos of the incident circulating on social media accounts, as well as an investigation of the debris to shed light on what happened.
Basco did not provide further information on the ongoing probe.
‘While the investigation is ongoing, we cannot give piecemeal information because it’s hard to come up with assumptions of what happened,’ Basco also said in the interview before the arrival of the remains of four PAF airmen who died in the crash at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
PAF identified the pilots as Captain Paulie Dumagan and Second Lieutenant Royce Louis Camigla.
The airmen were Sergeant Yves Sijub, Sergeant John Christopher Golfo, Airman First Class Ericson Merico and Airman Ameer Khaidar Apion.
Basco said the remains of Sijub and Apion were earlier brought to their hometowns in General Santos City and Zamboanga City.
On the other hand, Dumagan, Camigla, Golfo and Merico were brought by a C-130 transport aircraftto the air base that serves as PAF’s national headquarters.
The families also tearfully met the fallen soldiers for the first time since the tragedy occurred.
All of the deceased airmen were awarded a posthumous Distinguished Aviation Cross medal in a solemn ceremony upon the landing of their remains.
Subscribe The award is conferred on military personnel who have shown heroism or achievement during aerial operations.