CLARK FREEPORT — A privately-owned helicopter reportedly based here crashed Sunday afternoon into the Manila Bay off the coast of Hagonoy, Bulacan while on a humanitarian mission.
The ill-fated chopper was said to be a Bolkow 105, operated by Aviation Enterprises based in this freeport. It was reportedly loaded with relief goods for victims of Typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas.
The pilot and a passenger of the aircraft were reportedly unharmed. Sources from the Clark International Airport
(CIA) who asked not to be named for lack of authority to reveal information on the incident said the chopper had issued a mayday alert to Villamor Air Base before it crashed.
The helicopter’s pilot and co-pilot who were not immediately identified were reported to have been helped by local fi shermen who saw the chopper crash. The two were later flown by the US Marines to Villamor.
The source said the US Marines Corps led by Maj. Jason Kaufmann on board a C-130 flew to the accident site to rescue operations in Manila Bay instead of immediately landing at Villamor following a humanitarian sortie to Tacloban City.
The US aircraft was able to locate the crashed chopper some four kilometers from the shores of Hagonoy, but
it’s pilot and co-pilot were already ashore.
