Training helicopter crashes in Ba Ria-Vung Tau

October 18, 2016 | 20:27

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A EC130 T2 helicopter, produced by Airbus Helicopters, is believed to have crashed on October 18 morning, shortly after it took off in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau for a training session.

The plane, numbered 632, was operated by Southern Service Flight Company under Vietnam Helicopter Corporation under the Ministry of Defense. Nguyen Nhat, Deputy Minister of Transport, told VnExpress that the crash of the EC130 happened at around 8:30 AM. The crash site is believed to be Dinh Mountain in Tan Thanh district, around 80 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City.

Immediately after the crash, the provincial border guard, in collaboration with the Tai Hai Commune People’s Committee, formed rescue groups to search for the two pilot trainees and their teacher. However, the heavy rain and strong winds have prevented rescue groups from conducting a full search.

The Eurocopter EC130 is a single-engine light helicopter originally launched and produced by Eurocopter Group, now Airbus Helicopters. The model has various safety features, including flight data recorders and crashworthy seats.

The Ministry of National Defense, the National Search and Rescue Committee, and the Ba Ria-Vung Tau People’s Committee mobilised human resources and means to serve research and rescue operations, and resolve the consequences from the incident. They are searching for the reason of the crash.

The safety record of the Vietnamese civilian aviation sector is generally good, but over the past years there have been several incidents involving military aircrafts.

In late August, a Czechoslovakia-era training aircraft crashed into a paddy field on the fringes of Phu Yen province, killing a pilot and critically injuring one passer-by on the ground.

Last June, the Vietnamese Air Force suffered a double loss in one week. On June 14, Russian-made Su-30MK2 aircraft crashed off the central province of Nghe An. Only one of the two pilots made it out alive. Two days later, nine crewmembers of rescue aircraft CASA-212-40 were killed when they crashed during a search for the remaining fighter jet pilot of the Su-30MK2.

In January 2015, a UH-1 helicopter crashed minutes after it set off from Ho Chi Minh City, killing four crew members.

In July 2014, sixteen soldiers were killed and five others were seriously injured after a Russian-made MI-171 military helicopter crashed during a parachute training mission.