|
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
2 Air Force pilots hurt in crash
By Dante M. Fabian
CLARK ECOZONE -- Two members of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) participating in training exercises with US military pilots were seriously injured when the OB10 fighter plane they were flying on crashed at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) Tuesday morning.
PAF officials identified the two pilots as First Lieutenant Maureen Fajardo and Captain Villamor Feria.
Feria and Fajardo suffered injuries and were rushed to the PAF Hospital at Clark Air Force City for treatment.
A report said the PAF OB10 sustained damage when it crash-landed inside the airport premises.
Clark International Airport Corporation (Ciac) security officers said the plane crashed at 9:52 a.m. Tuesday. They saw the plane lost control as its right landing gear developed trouble and failed to open, causing the aircraft to flip as its left landing gear hit the ground.
PAF teams pulled the ill-fated aircraft to the hangars near the Clark Airport.
Feria and Fajardo were reportedly participating in the day's training with US Marine Corps troops as part of the bilateral exercises dubbed as "Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise (Phiblex)" that started last October 11.
The US Marine Corps, coming from stations Futemna and Iwakuni in Japan, brought to the former Clark Air Base a variety of aircraft including KC-130 Hercules aircraft with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR 152), F/A-18C Super Hornet jets with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA 122), and CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 262 (HMM 262).
The aircraft are now in Clark Airbase and are used in joint trainings with Filipino pilots, giving military troopers a chance to get skills upgrade training on these aircraft and their new equipment.
Main mission of the crew of HMM-262's will be to support the Marine Corps Lab's advanced war-fighting experiment, Sea Viking 2006.
Expert classes will also be held for members of the PAF, and they will get to work on various aircraft along with Marine maintenance crews.
"We're giving them (Filipino soldiers) the opportunity to see the way we do business," said Captain Thomas Savage, weapons and tactics instructor for HMM-262. (Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)
(October 25, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Ayala bloc seeks refund for PR expenses