The Philippine National Police has invited experts from the Philippine Air Force to join in the extensive investigation to determine the reasons behind the crash of a police helicopter last week in Laguna.
At the same time, Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP deputy chief for operations, urged residents of San Pedro City, particularly those near the Laperal Compound in Barangay San Antonio, to either point to the location or hand over any part of the Bell 429 twin engine helicopter to investigators.
He also urged netizens to provide any video they took before, during, and after the crash to enable the Special Investigation Task Group a clear picture of what really happened.
“Most likely after we have finished collating and analyzing this we can come up with findings,” said Eleazar who heads the SITG that would look into the crash that injured PNP chief Police Gen. Archie Gamboa, three other generals, and four other policemen that include the two pilots.
Gamboa and six other policemen, including spokesman Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, have been cleared and discharged. Two police generals – Major Generals Joevic Ramos and Mariel Magaway – remain in the hospital.
The chopper, the first helicopter bought by the PNP in 2018 under its modernization program, had just taken off from the Laperal Compound when it crashed after it allegedly hit a high tension wire due to the thick dust produced by gusty winds from the chopper rotors.
Eleazar said that they are currently being aided by experts from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
“From Day 1, CAAP has been there because they are really experts on this aspect,” said Eleazar. “At the same time we also invited experts din from the Philippine Air Force Safety Office,” he added.
Eleazar said they are looking into all angles that resulted into the crash, including the zero visibility due to thick dust and debris, air worthiness of the chopper, and human error.
Eleazar said that the conspiracy theory about sabotage which is being floated in the social media is unlikely.
“We are not ruling that out absolutely but it’s very unlikely because of the initial findings or information that we obtained in the field,” said Eleazar. (Aaron Recuenco)
