Five Dead in Helicopter Crash During Wildfire Patrol in Yangyang... 2 Identities Unconfirmed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] At around 10:50 a.m. on the 27th, a medium-sized leased helicopter of the S-58T model crashed in a mountain near Myeongjusa Temple in Eoseongjeon-ri, Hyeonbuk-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon Province, resulting in the deaths of all five occupants.

Immediately after the accident, the fire that broke out in the fuselage was extinguished, and the fire department recovered five bodies from the ashes. Among them, two were confirmed to be female, but their identities remain unknown. The number of casualties increased to five, contrary to the initial estimate of two, because information on three people was missing from the flight plan report.

The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) has begun a thorough investigation into the exact cause of the accident. The helicopter was revealed to be an aged aircraft, having been manufactured 47 years ago. The ARAIB has secured footage from nearby CCTV and wildfire monitoring cameras and plans to investigate the precise cause, including possible maintenance failures or pilot error, as well as the circumstances surrounding the submission of the flight plan.

It was confirmed that the flight on that day was conducted in response to a guidance flight request from the Gangwon Province Wildfire Prevention Center the previous day. The accident helicopter took off from the hangar at 9:30 a.m. for the guidance flight and crashed around 10:50 a.m., about 1 hour and 20 minutes later, in a mountain near Myeongjusa Temple in Eoseongjeon-ri, Hyeonbuk-myeon, Yangyang-gun.