Navy pilots in Cavite chopper crash buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani

The Philippine Navy (PN) rendered arrival honors to two of its pilots who died in a helicopter crash before they were laid to rest Friday at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

The arrival honors were held to “pay tribute” to the pilots, the Navy said, who passed away Thursday after their helicopter NHT421 crashed near a public market in Cavite City.

In a statement, the Navy identified the deceased as Lieutenant Jan Kyle Borres and Ensign Izzah Leonah Taccad. Their names were previously withheld until the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had informed their families about the tragedy.

According to Chino Gaston’s report on Super Radyo dzBB, Borres had a solid track record in the Navy of his multiple flights over the West Philippine Sea, among others.

Taccad, meanwhile, was already training newer Navy helicopter pilots to take the skies.

The AFP previously reported that two aviators, who were assigned to the Naval Air Wing in Sangley Point, were flying a Robinson R22 trainer helicopter when they were forced to make an emergency landing near the Cavite City market.

They took off from Sangley Airport also in Cavite City for a training exercise.

The Southern Tagalog police reported that the incident occurred at 6:30 a.m. at the Draga Reclamation Area, Barangay 57.

The 36-year-old male pilot was declared dead on arrival at the Cavite Medical Center. The 27-year-old female co-pilot passed away while receiving medical treatment at the Bautista Hospital.

Meanwhile, the dzBB report said the Philippine Navy was still awaiting results of its aircraft accident investigation to determine the cause of the crash.

The Navy said Thursday that the ill-fated helicopter was the last Robinson R22 in its assets.

“Philippine Navy aircrafts undergo regular inspection and maintenance to ensure airworthiness. Nevertheless, no stone will be left unturned as we endeavor to prevent this kind of accident from happening again,” the Navy earlier said. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/ VDV, GMA Integrated News