Helicopter Crashes in Pest Control Operation

A helicopter of the Korea Forest Service (KFS) crashed into a mountain on its way to spraying insecticide in some chestnut forests, killing three people aboard including the pilots. The chopper, Bell 206-L3 (FP 709) of KFS’s Forest Aviation Headquarters, went down around 8:08 a.m. on August 20 on a mountain close to a welfare facility in Gongju, Chungcheong Province.

The crash killed the helicopter’s captain Kang Hyeon-jong (52), pilot Kim Ju-hong (51), and mechanic Lee Hyeong-shik (47).

Witnesses said, “A chopper flying above the welfare facility abruptly made a right and then two rounds. It spiraled and crashed into a slope with a ‘bang’ sound, burning in flames.”

The helicopter took off from the Geumgang River in Gongju heading for Goseong-ri, Jeongan-myeon. The three people had been in pest control operation in nearby chestnut forests for seven days beginning August 14. The KFS dispatched deputy director Lee Su-hwa, formed a response team, and is investigating the direct cause of the accident. According to the response team, there was fog in the area, but not much to disrupt the flight. The team is also investigating the cause based on the words of witnesses, who said a noisy sound blared before the clash.

One of the response team members said that the chopper was not equipped with a black box and that the team is figuring out what caused the clash by examining the chopper’s flight route, the level of shocks, and its wreckage.

The helicopter is a product of U.S. company Bell, one of the oldest KFS choppers introduced in 1988. It can carry seven people or two tons of water.

This is the second time after an accident in Euiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province, in August 2004 that the KFS chopper of the kind crashed.

In July last year, the KFS’ ANSAT helicopter made in Russia crashed in chestnut forests during pest control operation in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, killing the pilot aboard.

Pilot Han Sang-hwan of the KFS’s local office said, “Pest control in chestnut forests requires low-level flight less than 10 meters above the ground to prevent insecticide from blowing off in the wind. The chopper should take off and land 20 times a day to fill the insecticide tank. It is a difficult and dangerous work.”

The KFS decided to honor the dead in duty and set up a joint funeral at Chungbuk University hospital, and hold a special memorial service. As the chopper is insured in plane insurance policy worth $ 912,600, a crew member could receive up to 250 million Korean won each.

mhjee@donga.com doyocedonga.com