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Abbreviations: D: Date N/U: Nationality/Units T: Type S: SerialsD: Oct 25
N: US military
T: Unidentified UAV
This UAV hit a tree following
a technical malfunction and
crashed at around 0500hrs in
the village of Santa Maria, just
outside Edwin Andrews Air Base,
Zamboanga City, in the southern
Philippines. US military personnel
recovered the wreckage.
D: Oct 27
N: Chilean Air Force
T: T-35 Pillán
S: 151
During a training flight, the aircraft
had a partial engine failure and
made a belly landing on the banks
of the Cachapoal River, south
of Rancagua in the O’Higgins
Region. The propeller, engine
and underside of the fuselage
were substantially damaged,
but the pilot was unhurt.
D: Nov 2
N: Swiss Air Force
T: F-5E Tiger II
While landing at Sion air base the
right tyre burst and the aircraft
veered off the runway into the
grass alongside, coming to rest
about 13ft (4m) away from the
tarmac. The pilot was unhurt,
but there was some damage
to the aircraft, although the full
extent is unconfirmed. The
runway was closed until 1345hrs
while a crane was used to
recover the stricken aircraft.
D: Nov 5
N: Royal Saudi Land Forces
T: S-70A-1 Black Hawk
Saudi Prince Mansour bin Muqrin
and seven others on board this
helicopter were killed when it
crashed in the ’Asir region. It was
on a return flight from inspecting
coastal projects near Abha when
it disappeared from radar.D: Nov 6
N: US Navy/VP-26
T: P-8A Poseidon
S: 168431 ‘LK-431’
While making approaches to
Corpus Christi International Airport,
Texas, the port engine overheated,
with visible flames noted as it came
in to land at 1315hrs. Local fire
crews extinguished the fire after
the aircraft made a full-stop landing
and it was moved to the general
aviation ramps for assessment.
There were no injuries to the
two crew but damage to the
aircraft was sufficient for it to
be categorised as a Class A
mishap, indicating more than
$2m of repairs will be required.D: Nov 7
N: Republic of China Air
Force/499th Composite Wing
T: Mirage 2000-5Ei
S: 2040
Thirty-four minutes after taking
off from Hsinchu Air Base for a
routine training flight over the
East China Sea, contact with the
pilot was lost and the aircraft
disappeared from radar at 1843hrs
while flying at an altitude of
5,200ft (1,585m) around 90nm
north-northeast of Keelung,
and 40nm from Pengjia Islet in
northern Taiwan. Approximately
15mins later, an S-70C was
launched to begin search and
rescue (SAR) operations, which
were then joined by 16 other
military aircraft along with tennaval and coast guard vessels.
Despite extensive searching, the
pilot, Captain Ho Tzu-Yu, could
not be found and is presumed
dead. There were no indications
he ejected, and no aircraft
wreckage has been found. All
ROCAF Mirages were temporarily
grounded after the crash.D: Nov 7
N: Chinese PLAAF/111th
Brigade
T: J-11B
The aircraft, normally based
at Korla, but flying from a
forward operating base (FOB)
at Hotan, reportedly had an
engine failure before it crashed
close to the disputed border of
Jammu and Kashmir, India.D: Nov 11
N: Iranian Revolutionary Guards
Corps Air and Space
Force/Attack Squadron
T: Su-22M4
This aircraft crashed in Sarvestan,
Shiraz, killing the pilot. It was
the first loss of a Fitter in Iranian
service. The aircraft was one of
the former Iraqi Air Force Fitters
flown to the supposed safety of
Iran to escape the Gulf War in- Thirty-four of these were
transferred from the IRIAF to
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Corps Air and Space Force in - They are operated by
the Attack Squadron at Seyyed
al-Shohada air base in Shiraz.
D: Nov 11
N: Iraqi Army Aviation Corps
T: Mi-171E
S: 406
The helicopter crashed in the
al-Shouija region, east of Kut
city, Wasit Governorate, followinga technical malfunction during
a training sortie from Kut Air
Base. All three crew were killed.D: Nov 12
N: Syrian Arab Air Force
T: 5 x L-39 Albatros, 2 x
helicopters
Unverified reports suggest a
suicide attack by so-called
Islamic State on Deir ez-Zor
air base destroyed up to five
aircraft, all believed to be L-39s,
and at least two helicopters.D: Nov 13
N: French Army Aviation/3e RHC
T: SA342M Gazelle
S: 4019 ‘GAY’
This helicopter was substantially
damaged in a hard landing at
Bar-le-Duc/Les Hauts-de-Chée
Airport, Meuse, at 1341hrs. The
three occupants escaped serious
injury but were taken to a local
hospital to be checked over.D: Nov 14
N: Italian Air Force/72° Stormo
T: TH-500B (NH500E)
During a forced landing in a
field near Ripi, the helicopter
rolled over and was extensively
damaged. However, both crew
members escaped injury.D: Nov 18
N: Royal Malaysian Air Force
T: C-130H-30 Hercules
S: M30-14
Following a technical malfunction,
the crew were forced to land
at Labuan Airport at around
1715hrs with the undercarriage
retracted. Prior to the belly-
landing, the aircraft circled for six
hours to burn off fuel. No injuries
were reported to an unspecified
number of personnel on board.Above: RMAF C-130H-30 M30-14 after its belly-landing at Labuan on
November 18. Malaysian Ministry of DefenceAbove: VRC-30 Det 5 C-2A 162175 ‘33’ lands on the USS ‘Ronald Reagan’
on July 3, 2017. This was the aircraft that was forced to ditch en route to
the carrier on November 22. US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class
Kenneth Abbate
90 // JANUARY 2018 #358 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com