The Royal Thai Army (RTA) has set up a committee to investigate the crash of a helicopter during a training flight that killed an instructor and a trainee pilot yesterday.
Col Sirichan Ngathong, deputy army spokeswoman, confirmed the crash happened during a training flight with other helicopters from the Army Aviation Centre in Lop Buri while adding that the RTA has established an investigative panel.
Col Sirichan said that Lt Col Panpong Banchongplian, a flying instructor, and Cpl Chanakorn Piamcharoen, a trainee pilot, were the two killed in the accident.
The crash occurred as the helicopter was landing, she said, adding that the chopper was seen to be out of control before it hit the ground and burst into flames.
The helicopter crashed at around 9.40am near a post office situated just outside the Jiraprawat army camp in Muang district of Nakhon Sawan province.
Both the bodies were recovered and later released for their funeral services. Col Sirichan said the RTA had expressed its deep condolences to the families.
The chopper that crashed was an Enstrom 480B training helicopter manufactured by the Enstrom Helicopter Corporation in the United States.
The army bought 22 machines from the US company in two batches -- the first 16 in 2011 and the rest in 2019.
Each helicopter reportedly cost 74 million baht.
The entire fleet of Enstrom 480Bs has been used for training at the Army Aviation Centre in Lop Buri.