Army helicopter crashes in south

Ministry of National Defense said that preliminary findings indicate that bad weather in a mountainous area may have been the cause of the crash.

The crew of the UH1H helicopter was engaging in an air reconnaissance training mission from an air base in Tainan County when it lost radar contact at around 4:30 p.m. yesterday.

MND minister Lee Jye has led a team of high ranking military officials to the site of the crash and has ordered the army to form a task force to investigate the cause of the crash.

Reports have said that the helicopter’s black box has been found as more than 100 rescue personnel are battling heavy fog in searching for the three missing servicemen.

Meanwhile, the army has grounded all UH1H’s and helicopters of the elite air combat unit of which the crashed UH1H is attached to.

The UH1H was widely used by the U.S. military in the 1960’s to transport personnel and provide air support for ground troops.

MND has been seeking to replace the aging helicopter in recent years, while the UH1H remains active in dozens of other countries.

The army elite air combat unit is designed to carry out missions such as air combat, cargo transportation, and combat support.

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