A Vietnamese pilot has been hailed as a hero after he managed to save civilian lives by steering his chopper away from a residential area before it crashed to the ground in Hanoi on Monday, killing 18 soldiers and severely injuring three others.

>> Military copter crash in Vietnam’s capital kills 16 soldiers, injures 5 others >> Death toll in Vietnam military copter crash rises to 19: sources

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Senior Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Lai Long maneuvered his troubled military helicopter with 21 onboard away from a row of houses on the outskirts of the Vietnamese capital moments before it exploded into flames in a nearby garden.

Lieutenant General Vo Van Tuan, vice chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, confirmed that pilot Long tried to fly the copter away from residential homes in Thach That District in an effort to avoid causing heavier human casualties.

The high-ranking army officer, therefore, lauded the courage and sacrifice of the flight crew and other soldier victims.

The Mi 171 helicopter crash scene seen in a photo taken on July 7, 2014. Video credit: Tuoi Tre TV

The Mi 171 helicopter carrying three crew members, two parachuting trainers, and 16 parachuting trainees aboard fell onto an empty garden close to a paddy field in Thach That during a parachute training exercise.

The chopper met with the tragedy at about 7:53 am (Vietnam time), just 10 minutes after taking off.

Eighteen military personnel have been confirmed dead during the crash and three others are being treated at the National Institute of Burns in the capital city, according to updated figures released on Tuesday by Vietnam’s National Committee for Search and Rescue.

The flight crew includes Captain Hoang Lai Long, vice chief of the General Staff of the Regiment 916 under the Vietnamese Air Force, co-pilot Le Thanh Viet, and mechanic staff Nguyen Van Thanh, it said.

It is not clear whether or not Captain Long is among the dead.

Heroes

“After suddenly hearing a humming engine noise, we looked up and saw a chopper going down,” a trader at Hoa Lac market, some 300 meters from the crash scene, recounted. “Feeling frightened, we immediately got down on the ground for safety.”

The chopper ended up in an empty lot nearby a few seconds later, the trader said, adding that there were hundreds of people at the market then. 

Local residents have highly appreciated the helicopter’s pilot who managed to prevent a crash into civilian homes, which could have brought about more serious casualties.

Many locals had earlier thought the chopper would crash into the residential area since it was just a few meters above the roofs of their homes. Hence, they called the soldiers aboard the ill-fated helicopter “heroes.”

“They sacrificed their own lives for our survival,” a local woman sobbed when she looked at ambulances carrying the victims from the scene.

Meanwhile, Toan, owner of a motorbike repair shop in the area, said that he heard a loud noise when he was drinking water in front of his house.

“I looked up into the sky and saw a plane about to crash into local homes. However, it swiftly changed its direction and kept flying under high-voltage electric wires,” he recalled.

Toan added the copter exploded before hitting the ground. The man luckily survived as his chair and motorbike in the vicinity of the accident were damaged by pieces of chopper debris.

Other eyewitnesses said they saw plumes of black smoke and flames during the crash.

Toan said that right after the accident, dozens of young locals rushed to the scene to attempt their rescue.

These young men pulled the victims out of the crashed chopper and then stepped backward for fear that further explosions might take place.

The chopper’s black box has been found, according to Lieutenant General Tuan, who directed rescue missions at the crash scene.

According to Lieutenant General Tuan, initial investigation found that the crash was caused by “a technical problem” and police are analyzing the black box to determine the exact cause.

The Vietnamese army has decided to stop all flying training exercises for seven days from July 7 when the accident happened.

Bought in 2006, the Mi 171 helicopter was used in flying training exercises, search and rescue missions, and anti-terrorism drills. It has an operating range of 850km to 1050km.

The Mi 171 helicopter crash scene seen in a photo taken on July 7, 2014. Photo credit: Tuoi Tre

The Mi 171 helicopter crash scene. Photo credit: Vietnam News Agency

A soldier offers incense to commemorate the dead victims of the Mi 171 helicopter crash on July 7, 2014. Photo credit: Tuoi Tre

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