Joint probe begins into Surion crash

By Lee Min-hyung

Korea Aerospace Industries' Surion helicopter

The Marine Corps formed a civilian-government-military joint investigation team Wednesday to find the exact cause behind the fatal crash of a Surion helicopter last month.

It took about three weeks to form the special probe team, as bereaved families of the accident victims failed to come to terms with the military's earlier plan to include only military experts in the investigation.

According to the Marine Corps, the probe team was launched after reaching an agreement with the bereaved families. Thirty-seven experts have joined the team and will carry out an in-depth investigation into the disastrous helicopter crash. The incident left five soldiers dead and another seriously injured.

“The team will conduct an independent investigation and get to the bottom of the accident,” a Marine Corps official said.

Last month, the ill-fated chopper crashed at a military airfield in the nation's southeastern coastal city of Pohang, only about 10 seconds after lifting off the ground.

The Marine said the team includes nine civilian experts in aerospace security and metal engineering, five government officials and 22 military personnel handling aviation maintenance work and military investigations.

The military is also contacting overseas aviation experts who took part in investigations of the 2016 deadly crash of an AS332 Super Puma in Norway. Surion was redesigned from the helicopter and its recent crash resembled that of the Super Puma.

At that time, investigators concluded the Super Puma crash resulted from faults in a gearbox. Both of the crashes look similar in that their rotor blades separated from the aircraft while in flight.