Two South Korean Army helicopter crew members were killed Monday after a military helicopter crashed during a training exercise in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province.
The crash occurred at around 11:04 a.m. when an AH-1S Cobra attack helicopter belonging to a battalion under the Army’s 15th Aviation Group went down for reasons yet to be determined, according to military officials.
The helicopter was conducting emergency procedures training at the time of the accident. The drill simulates abnormal flight conditions and practices emergency landings without shutting down the engine.
Two warrant officers were on board the aircraft. They were rushed to a nearby civilian hospital in a state of cardiac arrest, but were later pronounced dead. Military authorities said there was no explosion or fire associated with the incident.
According to emergency authorities, no civilian damage has been reported.
It has not yet been disclosed whether the accident occurred while the helicopter was returning to base or during the simulated emergency procedures, the military said.
The AH-1S Cobra is a twin-engine attack helicopter measuring 16.2 meters in length and 4.1 meters in height, capable of operating at a top speed of 190 knots, or about 350 kilometers per hour.
South Korea’s military first introduced the Cobra platform in the mid-1970s with the acquisition of six AH-1J helicopters originally built for the US Marine Corps. It later procured 70 upgraded AH-1S units between 1988 and 1991. The aircraft involved in Monday’s crash was introduced in 1991.
While the Cobra has been involved in prior emergency landing incidents, no fatal crash has been reported since its introduction into service, according to military sources.
The platform is now considered aging, having been in service for more than three decades.
Manufactured by US helicopter maker Bell, the Cobra was retired from US Army service in 2001, with the US government’s Foreign Military Sales program for the aircraft ending the following year.
The Army had originally planned to retire the Cobra fleet between 2021 and 2027. However, delays in the project pushed back the retirement timeline. Under the revised plan, the military aims to begin phasing out the Cobra from 2028 and complete the retirement process by 2031.
Following the accident, the Army suspended operations of all AH-1S attack helicopters and established an accident response task force to investigate the cause of the crash. The task force is being led by the acting deputy chief of staff at Army headquarters, who also heads the logistics staff.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, who is currently visiting Saudi Arabia, was briefed on the incident. He ordered swift and thorough recovery efforts and instructed officials to take all necessary follow-up measures, the Ministry of National Defense said.
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