Bangkok: Thailand's Army has suspended flights of its 20 Bell-212 helicopters after three fatal helicopter crashes in eight days.
Army Spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on Monday that the helicopters were ordered grounded so they could be examined after rotor failure was suspected as the cause of the latest crash Sunday that killed three soldiers and injured one.
Two other Thai military helicopters have crashed in bad weather in just over a week.
The first crash of a Huey chopper on July 16 killed five troops. On Tuesday, a Black Hawk helicopter sent to retrieve the bodies went down in the same remote area, killing eight soldiers and one television cameraman.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, July 25, 2011, 14:50