Taiwanese OH-58D suffers hard landing

A Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior operated by the Republic of China Army Aviation & Special Forces Command suffered a hard landing in Gueiren, Taiwan (Republic of China) during a training flight.

The incident occurred at 1520hrs (local time, Taipei Standard Time) on May 6. Two crew members – an instructor and student – were on board the light observation/reconnaissance helicopter at the time of the crash. Both were unharmed. 

Taiwanese OH-58D [Republic of China Army Aviation & Special Forces Command via Facebook] #1
Republic of China Army Aviation and Special Forces Command via Facebook

The OH-58D – serial 634 – is operated by the 601st Air Cavalry Brigade’s 1st Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Battalion, based at Lungtan. The incident caused damage to the aircraft’s tail boom, skids and main rotor. An investigation has been launched.

Taiwan has operated the Kiowa Warrior since 1993, receiving a total of 39 examples. Prior to this incident, the air arm had only lost one OH-58D to attrition. The aircraft – serial 613 – was written off in August 2001.