How did they get out alive? Lucky escape for pilots of Apache attack helicopter after it crashes into a housing block in Taiwan

Aircraft smashed into a building in Taoyuan county yesterday

The two Taiwanese pilots survived, and are thought to only be slightly hurt

Military spokesman said the crash took place in routine training exercise



Two pilots flying an Apache attack helicopter cheated death when their aircraft crash-landed.

It smashed into a building in Taoyuan county in the north of Taiwan yesterday.

The pilots, both Taiwanese, were injured in the smash but were taken to hospital and are not thought to be seriously hurt.

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Clean-up: Rescue workers lifted the wrecked helicopter from the building yesterday

According to a military spokesman, the accident took place during a routine training mission .

Rescue workers could be seen yesterday extracting the smashed wreckage from the building.

'The incident happened during basic flight training for unknown reasons and a special team is investigating the cause,' an official told the South China Morning Post.

Taiwan in November took delivery of its first six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters bought from the United States as it modernises its military despite warming ties with China.



It temporarily grounded the choppers from December to February for checks after Washington warned the model could malfunction.

Wrecked: Both pilots survived the crash, and were taken to hospital

The devastating attack helicopter, which comes equipped with laser-guided missiles, rockets and machine guns, is the same model which Prince Harry learned to use in his military training.

The prince qualified as a qualifying as a co-pilot gunner in February 2012. Officers were so impressed with his aptitude for flying the £46million helicopter that he was handed the prize of top co-pilot gunner on his course.

