C-130 plunges into the sea

DAVAO CITY – Nine crew members of a Philippine Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane were believed killed when the aircraft burst into flames and crashed minutes after it took off from the Davao City International Airport last Monday night.

The aircraft, one of only two PAF C-130 planes that are still operational, was on its way to Iloilo City to pick up members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) and bring them back to Manila.

Southern Mindanao police director Chief Superintendent Andres Caro II said the cargo plane with registry No. 4593 crashed four kilometers off the shore of Barangay Bucana in Davao City within the vicinity of Samal and Talikod islands.

Caro said witnesses from Barangay Bucana said they saw the wings of the plane on fire before the aircraft plunged into the sea.

“But the plane did not explode or disintegrate in mid-air, because witnesses saw the plane intact, but the wing was on fire when it crashed,” Caro said.

He said the wreckage of the plane had been located on the seabed about 600 meters deep.

PAF spokesman Maj. Gerry Zamudio said that some witnesses reported an explosion before the plane plunged into the Davao Gulf.

Davao police investigator Joel Parojinog said residents from the coastal village reported to the police that they saw a plane around 9 p.m. “going down into the sea with flames on one of the wings,” followed by an underwater explosion.

Other witnesses claimed that they saw the tail of the plane on fire before it crashed into the sea.

PAF chief Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog said the plane took off from the Davao airport at around 8:50 p.m. and about 10 minutes later the pilot made his last radio contact with the air control tower before the plane was declared missing.

The pilot of the aircraft was Maj. Manuel Zambrano and co-pilot was Capt. Adrian de Dios. The other crewmen were Technical Sgt. Lobregas Constantino, Staff Sergeants John Ariola, Gary Dionisio, Felix Patriarca, Petronilo Fernandez, Patricio Gaur, and Aldrin Ilustrisimo.

Rescue teams recover debris

Maj. Armand Rico, spokesman of the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom), said search and rescue teams recovered debris from the plane between the shores of Davao City and Samal Island in the Davao Gulf.

Among debris retrieved were combat boots, flight documents, and body parts, Rico said.

Cadungog said rescue teams recovered one wheel of the aircraft as well as the wheel support.

He said the identification card of Sgt. Petronilo Fernandez was also found floating in the water.

The PAF chief said that it is possible that the main body of the aircraft might not be found because the water in the area is quite deep.

Philippine Navy (PN) divers from the Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG) were dispatched to the area to assist in ongoing search and recovery operations.

Cadungog said the last contact with the aircraft was made when the pilot asked permission from the control tower to turn left about 10 minutes after taking off, heading to Cagayan de Oro on the way to Iloilo.

He said the aircraft had transported troops from Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija to Davao last Monday morning and was scheduled to return to Manila that night.

The plane was later ordered to pass by Iloilo City to pick up at least 100 members of the PSG and fly them back to Manila.

Cadungog said that pilots Zambrano and De Dios are both seasoned professionals. Zambrano was also a flight instructor with more than 4,000 flying hours on the C-130, which is considered a versatile and durable cargo plane that could withstand harsh weather conditions.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told radio station dzRH that he personally knew Zambrano.

Teodoro is a reserve officer of the same PAF squadron as Zambrano. He said Zambrano is a very careful and capable pilot.

Teodoro offered his prayers for the rescue of the pilot and his crew.

The defense chief also disclosed that another PAF C-130 plane is expected to be operational within two weeks after undergoing maintenance and repairs.

PAF probes cause of crash

Cadungog said the PAF would investigate the cause of the crash, including the possibility of sabotage, which is remote because of the strict security measures being implemented before an Air Force aircraft takes off.

He dismissed the possibility that lightning struck the plane, since all aircraft are equipped with lightning arresters to deflect the electrical charges from clouds.

When asked about the possibility that the plane could have been the target of a terrorist attack, Cadungog said: “We do not discount any possibility,” adding that they are also looking into the angle that some terrorists might have caused the crash.

But he ruled out the possibility that bad weather caused the crash because the plane would not be allowed by the airport control to take off during very bad weather.

“Besides, the C-130 is an all-weather aircraft. It can fly through thunderstorms. It is very strong and powerful,” Cadungog said.

He said investigators would also look into material failure and pilot fatigue.

Cadungog said that the pilots of the 37-year-old C-130 plane followed normal takeoff procedures, which made them rule out the possibility of human error.

“That is why we are puzzled, we could not think of any lapses on the part of the pilot that they were not able to control the aircraft, we could not think of that possibility,” he said.

Cadungog said that if ever there were discrepancies the pilots could not correct, these were loss of radio contact and a probable electrical failure. But he explained that even with these technical problems, pilots could still reach their destination.

“These are very normal occurrences that we can even fly to the next destination without contact on the ground,” he said.

Cadungog said the ill-fated aircraft was one of only two operational Lockheed Martin C-130 planes, which were fitted recently with new engines and auxiliary power units.

The incident prompted the PAF to ground the remaining C-130 plane that will undergo a complete inspection before it will be cleared to fly again.

The PAF has requested the Hawaii-based US Pacific Command to deploy a long-range patrol aircraft to assist in the search and rescue operations.

He said the Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard are helping out in the search, while the United States also has extended its assistance.

Cadungog said a US long-range patrol aircraft has joined other air and sea assets deployed by the local military and Coast Guard to search for the aircraft.

The C-130 plane was purchased from the US in 1971 for P50 million and was refurbished in 1983. A similar C-130 plane would cost P200 million today. With Jaime Laude, James Mananghaya, Rudy Santos, Christina Mendez, AP