EDITORIAL - The truth behind the crashes

The video showed the C-130 Hercules plane approaching the runway at the airport in Sulu capital Jolo. It reportedly bounced three times as it touched down before lifting off again and then crashing and bursting into a fireball a short distance away in the town of Patikul.

As of late yesterday afternoon, the death toll stood at 52 – 49 soldiers on board and three civilians. Several of the fatalities were charred beyond recognition. Another 47 soldiers and three civilians were injured, with several of them in critical condition from serious burns.

The aircraft was one of two Lockheed C-130 military transport planes of the Armed Forces of the Philippines that arrived only last January. The AFP bought the planes second-hand from the United States for P2.5 billion, with Washington providing P900 million.

AFP officials described the pilots of the ill-fated aircraft as “seasoned and experienced” who followed all protocols for landing. The officials also said the aircraft was in “tip-top shape” with 11,000 flying hours left before its next maintenance check. Investigation nevertheless will consider mechanical problems apart from the condition of the runway and the weather in Jolo.

The tragedy comes on the heels of the crash of a Philippine Air Force Black Hawk helicopter on June 23 while on night flight training. All six PAF airmen on board died in the crash a few kilometers away from Colonel Ernest Rabina Air Base in Capas, Tarlac.

The S-70i Black Hawk was part of 16 helicopters purchased by the government for $241.46 million from Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze, with delivery starting last November and set to be completed later this year. PZL Mielec, Poland’s largest aerospace manufacturer, is owned by US aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. All AFP Black Hawks have been grounded since the crash in Tarlac.

If pilots and air assets alike were deemed by the AFP to be in prime condition, what caused the crashes? The C-130 is considered the workhorse of the Philippine Air Force, and the crash in Patikul is deemed to be the worst post-war air accident for the PAF. The video in Sulu didn’t indicate weather turbulence. Survivors and those left behind by the fatalities as well as the rest of the nation deserve to know the unvarnished truth. The country cannot afford more losses of lives and expensive air assets.