July 4, 2021: At least 29 people were killed Sunday when a Philippine Air Force plane crashed into the landing of a military plane and engulfed in flames, the country’s worst military air disaster in nearly 30 years.
Photographs of the scene showed debris scattered among the trees and smoke billowing as men in combat uniforms entered from all sides, while a column of thick black smoke rose from a coconut palm into the sky. The anti-insurgency Lockheed C-130 transport plane collided with 96 people aboard Patikol in the remote southern province of Sulu.
The vast army on the Philippine island is fighting a long battle against Islamist militants from Abu Sayyaf and other factions. Nineteen bodies were recovered and 50 people were taken to hospital, of whom 17 were not treated, the military said in a statement. The unit, the Joint Task Force Solo, said in a statement: “Several military planes were seen jumping before landing, and were avoiding the explosion that resulted from the crash.”
The plane “lost control of the runway trying to seize power,” said Army Chief Cirilito Sobejana. Army spokesman Col. Edgard Arivello said there were no signs of an attack on the plane, but that an investigation into the crash had yet to begin and that efforts were focused on rescue and treatment. The military command said the soldiers on board had a private status, and were assigned to their battalions. They also had to join our fight against terrorism,” said William Ann Gonzalez, commander of the Joint Task Force Solo.
Jolo Island is located about 950 kilometers (600 miles) south of the capital Manila. The Lockheed C-130H Hercules, with registration 5125, had just arrived in the Philippines. It was one of two aircraft provided by the US government through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, according to an official website in January. An Air Force spokesman was quoted as saying that the aircraft would enhance the mission capabilities of heavy aircraft. The website C-130.net says the crashed plane first flew in 1988. The model is a workhorse for armed forces around the world. The Philippine Armed Forces has a complex record of air safety. Last month, a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training mission, killing six people.
In 1993, 30 people were killed in a C-130 crash of the Philippine Air Force. According to the Aviation Safety Network, 11 people were killed in a civilian crash of a Lockheed plane flown by the Philippine Air Force in 2008. The country’s worst plane crash was an Air Philippine Boeing 737 crash in 2000, which killed 131 people.
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