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Rabat – A Phillipine Air Force (PAF) Lockheed C-130 cargo aircraft crashed on the island of Jolo on Sunday, July 4 while transporting 96 newly graduated Phillipine military service members.
According to the Military Spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, 47 military service members perished in the crash while 49 survived. The crash claimed the lives of three civilians on the ground and injured an additional four.
The plane took off from the northern Filipino city of Cagayan de Oro and intended to land on an airstrip on the island of Jolo. Armed Forces Chief General, Cirilito Sobejana, said “the aircraft missed the runway while landing.”
A press release from Joint Task Force Sulu, the unit of the Phillipine’s Army that is responsible for fighting ISIS-related groups in the region, stated “minutes after the crash, troops and civilian volunteers rushed to the site for search and rescue.”
Local authorities dispatched both civilian and military medical teams to assist the survivors and aid in search and rescue efforts.
Medical personnel from Team Davao dispatched to the crash site to aid burn victims and provide medical supplies. Photo: Joint Task Force Sulu Facebook
“Per eyewitnesses, a number of soldiers were seen jumping out of the aircraft before it hit the ground sparing them from the explosion caused by the crash,” added the JTF-Sulu press release.
The military’s investigative team has begun an investigation into the cause of the plane crash and will also investigate the reports of soldiers jumping from the plane before impact.
Donated by the US Air Force in February 2021, the plane was first in service for the US military in February 1988. However, the plane had an additional 11,000 more flying hours before it required maintenance.
The Philippines military has grounded its remaining C-130 to inspect the aircraft and verify its airworthiness.
Philippine’s President, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, visited the C-130 crash victims at the Western Mindanao Command (WESMINCOM) in Zamboanga City. The President saluted the service members killed-in-action and placed medals upon their caskets.
The Philippines has not experienced a military plane crash of this magnitude since the 1971 PAF Douglas C-47 Skytrain crash which killed 40 people.
