PORT WENT-WORTH, Ga. (AP) An aging C-130 Hercules that rescued and resupplied U.S. citizens after last years hurricanes crashed onto a highway in Georgia during what was supposed to be its final flight, killing all nine Puerto Ricans on board.
The huge plane was being flown into retirement in Arizona, reducing Puerto Ricos National Guard fleet to five similar planes, two of which need maintenance and arent being used, Adjutant Gen. Isabelo Rivera said. He said the aircraft was more than 60 years old.
The planes that we have in Puerto Rico — its not news today that they are the oldest planes on inventory among all National Guard planes nationwide, and they often face delays in getting spare parts shipped to the island, he said.
However, Col. Pete Boone, vice-commander of the Savannah-based 165th Airlift Wing of the Georgia Air National Guard, said at a Thursday news conference that the planes age was closer to 40 years. He said it had been in Savannah for routine maintenance and crashed after taking off for Arizona.
Boone also said the U.S. military has launched its investigation into the crash, and said investigators will use every resource at our disposal to identify a cause.
Boone said he did not know if the flight crew made a distress call to air traffic control before the crash. He said a military mortuary assistance team arrived overnight, but he didnt know if all the bodies had been recovered.
The pilot was identified as Maj. Jose Rafael Roman, who hails from the coastal town of Manati along Puerto Ricos north coast. The mayor of that town, Jose Sanchez, told The Associated Press that Roman had two young boys and his wife is five months pregnant with a girl.
The town is in mourning, Sanchez said. My condolences to all Puerto Rican families.
Its too early to say what might have caused the plane to drop out of the sky onto Georgias Highway 21 moments after taking off from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. Rivera said the plane last received maintenance at the military base in Savannah in April.
All nine crew members had helped with hurricane recovery efforts as part of the 198th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the Bucaneros, which flies out of Base Muniz in the northern coastal city of Carolina, Rivera said. The squadron used the plane to rescue Americans from the British Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma, and later supplied food and water to Puerto Ricans desperate for help after Hurricane Maria.
