2 C-130s set to join Air Force fleet

MANILA, Philippines – Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog reported that the Armed Forces will finally activate two newly refurbished

C-130 Hercules cargo planes this month after another military cargo aircraft crashed at the Davao Gulf last August.

Cadungog said the two aircraft would be operational after the engines have been refitted and a series of tests to check that all systems are completed.

“These functional tests are to ensure that all systems have no defects,” he said.

The PAF is also planning to repair another C-130 next year if funds would be available to buy spare parts and other equipment, so that the Air Force will have four operating C-130 cargo planes.

The fourth cargo plane could join the fleet in two years because the repair and evaluation could take more than a year.

Military officials said that after the crash of the cargo plane off Davao City, combat units have relied on Navy ships to transport troops and equipment, particularly in the ongoing offensive operations against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Mindanao.

A source said that investigation conducted by the PAF revealed that bad weather caused the ill-fated C-130 cargo plane’s pilots to lose control of the aircraft that crashed in the Davao Gulf, killing all 11 people on board.

The source said the investigating team focused their work on bad weather as the major factor that caused the accident, dismissing the theory that the aircraft crashed due to sabotage.

The report was based on facts, eyewitness accounts, and similar accidents of the same type of aircraft that were caused by bad weather.

Sources said the result of the investigation, though not clearly conclusive after the wreckage of the aircraft was not recovered from the deep waters of the Davao Gulf, would compel the PAF to adjust its safety procedures regarding flying through rain clouds and thunderstorms.

The US Navy oceanographic vessel USS McDonnel found the wreckage last Sept. 5 in the area where the cargo plane reportedly crashed.