A government website announcement in January, reviewed by press agency Reuters, confirmed that the Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules transport plane was one among the 2 aircraft granted by the United States government through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The model, a workhorse for soldiers round the world, had first flown in 1988, consistent with the C-130.net website.
The Lockheed C-130 aircraft, of registration 5125, had only arrived within the Philippines recently. the web site even quoted an air force spokesperson as saying the aircraft would offer enhanced capability for heavy airlift missions.
This is not the primary time that the Philippines soldiers have come under scrutiny for having a patchy record on air safety. A Black Hawk helicopter crashed only last month during a training mission, killing six people.
Another C-130 aircraft of the Philippines Air Force had crashed back in 1993, killing 30 people. A 2008 crash by the civilian variant of the Lockheed plane flown by the Philippines Air Force killed 11 people, consistent with the Aviation Safety Network.
However, the worst plane crash within the country's records happened in 2000, when the infamous Boeing 737 -- an aircraft that has come to the news recently for being a part of several recent air disasters -- crashed, killing 131 people.
The Sunday incident happened shortly before noon at the Bangkal village within the mountainous town of Patikul within the country's Sulu province, military officials said. As many as 40 people are pulled out from underneath the burning wreckage, the govt has said, confirming that the operation is currently ongoing.
