Philippines seeks US expert assistance on military airplane crash, will send black boxes

The Philippines will be sending black boxes of the Lockheed C-130 aircraft that crashed earlier this week to the US in order to seek expert assistance in opening and analysing them, the country’s military chief said on July 7. This came after the United States pledged to help extract information from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders that could help authorities understand more about the tragedy that led to the death of 53 people in the southern province of Jolo, Cirilito Sobejana said in a local television interview. Noting that the Philippines has no such capability, Sobejana did not even give the timetable for when the United States experts could complete the extraction of the data from the black boxes. The aircraft was carrying troops bound for counter-insurgency operations when it crashed with at least 96 on board. However, in the country’s worst military air crash in nearly 30 years, 53 people died including three civilians. At least 49 other soldiers were rescued with wounds and survived the fiery noontime crash into a coconut grove outside the airport in Sulu province including some who jumped out of the aircraft before it exploded and engulfed in fire. During the interview, when Sobejana was asked if bad weather or human error could be the reason for the accident, he replied that the authorities are awaiting an official report from the investigators. "I told them to do it as fast as we can, but this should be deliberate," he said. "We wanted to get the accurate information or the facts." The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was one of the two ex-US AirForce aircraft handed over to the Philippines as part of military assistance this year. Initially, the aircraft took off from Manila with only a few passengers including a two-star army general, Romeo Brawner Jr, who disembarked with his wife and three children in Cagayan de Oro City. The army troops then boarded the C-130 in Cagayan de Oro to reach Sulu. “We’re very thankful that we were spared but extremely sad that so many lost their lives,” Brawner told The Associated Press. Pentagon chief speaks with Philippines Secretary of National Defense On July 6, US Department of Defence Lloyd J Austin spoke with Philippines Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana on the phone regarding the July 4 plane crash. According to a readout of the call provided by Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby, “Secretary Austin offered his deepest condolences to the people of the Philippines and the families of those lost in this tragedy. Secretary Lorenzana provided an update on the response to the incident and the Secretaries discussed critical medical evacuation support provided by U.S. personnel for the crash victims.” “Secretary Austin offered to provide any additional assistance that is possible, including for the crash response and potential identification of victims. The two leaders closed the call by reaffirming their commitment to further strengthening the U.S.-Philippines alliance, noting that they hope to meet in the coming months,” he added. IMAGE: AP

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Philippines seeks US expert assistance on military airplane crash, will send black boxes

The Philippines will be sending black boxes of the Lockheed C-130 aircraft that crashed earlier this week to the US in order to seek expert assistance.

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