𝐏𝐇 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬

𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬

ʙʏ: ᴏʟʏssᴀ ʟᴇᴇ ᴅ. ᴄᴀsᴛᴜʟᴏ

Sulu, Philippines - On the 5th of June witnessed the unfortunate crash landing of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) C130 Hercules Plane in Patikul, Sulu. At least 45 individuals had been killed on impact, three of which were civilians crushed by the wreck of the transport plane.

The military transport aircraft was en route to Patikul from Cagayan De Oro City and missed the runway while trying to land. According to the Joint Task Force Sulu commander Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, the plane had a total of 96 soldiers onboard. Forty-two bodies of fallen soldiers had been recovered, and 53 military personnel and civilians alike suffered injuries.

This recent military plane crash serves as a daunting reminder of the previous ones that had occurred earlier this year that were just as brutal and ill-fated.

In mid-January, a PAF Huey UH-1H chopper crashed in Barangay Bulonay, Impasugong, Bukidnon killing all seven passengers on board, including five military personnel and two local militia members.

Reports stated that the passengers were from the PAF Tactical Operations Group 10 based in Cagayan de Oro City. The helicopter was delivering supplies to the Philippine Army's 8th Brigade patrol base in the mountains of southern Bukidnon. No official cause has been issued until today, but the spokesperson of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, Maj. Rodolfo Cordero Jr. had ventured that the crash was perhaps due to a mechanical malfunction rather than bad weather conditions or armed communist guerilla fighters.

Three months after the first catastrophic event, recorded the second PAF helicopter crash namely the McDonnell Douglas MD-520 “Defender”. The accident befalls on the coastline of Getafe, Bohol, killing the pilot while injuring the three other flight crew members.

In an interview with PAF spokesperson Lt. Col. Maynard Mariano, he discloses that attack helicopter number 410 from the 15th Strike Wing, took off from Mactan Air Base in Cebu for a periodic maintenance flight before it shortly plummeted in Bohol. He affirmed that information will be published as soon as facts were confirmed behind the cause of the accident.

In addition, he mentioned that the PAF decided to ground its MG520 fleet while the investigation is ongoing to assure the public that all of its air assets are undergoing strict, regular, and redundant maintenance inspections before and after flight missions.

Another crash that had occurred not more than two weeks after the Sulu incident was the night-flying training incident of a newly acquired S-70i Black Hawk utility helicopter in Tarlac.

On the eve of June 23, three pilots and three crew members aboard the chopper were reported late from the estimated time of arrival back at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga, which eventually prompted a search and recovery operation. The aircraft had crashed in Sitio Manabayukan, Barangay Patling, leaving no survivors in the aftermath.

The gruesome string of air transport accidents is genuinely troubling. The major crash in Sulu is the most recent addition to this list.