Everything About the Crash of the Military Plane in Philippines That is Known So Far

This morning (4 July 2021), a military transport plane carrying mostly soldiers crashed in the southern Philippines.

The plane had come from Cagayan de Oro, the capital of the province of Misamis Oriental, and the soldiers were on their way to fight Muslim extremists in the war-torn Sulu province.

Here’s what is known so far.

Everything About the Crash of the Military Plane in Philipines That is Known So Far

The plane, a Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft, had left Cagayan de Oro after it picked up troops who were deployed to fight in Sulu, a war-torn province that’s a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group.

92 people were on board, and according to initial reports, this includes three pilots and five other crew members.

40 people have since been rescued from the wreckage. 17 bodies have been recovered.

According to the military chief, the aircraft has crashed at about 11:30am as it was trying to land on a small runaway in a town in Sulu, but missed the runway while trying to regain power.

Rescue and recovery are still ongoing.

A military spokesman had said that there wasn’t any indication of any attack on the plane, but they are now focused on rescue and recovery efforts, so investigations haven’t started yet.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is built in the US, and is used by many militaries in the world, including the US, Canada and the UK.

It’s the longest continuously produced military aircraft at over 60 years.

In recent years, the Philippines military has been upgrading their aircraft to deal with domestic terrorists and also with China in disputed waters.

That hasn’t gone exactly well; just last month, a new Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training flight, killing six people.

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