Investigators search for cause of deadly cargo plane crash
PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. — Military investigators began the arduous task Thursday of answering why a C-130 Hercules cargo plane being flown into retirement by an experienced crew plunged onto a Georgia highway. Families and friends of the nine airmen, meanwhile, grieved and took note of the fact that Puerto Rico’s planes are the oldest in the National Guard inventory.
There were no survivors when the huge plane dropped from the sky moments after taking off from Savannah, Ga., narrowly missing motorists and buildings as fiery wreckage exploded over a wide area. Only the tail section was intact, sitting improbably in the middle of Georgia Highway 21.
The aging plane had rescued and resupplied American citizens after last year’s hurricanes as part of the U.S. territory’s fleet, which often struggles to remain mission-ready amid long waits for spare parts, said Adjutant Gen. Isabelo Rivera, commander of the Puerto Rico National Guard.
The plane crashed after taking off from Savannah/ Hilton Head International Airport en route to Arizona, where it would have been retired from service. Boone said it had received “routine maintenance” while in Savannah. He did not know if the crew made a distress call to air traffic controllers after takeoff.
All nine airmen on board were confirmed dead, Boone said.
The pilot was identified as Maj. Jose Rafael Roman, from Manati on the island’s north coast.
Meanwhile, the military identified the plane’s navigator as Maj. Carlos Perez Serra and its co-pilot as 1st Lt. David Albandoz.