Investigators search for cause of 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, Georgia, 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.

“It’s extremely important for us to understand what has happened,” said Col. Pete Boone, vice commander of the 165th Airlift Wing of the Georgia Air National Guard.

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.

Though Rivera had initially said the aircraft was more than 60 years old, Puerto Rico Air National Guard spokesman Maj. Paul Dahlen said Thursday that was a mistake, and the plane was manufactured in the 1970s.