Authorities hope the contents of the black box will shed light on witnesses and passengers’ claims that the C-130 military plane which crashed in Patikul, Sulu overshot the runway after touching down.
AUTHORITIES have finally recovered the “black box” or the flight data recorder of the C-130 Hercules that crashed in Patikul, Sulu Sunday (July 4).
A flight data recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents.
It records multiple parameters of flight operations as well as all communication made by the pilots among themselves and air traffic controllers.
"Nahanap na po, as of 11 o'clock (a.m.) yesterday (Monday). Nakita na po dun sa site at 'yung ating investigating team from the 220th Airlift Wing ay nandun na rin,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana confirmed in a media interview Tuesday (July 6).
Sobejana also said the crash site has been cordoned off to prevent contamination of pieces of evidence that will be recovered within its one-kilometer radius.
Authorities hope the contents of the black box will shed light on witnesses’ and passengers’ claims that the military plane overshot the runway after touching down.
"Actually, yun nga, there are different versions ng mga account ng mga witnesses. I spoke with the passengers, yung nag-survive na nasa ating military hospital sa Zamboanga at ang sabi nya nag-bounce daw three times yung eroplano,” he said.
“After the third bounce parang nagsi-zigzag siya then lumipad sila muli pero I think hindi naka-regain back ng power, so na-short at sumabit yung pakpak sa kahoy, sa puno ng kahoy, e nag bank to the right at tuluyan nang bumagsak. Yung iba naman nagsasabi nga na isang landing gear lang daw yung nakita pero baka from the line-of-sight lang siguro nya, but anyway all these things will be determined by our site investigators," Sobejana added.
He said that he wanted investigation results to be released as fast as possible but these must be deliberate, accurate, and based on facts.
"(My) instruction (is) to do it as fast as possible but we should not compromise the quality of the investigation," he said.
The aircraft was about to transport troops to Jolo when it crashed in Patikul, Sulu around 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
It was one of the two C-130H acquired through a grant from the US government that arrived in the country last Jan. 29.
Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft.
Around 96 people were recorded in the C-130's flight manifest, including three pilots and five aircrew.
At least 49 military personnel and three civilians on the ground were confirmed dead in the incident, seven of which have been identified.
The fallen soldiers will be identified through DNA testing and their dental records, Sobejana said.( ONT)
Tags: #ArmedForcesOfThePhilippines, #C120Hercules, #flightdatarecorder, #airdisasters, #Sulu