Philippine Air Force Official Discloses Cause Of Crashed Plane

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua / August 27, 2008) - A senior Philippine Air Force official on Wednesday said material failure and pilot errors are likely to be the main cause of a military plane's crash soon after takeoff Monday evening, leaving 9 people on board missing.

Air Force Chief Lt. General Pedrito Cadungog said investigators are also looking into "weather phenomenon" as there was an eyewitness who said there was a lighting strike.

But he was also saying that the plane was not likely to have been sabotaged and there was no indication of an explosion before the crash.

The C-130 plane, acquired in 1983 through the United States financing program, had taken off from the Davao City airport at around 08:00 p.m. Monday night local time and was on its way to Iloilo City to fetch personnel from Presidential Security Group. It had two pilots and seven crew members.

By late Wednesday, rescuers have yet found any sign of survival at the suspected site of the crash. Body parts, plane parts and debris were recovered at the sea surface.

Navy Captain Rosauro Gonzales said the wreckage of the C-130 was located 2.5 nautical miles southwest of Samal island and at the depth of 600 feet under water, a distance too deep for rescuers to dive.

Cadungog said that salvaging the wreckage of the aircraft may not be only difficult but also very impractical.

"Basically, we have no visual (of the wreckage). Our divers have not seen it," said Gonzales, adding that the present search is presently concentrated on the debris and body parts.

Gonzales said rescuers have recovered more body parts in the second day of the rescue operation. "They are just inside black plastic bags, the body parts. We also recovered a seat of the aircraft in the area...We have no recovery of body or even a torso, they are all small body parts," he said.

C-130s provides the military a heavy-lift capability and are a big help in offensives, specifically in the transport of government troops and logistics, and in the transport of relief goods to disaster-stricken areas.