AFP concludes probe on Blackhawk, C-130 cargo plane crashes
Multiple factors that include environment condition and pilot actions were seen as the reasons behind the crash of the ill-fated C-130 cargo plane in Sulu in July that left more than 50 people, mostly soldiers dead.
The same findings were established on the S-70i Black Hawk helicopter in Tarlac that killed six personnel of the Philippine Air Force in Tarlac in June.
"Material, human and environmental factors were determined by the Philippine Air Force Aircraft Accident Investigation Board as cause of the ill-fated C-130 crash in Sulu. Based on the investigating team’s report, no single factor can be attributed to have exclusively caused the accident," the military said in a statement.
It was most probably due to actual or perceived material factors, and induced human factors which were aggravated by local and environment conditions. The aircraft component, the environmental condition and aircrew response led to unrecoverable stall in a critical phase of the aircraft operation," it added.
At least 53 people, 50 of them were soldiers, died when the C-130 cargo plane crashed as it tried to land at the Jolo Airport. Some of the soldiers survived as they were able to jump before the explosion and before fire gobbled up the aircraft.
Aside from technical analysis of the debris from the aircraft, air crash investigators also interviewed the survivors and local residents who witnessed the incident.
On the Blackhawk chopper that crashed in Tarlac, the military said the confluence of events also triggered the tragedy.
"Investigators found out that the chopper inadvertently entered a thunderstorm and was compounded by spatial disorientation or vertigo by the pilot, as the cause of the accident," the statement read.
AFP spokesperson Lt. Col Ramon Zagala, said the result of the investigation is important as this would assist the military in initiating additional safety actions.
"This will help us avoid similar events in the future by implementing additional safety initiatives, strengthening protocols and procedures, as well as instituting training interventions for our aircrew and personnel. This shall put further protection to our assets, especially our members who continue to risk their lives to protect our people and the country," said Zagala.