Multiple fatalities in Philippine C-130H crash

A Lockheed C-130H Hercules tactical transport belonging to the Philippine Air Force (PAF) crashed while attempting to land at Jolo Airport on Jolo Island in the nation’s Sulu province on July 4, killing 47 people.

The incident occurred at approximately 1130hrs (local time), when the recently delivered tactical transport – serial 5125 – overshot the runway and was trying to regain power for a go-around. The aircraft, which belonged to the PAF’s 222nd Airlift Squadron at Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu, crashed close to a village near the mountain town of Patikul, Sulu, where it caught fire and was destroyed.

Philippine C-130H formal induction 4-7-21 [Def Sec of the Philippines]
Philippine Air Force C-130H Hercules 5125 at its formal induction ceremony on February 18, 2021. This was the aircraft destroyed in a crash on July 4, 2021. Defence Secretary of the Philippines

There were 95 people on board, including three pilots and five other crew members, while the rest were Philippine Army personnel. Of those, 49 injured military personnel were rescued from the wreckage and taken to hospital for treatment, along with four civilians on the ground. In total, 47 of those on board the C-130H were killed, along with three civilians on the ground.

As of the evening of June 4, a total of 32 military personnel had been taken for treatment in Zamboanga City, while 18 were still confined in the 11th Infantry Division Hospital in Barangay Busbus, Jolo. The Hercules had originally departed from Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, before stopping at Cagayan de Oro-Lumbia Airport to pick up troops and fly them to Jolo Airport.

The C-130H involved in this incident was a former US Air Force (USAF) example, which had only been delivered to the PAF on January 29, this year, before being formally inducted into operational Philippine service on February 18. This aircraft was initially delivered to the USAF in February 1988 and wore the serial number 87-9284 until its delivery to the Philippines earlier this year.