AFP: Crashed C-130 was not overloaded

From Rappler (Jul 6, 2021): AFP: Crashed C-130 was not overloaded (By RAMBO TALABONG)

The doomed C-130 plane had a maximum capacity of 120. It carried only 96 people when it crashed, says the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday, July 6, dispelled rumors circulating that the ill-fated C-130 aircraft which crashed in Sulu on Sunday was overloaded.

"The said C-130 was not overloaded. It was well within the operational limits and capacity when it left Laguindingan Airport with 96 passengers compared to its maximum capacity of 120 passengers," the AFP said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

The plane carried 84 Army troopers and 12 Air Force personnel. The crash killed at least 53 and injured 46 others. Also among the victims were non-passenger civilians, 3 of whom died, and 4 injured.

It was the worst military air disaster in the country's history.

The crash puzzled the military as the pilots of the doomed plane had hundreds of flight hours in their records, and the Sulu landing strip had no reported defects.

Earlier on Tuesday, the military confirmed retrieving the plane's black box or flight recorder, which contained the last conversations of the pilots and the C-130's flight data.

It would be sent to the United States Air Force for examination, the military said.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/afp-says-crashed-c-130-plane-not-overloaded