AN OFFICIAL report released by Task Force C-130 showed the chronology of events in the tragic crash of one of the two C-130's of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
7:24 p.m. -- Flight number 4593 of Philippine Air Force C-130 arrived at Davao International Airport from Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija with 84 Scout Ranger soldiers for deployment in Central Mindanao.
8:51 p.m. -- Plane took off from the Davao International Airport bound for Iloilo City.
Minutes later, the control tower lost radio contact with the aircraft.
9:00 to 9:20 p.m. -- Fisherfolks reportedly witnessed the aircraft being hit by lightning before it plummeted into the dark sea of the Davao Gulf.
10:30 p.m. -- The Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao received a telephone call from the Air Transportation Office-Davao City reporting the loss of radio contact with the aircraft.
August 26, 2008
12:13 a.m. -- Colonel Isagani Silva of the PAF orders for search and rescue operations to be conducted.
1:40 a.m. -- A DF340 vessel was deployed from Glan, Sarangani en route to Davao Gulf to conduct search and rescue operations for possible survivors from the missing aircraft.
7:00 a.m. -- Another vessel was deployed to conduct search and rescue operations in the vicinity of Talomo District in Davao City and in Talikud Island.
10:00 a.m. -- Flight number 4593 was confirmed to have crashed in the Davao Gulf after human body parts and aircraft debris were recovered in various areas of the shorelines of Davao City.
10:30 a.m. -- Aerial search operatives recovered a floating wheel assembly of the missing aircraft floating near Legaspi Oil.
11:30 a.m. -- Eyewitness accounts point in the vicinity of two nautical miles off the coast of Punta del Sol in Samal Island as the possible crash site.
1:00 p.m. -- A private dive boat with fish finder sonar and one helicopter from the PAF joined in the search and rescue operations.
2:00 p.m. -- Task Force C-130 was formally formed.
4:20 p.m. -- Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte oversees search and rescue operations onboard a private helicopter.
4:30 p.m. -- A suspected crash site was identified by the search and rescue team at 2.5 nautical miles southeast of Barangay Bucana, Davao City. Oil slick was also reported to have been spotted in the area.
August 27, 2008
As of Wednesday morning, a cushioned seat and PAF patches were recovered.
Attempts by divers to check the area using a fish finder sonar of a private individual proved futile as the sonar did not provide a strong image of the possible presence of the aircraft underwater.
The aircraft is believed to be at a depth of 800 feet. (CPM)
