Saturday, August 30, 2008 C-130 could have easily crashed on populous Bucana By Carlo P. Mallo
IT MAY have been a tale of bravery after all. Otherwise, it could have been a tragic night for thousands of families who were already resting inside their homes on that fateful, rainy Monday night.
Known for his outstanding record with the Philippine Air Force (PAF), Major Manuel Zambrano Jr., pilot of the ill-fated C-130 Hercules Lockheed that plummeted into the Davao Gulf Monday, could have most probably shown his last act of bravery by maneuvering the plane into the sea rather than risking a crash onto the densely populated areas dotting the coastlines of Davao City.
This is one of the theories that members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are looking into.
The true cause of the crash remains to be a mystery.
"Baka sa pag take-off pa lang, nagka-aberya na (Maybe even during its take off it already suffered engine trouble)," Captain Rosauro Arnel Gonzalez, head of Task Force C-130, said Friday. "But instead of ejecting, they tried to maneuver the plane to crash in a safe area, away from the people."
The suspected crash site is only some 1.5 nautical miles from the densely populated area of Bucana, Davao City, which is home to thousands of people.
Zambrano, one the PAF's most weathered pilots, has been handling the C-130 for the past 11 years now, including maneuvering it through the stormiest weather.
The 39-year-old pilot has 4,153 flying hours on his record, including flying missions to other countries carrying relief aid. He was also awarded for his outstanding field service by no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last month.
Captain Adrian de Dios, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in 1999, has 1,236 flying hours on his record.
Five days have lapsed since the fateful crash of the PAF C-130 Hercules Lockheed into the Davao Gulf, but no survivors have surfaced yet.
The exact location of the crash site was not even identified yet, but the comrades of the pilots and even of the seven other crew members are remembering their heroism - for being of service to their country and to their countrymen.
