Monday, September 08, 2008 C-130's fuselage still intact: task force By Carlo P. Mallo
TASK Force (TF) C-130 released the official sonar shots made by the US Navy ship John MacDonnall on Sunday, showing the ill-fated aircraft's fuselage is still intact.
Captain Rosauro Arnel Gonzales, chief of TF C-130, told Sun.Star that they are now assessing the possibility of retrieving the aircraft from its present depth of more than 426 feet below sea level.
For his part, Philippine Air Force (PAF) Colonel Isagani Silva said although they are thinking of retrieving the airplane, they are taking into consideration a number of factors.
"We are taking into considerations the costs and safety of the divers if we will retrieve the airplane," Silva said.
The sonar shots made by USNS John MacDonnall showed that the aircraft was in an upright position, with the wings, tail and fuselage intact.
It was reported last Saturday that the exact crash site of the ill-fated aircraft was already located by the US Navy ship at latitude 07 degrees 4.01 minutes north, longitude 125 degrees 38 minutes east, approximately 1.3 nautical miles east of Barangay Bucana.
The US Navy ship immediately left the Philippine territorial waters after it spotted the exact coordinates of the crash site. The information was soon relayed to the US embassy in Manila, which passed the information to the Philippine authorities.
The discovery came after almost five days of search by the US ship and almost two weeks by the Philippine authorities.
