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Sunday, August 31, 2008
US ship to help in C-130 search
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- US Navy ship John McDonnel is on its way to Davao Gulf to help in the search and retrieval operation by the Philippine government on the military's C-130 plane that crashed Monday evening.
Based on information from the Naval Forces of Eastern Mindanao, John McDonnel was given clearance to enter the Philippine territorial waters from August 28 to September 2.
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Authorities, however, refused to disclose the present location of the US ship.
Major Armand Rico, spokesman of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command, said they will only know about it once the ship arrives in the Davao area.
But Philippine Air Force (PAF) chief Lieutenant General Pedrito Cadungog on Friday said that the US ship is expected to arrive Saturday afternoon. He said the ship will help in locating the position of the plane.
According to Cadungog, the government needed to recover major parts of the wreckage, which lies in deep water, to determine the cause of the crash.
He added that they have lost hope in finding a survivor.
The C-130 Hercules Lockheed, a 37-year-old US-made aircraft, lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly after taking off from the Davao International Airport around 8:45 p.m. Monday.
Philippine military has ruled out its own earlier suggestion that it could have been shot down by Moro insurgents.
The ill-fated aircraft was built in 1971 and acquired by the air force in 1983. It was last inspected on August 15, when it was fitted with a new engine. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (August 31, 2008 issue)
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