THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday, September 2, 2021, said a combination of “material, human and environmental factors” caused a C-130 plane to crash in Patikul, Sulu.

The AFP cited the report of the Philippine Air Force Aircraft Accident Investigation Board, which said that no single factor exclusively caused the crash on July 4, 2021. Fifty-three people, including 50 soldiers, died in the crash while 46 other soldiers and four residents were injured.

“It was most probably due to actual or perceived material factors, and induced human factors which were aggravated by local and environment conditions,” it said in a statement.

“The aircraft component, the environmental condition and aircrew response led to unrecoverable stall in a critical phase of the aircraft operation,” it added.

During a budget deliberation at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, September 1,

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told the House of Representatives committee on appropriations on Wednesday, September 1, said the reaction of the pilot was not appropriate when the aircraft’s instruments and systems experienced a defect during the flight.

The soldiers on board the ill-fated aircraft were being deployed to Sulu for the government's anti-terrorism campaign in the region.

Meanwhile, the AFP said a thunderstorm had caused a brand-new S-70i Black Hawk helicopter to crash in Tarlac on June 24.

“Investigators found out that the chopper inadvertently entered a thunderstorm and was compounded by spatial disorientation or vertigo by the pilot, as the cause of the accident,” the AFP said.

Six military personnel were killed during the incident.

The AFP said the results of the investigation will help the military come up with additional safety initiatives, strengthen protocols and procedures, as well as institute training interventions for the aircrew and personnel in order to prevent similar incidents. (SunStar Philippines)