9 Crew Members Feared Dead In Military Plane Crash In Georgia
SAVANNAH, Ga. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Nine Puerto Rican crew members were flying an Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane into retirement in Arizona on Wednesday when it crashed onto a highway in Georgia.
Authorities said there appeared to be no survivors.
The plane crashed onto state highway 21 moments after taking off from the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, narrowly missing people on the ground and sending an orange and black fireball into the sky.
"It miraculously did not hit any cars, any homes," Effingham County Sheriff's spokeswoman Gena Bilbo said. "This is a very busy roadway."
The huge plane's fuselage appeared to have struck the median, and pieces of its wings, which spanned 132 feet (40 meters), were scattered across lanes in both directions. The only part still intact was the tail section, said Chris Hanks, a spokesman for the Savannah Professional Firefighters Association.
The plane was more than 60 years old, said Isabelo Rivera, Adjutant General of Puerto Rico's National Guard. Belonging to the 156th Air Wing, it was used to rescue U.S. citizens stranded in the British Virgin Islands following Hurricane Irma and ferry supplies to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria last year.
"The planes that we have in Puerto Rico -- it's not news today that they are the oldest planes on inventory," Rivera said. Puerto Rico's National Guard has five other similar planes, two of which are not in use because they require maintenance, he said.
All nine crew members had helped with hurricane recovery efforts, Rivera said.
An official in Georgia, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said it appears no one on board survived. The official spoke on condition of not being identified, saying he wasn't authorized to release the death toll.
"This pains us," Rivera said of the deaths. They aren't releasing names until all the families have been contacted, but "most of them already know and have come to the base" on the island, Rivera said.
The U.S. territory's Gov. Ricardo Rossello expressed his sadness, tweeting that "our prayers are with the families of the Puerto Rican crew."
President Donald Trump tweeted that he had been briefed on the crash, and sent "thoughts and prayers for the victims, their families and the great men and women of the National Guard."
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
