AFP: Lorenzana remark that human error may have caused C-130 crash only his impression

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s remark that human error may have caused the C-130 crash in Sulu was only the impression he received based on the information given to him, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Thursday.

On Sunday, the C-130 aircraft was about to land in Barangay Bangkal, Patikul in Sulu when it crashed at 11:30 a.m., leaving 53 people dead.

"With all due respect to the good secretary, I think that is the impression that he has with respect to the data or information that is available to him," AFP spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.

Lorenzana previously said a combination of human error and weather conditions may have caused the crash.

He also said that the pilot may have committed lapses.

Arevalo, meanwhile, has said that the craft followed all the protocols.

"But I know the secretary would concede that the final and conclusive determination as regards to what really happened is on the technical information that we will get," Arevalo said.

Lorenzana has ordered a "full investigation" into the crash.

Meanwhile, the black box or flight data recorder of the C-130 plane has been recovered and will be sent to the United States to aid in the investigation.

"In the voice recorder, we will hear the last minute or last seconds of conversation between the pilot and the crew or the pilot and the control tower," Arevalo said.

"In the flight data recorder, we will see the other details. I am not a pilot but the flight data recorder would tell us about the flight itself, we'll know from it the conclusivity, what really happened," he added.

Arevalo also urged waiting for the results of the investigation into the flight data recorder as he dismissed witnesses saying that the plane attempted to land at a high speed.

"Those are based on the perspective of those who saw it, they are not based on the instrument that's installed there [on the plane]...Information on the flight data recorder will tell us the correct approach speed," he said.

The fatalities are composed of 50 military personnel and three civilians. A total of 46 individuals were injured in the incident. — BM, GMA News