Crashed Chile plane had emergency in 2016: Air Force
The Chilean Hercules C-130 plane that crashed on its way to Antarctica, killing all 38 people on board, suffered an emergency three years ago on the same route, the Air Force said Saturday.
Following the plane’s disappearance Monday after taking off from the southern city of Punta Arenas, local media broadcast a video showing emergency equipment, firefighters and ambulances waiting on the runway of the city’s airport in April 2016.
In a statement, the Chilean Air Force said the plane shown in the footage is the same one that crashed during a crossing of the Drake Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific, en route to a Chilean airbase.
As it approached the Antarctica base in 2016 “the crew realised that the left main gear of the aircraft did not travel to the down position and secure when activating the landing gear”, the statement said.
