2002 — Aug 7, Plane Crash, USAF Combat Talon II, Caguas, Puerto Rico — 10

— 10  AP (John Esterbrook). “10 Dead in U.S. Military Crash.” CBS News, 8-8-2002.

— 10  Planecrashinfo.com. “2002. Accident Details. USAF. Caguas, PR, Aug 7, 2002.”

 

Narrative Information

 

Planecrashinfo.com: “The military plane crashed into a mountain top, approximately 10 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in rough terrain, while performing low-level training exercises. Witnesses reported the aircraft was flying low and hit some trees before crashing into a ravine, bursting into flames and disintegrating. There was rain and fog at the time of the accident.”  (Planecrashinfo.com.)

Media

 

Aug 8, AP: “Rescuers struggled up a muddy mountainside Thursday to recover the bodies of 10 military personnel killed when a U.S. Air Force special operations plane slammed into a mountain and tore apart. The victims were based in Florida and Puerto Rico, the military said….

 

“The bulky MC-130H struck a heavily wooded area on the outskirts of the town of Caguas 20 miles south of San Juan, while flying in rain and fog during a training mission Wednesday night. It was the second accident in as many months involving a Combat Talon II, a special operations variant of the C-130 Hercules cargo plane. The other crashed in June while taking off from an airstrip in Afghanistan, killing three U.S. military personnel.

 

“People who saw Wednesday’s crash told reporters the low-flying plane plowed through trees, smashed into Mount Perucho, broke in two and erupted in flames…

 

“….seven crew members aboard the aircraft were based at Hurlburt Field, near Fort Walton Beach in Florida, and the three others were from Puerto Rico…

 

“The plane belonged to the Air Force Special Operations Command and was on a training mission from Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in northern Puerto Rico to the Borinquen Air Station on the west coast of the island….” (Associated Press (John Esterbrook). “10 Dead in U.S. Military Crash.” CBS News, 8-8-2002.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press (John Esterbrook). “10 Dead in U.S. Military Crash.” CBS News, 8-8-2002. Accessed 10-29-2015 at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/10-dead-in-us-military-crash/

 

Planecrashinfo.com. “2002. Accident Details. USAF. Caguas, PR, Aug 7, 2002.” Accessed at:  http://www.planecrashinfo.com/2002/2002-47.htm