A Lockheed Martin C-130H military transport from the Colombian aerospace force (FAC) has crashed while taking off from a small town in Colombia’s southern Putumayo province.
The 23 March incident has been confirmed by both the FAC and the country’s defence minister Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez Suarez.
“A Hercules aircraft from our FAC suffered a tragic accident while taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, as it was transporting troops,” Sanchez Suarez says. “The exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined.”
The accident appears to have taken place at Caucaya airport roughly 2 miles (3km) northeast of Puerto Leguizamo, deep in the Amazon jungle near the tri-border between Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.
Satellite imagery and airport databases indicate the facility has a single 1,200m (3,937ft) tarmac runway.
Unverified photos and video circulating on social media show what appears to be a catastrophic crash, with much of the C-130 airframe destroyed and the wreckage engulfed in flame.
FlightGlobal has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the images, which were purportedly captured by witnesses nearby.
Local Colombian media report that 110 personnel were onboard the aircraft, although this has not been officially confirmed.
If accurate, that number would exceed the maximum troop capacity for the C-130H, which the US Air Force lists as 92 personnel carrying combat loads. The service lists a maximum take-off weight of 70,300kg (155,000lb), including a maximum allowable payload of just over 19,000kg.
That is notably less than the capacity of the newer C-130J, which uses more powerful Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines.
The J-model Hercules transports also feature eight-bladed Collins Aerospace NP2000 propeller assemblies that offer improved flight performance compared to the four-bladed Hamilton Standard 54H60 propellers used on the older C-130Hs in Colombian service.
The FAC inventory included six C-130H aircraft prior to the accident, according to fleets data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
The youngest of those transports is 41-years old, while the oldest is nearly 53.
