MANILA, Philippines — The remains of two pilots and a crewman killed in the C-130 plane crash in Sulu arrived Friday (July 9) evening at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
The bodies of Maj. Emmanuel Makalintal, Maj. Michael Vincent Benolerao and Sgt. Jack Navarro were flown from Mactan Air Base in Cebu, the headquarters of the 220th Airlift Wing, where they were first brought.
Each casket, draped in Philippine flag, was unloaded one by one from a Philippine Air Force aircraft. They were given arrival honors.
It was an emotional moment for their families who received their remains.
Fifty-two people were killed—49 inside the plane and three civilians on the ground—in the worst military air disaster in Philippine history.
Most of the passengers were Army recruits who were deploying to Sulu to fight the local terror group Abu Sayyaf, the new soldiers’ first mission.