The c-130 of the Philippine Air Force flew relief goods and personnel to parts of Samar after Ruby (international name: Hagupit) struck the province./ AIR FORCE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–A C-130 plane of the Philippine Air Force that landed in Borongan, Eastern Samar to responding to the survivors of Typhoon Ruby (international name: Hagupit, now a tropical depression) encountered a flat tire on Monday.
“Maikli kasi ‘yung runway dun, so sa ikli ng runway kailangan light lang ang dala ng C-130 at kailangang mag-brake s’ya kaagad. So siguro dahil sa combination ng mga factors na ‘yun, na-flatan s’ya,” military spokesperson Colonel Restituto Padilla told reporters Tuesday.
(The runway there is quite short, and because of the runway’s length, the C-130 should only be carrying light load and it needs to step on the brakes immediately. Maybe the combination of those factors is the reason why it got a flat tire.)
The military immediately deployed its assets to ferry relief goods and disaster response teams in areas hit by Ruby as soon as weather permitted.
“It was uneventful. ‘Yun lang nasira lang, na-flat lang ‘yung gulong kasi rough surface yung runway (It just so happened that it got a flat tire because the runway had a flat surface),” he said.
The heavy load of the plane was possibly was one of the factors, he said. The plane carried relief goods, initial assessment teams, and communication equipment for the.
The c-130’s flat tire was eventually fixed: “I think naayos na kasi may mga flights na kami ngayon. May nag-rescue at pinalitan ang gulong,” Padilla said.
No one was hurt from the incident.
Only two of three C-130 planes of the Air Force are currently operational. Both are being used for relief efforts while the other one is in Clark for repairs.
As of Tuesday noon, the Air Force said in a statement that they have delivered about 43 tons of relief goods using two C-130s and two Hueys to Borongan, Dolores and Catarman in Samar. A total of four C-130 sorties and four Hueys have been flown so far.
Cebu has been used as the pickup point for the relief goods.
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