The Chilean Air Force (FACh) closed investigations into the accident with one of its KC-130 Hercules in 2019. The aircraft crashed into the Drake Sea while en route to the Chilean Antarctic base on King George Island. All 38 people on board were killed.
In a note to the press published on Friday (22), the FACh informed that it was unable to discover the causes for the crash of the aircraft, deciding to close the investigations. The Air Force said that “having spent all human, material, scientific and technological efforts in this investigation, it was not possible to determine the cause of the accident, due to the small amount of elements rescued from the sea and that were part of the aircraft.”
The FACh also said that “it was not possible to determine whether the accident resulted from the operation of the flight or crew, due to the airworthiness of the aircraft, the transport of cargo or meteorological conditions”
On December 09, 2019, the KC-130 registration number 990, belonging to Grupo de Aviación Nº 10, took off from Punta Arenas bound for Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, the largest Chilean base in Antarctica. At 18:13, the FACh lost with the aircraft, immediately activating its search and rescue means. The wreckage of the Hércules was initially found on 11/12 by Chilean and Brazilian vessels. On the same day, remains were also collected at sea.
The aircraft was built in 1978 for the United States Marine Corps as a KC-130R tanker, registration 77-0324. Between 2009 and 2014, the aircraft was stored at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), the famous USAF aircraft boneyard in the Arizona desert, when it was acquired by the Chilean Air Force for US$7 million. The aircraft was restored and delivered to the institution in 2015.
Still in the statement, the FACh said that “istrative facts that do not concern the accident were detected, which were brought to the attention of the corresponding authority, having ordered the relevant investigations in the respective units”
