Puerto Rico Air National Guard plane crashes on its final flight, killing nine on board

In the United States, a Puerto Rico Air National Guard cargo plane crashed near Savannah, Georgia, and likely killing all nine people aboard, officials said. At least five were confirmed dead, a US official said on condition of anonymity. He said the number of fatalities could rise. The derbies of the crashed plane scattered over a highway and railroad tracks.

The Hercules C-130J aircraft went down shortly after takeoff from the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, officials said. Major Paul Dahlen, the spokesman



for the Puerto Rico National Guard, told Pentagon reporters that the plane, which was on a training mission, was headed to Arizona and was going to be essentially retired after Wednesday's flight. 

He said it was 50-plus years old plane, but it was still, with all of the modern updates of a regular C-130. Of the nine on the plane, five were crew members and four were passengers who were military maintenance and operations personnel, all from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard.