The C-130 Hercules military plane that crashed onto a Georgia highway Wednesday, killing all nine people aboard, was on its final flight — headed into retirement after more than 60 years of service.
The massive transport plane went into freefall shortly after taking off from Savannah / Hilton Head International Airport around 11:30 a.m., plummeting onto State Highway 21, and exploding into a massive ball of flames and smoke.
The four-engine plane attached to the 156th Airlift Wing in Puerto Rico was en route to a base in Arizona, where it was set to be retired after over 60 years of use, according to Isabelo Rivera, Adjutant General of the Puerto Rican National Guard.
All nine people on board — five Puerto Rican crewmembers and four maintainers, according to The Military Times— were killed.
Their identities were not immediately released.
Miraculously, no injuries were reported on the ground when the fuselage of the plane came crashing down onto the busy roadway.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
With Post Wires