A Colombian military transport plane carrying 126 people crashed during takeoff on Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, killing at least 69 and leaving dozens injured in one of the country’s deadliest aviation disasters in recent memory.
The Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 went down on March 23, shortly after departing from the small Amazonian town near the Peruvian border, according to Colombia’s air force.
Fifty-seven military personnel were rescued and evacuated from the crash site. One soldier walked away unharmed.
The aircraft hit the ground just 1.5 kilometers from where it took off, according to Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez, leading to the detonation of ammunition on board and setting the aircraft ablaze. A fire brigade spokesperson told Colombian media that the plane appeared to have suffered an impact near the end of the runway during takeoff, with a wing clipping a tree as it plummeted.
Black smoke billowed from the crash site as residents from the remote area rushed to help. Videos circulating online showed men racing down dirt roads on motorcycles with wounded soldiers clinging to their backs, desperately trying to reach the town’s only two clinics before military vehicles could arrive. Air Force commander Carlos Fernando Silva later dispatched two planes with 74 beds to fly the injured back to hospitals in Bogotá and elsewhere.
The difficult terrain significantly hampered rescue efforts, Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros told reporters. “I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the victims,” Claros told Colombian television station RCN. Bodies of the victims were transported to Puerto Leguizamo’s small morgue, while injured survivors were eventually flown to larger cities for treatment.
Sánchez characterized the incident as a “tragic accident” and said authorities found no signs indicating the plane was attacked by rebel groups operating in the area. The plane was in airworthy condition, and the crew was “duly qualified,” he added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro quickly seized on the disaster to criticize bureaucratic obstacles he says have stalled his efforts to modernize the nation’s aging military equipment. “If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,” Petro declared. Critics of the president pointed out that military aircraft have been given fewer flight hours under his administration due to budget cuts, which leads to less experienced crews.
The incident comes as Petro enters the twilight of his administration. He is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term, with Colombia’s presidential election scheduled for May 31. Several candidates offered condolences and called for a thorough investigation into the crash.
The aircraft involved was a C-130H Hercules, an older model that first entered service in March 1965, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Flight data indicates the plane had been donated to the Colombian Air Force by the U.S. Air Force in September 2020. Aviation expert Erich Saumeth told reporters the aircraft underwent an overhaul in 2023, in which its engines were inspected and key components were replaced.
The Hercules C-130 transport planes have been workhorses of Colombia’s military since the country acquired its first models in the late 1960s. The aircraft first flew in August 1954 and remains frequently used to transport troops during operations connected to Colombia’s six-decade internal conflict, which has claimed more than 450,000 lives. Colombia has recently modernized some older C-130s with newer models transferred from the United States under provisions allowing the transfer of used or surplus military equipment. The tail number of Monday’s crashed aircraft matches the first of three planes delivered by the U.S. to Colombia in recent years.
A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said the company was committed to helping Colombia investigate the incident.
The crash marks the second major Hercules C-130 disaster in South America in recent weeks. On February 27, a Bolivian Air Force C-130 slid off the runway while landing in El Alto during bad weather, crashing onto a busy highway and killing more than 20 people. That aircraft was carrying newly printed banknotes, which scattered across the road and drew chaotic crowds that police dispersed with tear gas.
Puerto Leguizamo, located in Putumayo province, sits in a strategic but remote corner of Colombia where the Amazonian region borders both Ecuador and Peru. The plane had been transporting troops to Puerto Asis, another city in Putumayo near Colombia’s border with Ecuador. The area’s isolation made Monday’s rescue operations particularly challenging, with local residents becoming impromptu first responders before organized emergency services could reach the scene.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, with authorities emphasizing they have found no indication of foul play or attack by illegal armed groups operating in the region. Military officials and aviation experts will spend weeks examining the wreckage, flight data, and witness accounts to determine what caused the deadly takeoff failure.
