All nine victims were on board the aircraft when it went down.
Nine people were killed after a military plane crashed in Savannah, Georgia, Wednesday afternoon. All the victims were on board the aircraft, used for weather reconnaissance, when it went down near Savannah International Airport.
The identities of the victims, as follows, were released Thursday afternoon by CBS News. All those who died were from Puerto Rico, officials said.
1. Maj. Jose R. Roman Rosado, pilot 2. Maj. Carlos Perez Serra, navigator 3. First Lt. David Albandoz, co-pilot 4. Senior Master Sgt. Jan Paravisini, mechanic 5. Master Sgt. Jean Audriffred 6. Master Sgt. Mario Brana, flight engineer 7. Master Sgt. Victor Colon 8. Master Sgt. Eric Circuns, loadmaster 9. Senior Airman Roberto Espada
“Taking care of our fallen airmen’s families and loved ones is our top priority,” said Puerto Rico National Guard Brig. Gen. Isabelo Rivera, according to CNN.
The plane was traveling from Puerto Rico from the 156th Airlift Wing when it crashed, though the cause of the crash remained unclear. Georgia Air National Guard Captain Jeffrey Bezore said the plane was being used for a training mission when it went down, according to CBS News. The aircraft was headed toward David Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, WTOC-TV reported.
Images from the scene showed the wrecked aircraft on fire beneath an immense plume of black smoke.
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“It was horrible,” Denver Goodwin, who works down the street from where the plane crash, told CNN . “The ground shook like a bomb was going off. All the people in the building started panicking. It was absolutely horrible.”
Prior to the doomed flight, the plane had been in Savannah for about a month undergoing maintenance, the New York Times reported. The plane was at least 50 years old, an official told CNN.
The military plane crash site is seen in Savannah, Georgia, May 2,2018 in this picture obtained from social media. TWITTER/@IAFF574/via REUTERS
