Colombian Air Force C-130 Crashes After Takeoff, Killing Troops Near Puerto Leguízamo

A Colombian Air Force C-130 Hercules loaded with soldiers and ammunition struck the ground less than two kilometers from Caucaya Airport Monday and erupted in flames, killing at least 66 people in what officials described as one of the deadliest accidents in recent memory for Colombia's military aviation.

The plane had 128 people on board, mostly soldiers, when it crashed shortly after taking off from Puerto Leguízamo in the southwestern Putumayo department. That manifest included 115 soldiers from the Army, 11 crew members, and 2 from the National Police. Those killed included six from Colombia's air force, 58 from the National Army, and two from the National Police, according to the air force. General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto said four military personnel were still missing, while one soldier was unharmed and 57 military personnel were rescued and evacuated from the crash site.

Defence Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez Suárez confirmed the incident in a post on X: "A Hercules aircraft from our FAC suffered a tragic accident while taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, as it was transporting troops. The exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined." Sánchez said the plane hit the ground just 1.5 kilometers from where it took off, leading to the detonation of ammunition and setting the aircraft ablaze. He said the plane was in "airworthy condition" and the crew was "duly qualified," and offered his "most sincere condolences to the families of those affected," calling on the public to avoid speculation until official information was released.

There was no indication of an "attack by illegal actors," Sánchez said. General Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda, commander of the Colombian Aerospace Force, posted on X that "as soon as it took off, it experienced a problem and crashed a couple of kilometers from the airport." Video geolocated by CNN shows the military plane taking off from Caucaya Airport and flying over a rural area moments before it went down, with the footage indicating the crash happened less than two miles from the airport.

The Lockheed Martin-built C-130 Hercules went down shortly after departing from Puerto Leguízamo, near the southern border with Ecuador and Peru, strewing burning wreckage on the jungle floor. Caucaya Airport sits deep in the Amazon, roughly two miles northeast of the town, with a single 1,200-meter tarmac runway. Videos shared by media outlets showed soldiers being rushed from the crash site on motorcycles driven by local residents, while another group of residents tried to put out the fire in a field surrounded by dense foliage. Nicolas Ordoñez, an indigenous ranger involved in the search and rescue operations, told CNN that several survivors had been taken to a local hospital, while some of the injured soldiers were flown to the capital Bogotá for treatment.

The aircraft, registration FAC1016, was manufactured in 1984 and carried the serial number 382-5014. The C-130H had been donated by the United States to Colombia in 2020, and three years later underwent a detailed overhaul in which its engines were inspected and key components were replaced. Colombian aviation expert and military analyst Erich Saumeth said he did not believe the plane crashed because of a lack of good parts, but noted investigations would need to determine why the engines failed so quickly after takeoff.

President Gustavo Petro wrote on X that the crash "should not have happened" and lamented the lack of modernization of the armed forces, which he attributed to "bureaucratic difficulties." Colombia's Commander General of the Armed Forces, Hugo López, said authorities would respond with "the utmost responsibility, humanity and transparency."

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, with officials expected to analyze flight data, maintenance records, and crew operations in the coming days. The wreckage of registration FAC1016 is one of the most significant losses for Colombia's Aerospace Force in years, its full toll still being counted amid the smoke of the Putumayo jungle.