Puerto Rican Guard plane in Georgia crash was hangar prop in Trump visit to island

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Puerto Rican Guard plane in Georgia crash was hangar prop in Trump visit to P.R. The C-130 Hercules that crashed in Georgia was the same plane that President Trump sat in front of in October during his first public briefing while visiting Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

The Puerto Rican National Guard C-130 Hercules that crashed Wednesday in Georgia was the same plane that President Trump sat in front of in an aircraft hangar in October during his first public briefing on the island in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Trump, along with first lady Melania Trump, were seated at a table with Puerto Rican officials. The huge transport plane, with its 0968 serial number on the nose, was displayed behind the group. At one point he walked along the aircraft to the front of the plane to greet people jammed into the hangar.

The plane, which had been in service for more than six decades, crashed shortly after takeoff Wednesday at Savannah/Hilton Head International airport en route to retirement in Arizona.

All nine crew members had helped with hurricane recovery efforts as part of the 198th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed the Bucaneros, which flies out of Base Muniz in the northern coastal city of Carolina, according to the Guard's Adjutant General Isabelo Rivera. The plane, which is also displayed on the C-130.net website, belonged to the Guard's 156th Air Wing.

Last year, the squadron used the plane to rescue Americans from the British Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma, and later supplied food and water to Puerto Ricans after the devastation from Hurricane Maria.

PLANE CRASH UPDATE: A C-130 "Hercules" cargo plane from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard was performing a training mission near the Savannah airport when it crashed Wednesday morning, killing at least two people on board.

More here: https://t.co/RJb3jDLcm1

(@ChathamEMA photos) pic.twitter.com/MVuHgh2wUC — WTGS (@WTGSFOX28) May 2, 2018

When it crashed, the plane was en route to Arizona into retirement, reducing the Puerto Rican Guard fleet to five similar planes, two of which need maintenance and aren’t being used, Rivera told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

“The planes that we have in Puerto Rico — it’s not news today that they are the oldest planes on inventory” among all National Guard planes nationwide, and they often face delays in getting spare parts shipped to the island, he said.