THE CRASH OF A Belgian air force Lockheed Martin C-130H, returning to the Netherlands from Italy with members of a Dutch army band, has resulted in three Dutch officers being removed from duty. The crash, on 15 July, resulted in the death of 34 people, including the crew.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force commanding officer at the Eindhoven air base, the officer responsible for air-traffic control (ATC) on the day of the crash and the officer commanding the air base fire department, have been relieved of their duties.
The crash report says that the ATC officer failed to tell the rescuers about the passengers on board. Firemen concentrated on extinguishing the fire, assuming all four crew members had lost their lives. Only 30min later did the rescuers discover that there were 37 passengers aboard the aircraft.
Source: Flight International
