Crew of doomed Chile military plane said they were suffering 'an electrical failure' shortly before the aircraft crashed en route to Antarctica

  • C-130 plane carrying 38 people to Antarctic base went missing on Monday
  • Crew member reported 'an electrical failure' before the air force plane crashed
  • Debris, including landing brake and fuel tank have been recovered from water
  • DNA tests on relatives are being carried out to identify remains pulled from sea  

A crew member on the doomed Chilean Hercules plane radioed in about 'an electrical failure' before the turboprop crashed into the sea with 38 aboard.  

The message sent from the C-130 said that they would continue onto Antarctica before the plane plunged into the Drake Passage off South America late on Monday. 

The Commander-in-Chief of the force, Arturo Merino, who is in Punta Arenas, in the Chilean Antarctic, said: 'What I can say to you is that the pilot cannot take off if all the problems the plane had regarding maintenance, or whatever appear, are not solved.

'The two pilots on board of the plane were very professional pilots and they had all the authorisation to leave the plane on the ground if there might be any failure.'  

The Chilean Air Force recovered the landing gear of the C-130 Hercules transport plane, which disappeared late Monday with 38 people on board

The Chilean Air Force recovered the landing gear of the C-130 Hercules transport plane, which disappeared late Monday with 38 people on board

The fuel loading system of the C-130 plane which was found in the Drake Passage by the Chilean Air Force this week

The fuel loading system of the C-130 plane which was found in the Drake Passage by the Chilean Air Force this week

Stock image taken in January 2019 at Chile's Antarctic base President Eduardo Frei, in Antarctica, shows a Chilean Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane

Stock image taken in January 2019 at Chile's Antarctic base President Eduardo Frei, in Antarctica, shows a Chilean Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane

The missing aircraft was en route from Chile to a remote Antarctic research base when it vanished from radar around 6.15pm Monday with 38 people on board

The missing aircraft was en route from Chile to a remote Antarctic research base when it vanished from radar around 6.15pm Monday with 38 people on board

Parts of the aircraft's landing gear, fuel system, wing and a wheel were among the recovered debris, along with two bags, a backpack and a shoe.

The Commander-in-Chief of the force, Arturo Merino, said: 'The two pilots on board of the plane were very professional pilots and they had all the authorisation to leave the plane on the ground if there might be any failure'

The Commander-in-Chief of the force, Arturo Merino, said: 'The two pilots on board of the plane were very professional pilots and they had all the authorisation to leave the plane on the ground if there might be any failure'

Human remains were also found and Jose Fernandez, the Intendant of the Chilean region of Magallanes told local media: 'In the afternoon, the Air Force informed us of some news that shocked us; the finding of bodies in the Drake Passage and also part of the fuselage belonging to the missing plane.'

Around 15 planes and five boats from Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and the United States are participating in the search and rescue operation.  

Twenty-one passengers and 17 crew were on board the plane headed to the Eduardo Frei base across the Drake Passage in the Antarctic.

Most were air force personnel, but also aboard were three people from the army, two from a private construction company and an official from a Chilean university. 

Many of them were travelling to carry out logistical support tasks at the base, Chile's largest in the Antarctic. 

President Sebastian Pinera expressed his condolences on Twitter and said his government would do 'everything possible to find answers to this tragedy.' 

Relatives of victims of the Chilean Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane, that went missing with 38 people aboard, arrive to the Legal Medical Service (SML) in Punta Arenas, Chile on Thursday

Relatives of victims of the Chilean Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane, that went missing with 38 people aboard, arrive to the Legal Medical Service (SML) in Punta Arenas, Chile on Thursday

Chile's Air Force said debris was found earlier this week by a private plane assisting in searches

Chile's Air Force said debris was found earlier this week by a private plane assisting in searches

A piece of 'sponge' material believed to be cladding from the fuel tank of a missing Chilean C-130 military transport plane has been found floating in the ocean

A piece of 'sponge' material believed to be cladding from the fuel tank of a missing Chilean C-130 military transport plane has been found floating in the ocean

Officials said the debris was located in a 12-square-mile area in the Drake Passage, where some 23 aircraft and 14 ships have been concentrating the search effort.

Pieces of fabric ripped from the interior wall of the C-130 after they were recovered from the sea yesterday

Pieces of fabric ripped from the interior wall of the C-130 after they were recovered from the sea yesterday

Authorities say they are keeping an open mind as to the cause of the accident.

'When 38 of your compatriots die, the least that can be done is to find the truth,' said Espina.

The plane made no emergency signal prior to its disappearance, indicating the circumstances of the accident were likely abrupt.

'The lack of distress signals or emergency location transmissions of life rafts aboard the aircraft indicates that an event occurred during the flight that was potentially catastrophic in nature,' air industry specialist Stephen Wright from Finland's Tampere University told AFP.

The maintenance history of the aircraft will also be under intense scrutiny, since it was manufactured in 1978, he said.

Authorities in Punta Arenas started taking DNA samples from family members to help identify victims' remains as they are brought ashore.

Authorities said wreckage was located around 16 nautical miles from the plane's last known position when it disappeared from radar screens in the early evening Monday. 

Relatives of people aboard the missing aircraft hug on Wednesday at Chabunco army base in Punta Arenas, Chile, where it took off from on Monday

Relatives of people aboard the missing aircraft hug on Wednesday at Chabunco army base in Punta Arenas, Chile, where it took off from on Monday

The plane was carrying 17 crew members and 21 passengers, three of them civilians, when it went missing, and relatives have been gathering at the base where it took off

The plane was carrying 17 crew members and 21 passengers, three of them civilians, when it went missing, and relatives have been gathering at the base where it took off

A Brazilian navy vessel has also recovered wreckage, some 280 nautical miles from the far southern Argentinian port of Ushuaia, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Twitter.

Search vessels and planes from the United States, Uruguay and Argentina were combing nearly 385 square miles around the plane's last known position in the Drake Passage, a tempestuous body of water south of Cape Horn.

The Vatican said Pope Francis was following the situation closely and keeping the families of the missing in his prayers.

The Presidente Eduardo Frei military base in the Antarctic, where the plane was destined for

The Presidente Eduardo Frei military base in the Antarctic, where the plane was destined for

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.