A Colombian Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules transport aircraft crashed on takeoff in the country’s southern Amazon region on March 23, killing at least eight people and injuring 83 others. President Gustavo Petro blamed government bureaucracy for stalling fleet modernization and threatened to remove officials blocking it.
The aircraft, registered FAC1016, went down at approximately 09:50 local time shortly after departing Caucaya Airport in Puerto Leguízamo, a remote municipality in the Putumayo department near the Peru-Ecuador border.
Atención: Un avión Hércules de la @FuerzaAereaCol se accidentó saliendo de La Tagua, Putumayo. 110 soldados iban a bordo. Ya han sido rescatados 20 militares heridos. Situación en desarrollo. Vía @BluRadioCo pic.twitter.com/Jgb4tw74aP
— Ricardo Ospina (@ricarospina) March 23, 2026
It was carrying 114 army and police personnel and 11 Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC) crew members, FAC Commander Gen. Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda confirmed.
Declaraciones del señor General Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda, Comandante de la @FuerzaAereaCol, sobre el accidente de la aeronave C-130 Hércules de hoy 23 de marzo del 2026 en Puerto Leguízamo Putumayo. pic.twitter.com/P48VyDS0oV
— Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana (@FuerzaAereaCol) March 23, 2026
Putumayo Governor Jhon Gabriel Molina confirmed eight deaths and said at least 15 of those hospitalized were in serious condition. Puerto Leguízamo Mayor Emilio Augusto told Radio Caracol that “medical capacity has been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the emergency.” The FAC deployed seven aircraft to airlift critically injured personnel to Bogotá.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed rescuers had reached the site and said the crash was not caused by an attack from any armed group. “It is a deeply painful event for the country,” he wrote on X, adding that “the aircraft was in airworthy condition and the crew was duly qualified.” The cause remains under investigation.
Acabamos de realizar una reunión con la cúpula militar y policial sobre el trágico accidente del avión C-130 Hércules de nuestra @FuerzaAereaCol:
1. El avión cubría la ruta Puerto Leguízamo – Puerto Asís, en el departamento del Putumayo.
2. La aeronave se encontraba en… https://t.co/Sl1nGrOEWC— Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez S. Orgullosamente Colombiano (@PedroSanchezCol) March 23, 2026
The 1983-model C-130H aircraft, registered as FAC1016, had been in service for approximately 42 years before its crash. Transferred from the U.S. Air Force to Colombia in September 2020 through the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program, it was the fifth Hercules transport donated by the U.S. to modernize the FAC fleet.
Petro wrote on X that the crash “should never have happened” and attributed it to delays in fleet renewal. “I will not grant more time; it is the lives of the young people that are at stake.,” he wrote. “If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to this challenge, they must be removed,” he added. He did not identify a specific mechanical cause.
La renovación del armamento de las fuerzas militares es una decisión de mi presidencia desde hace años.
Las dificultades burocráticas en la administración militar no han permitido realizar el Conpes/confis desde hace un año que lo pedí.
Si los funcionarios administrativos… https://t.co/w4lXrnvqz8
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) March 23, 2026
The crash is Colombia’s second fatal military aviation accident in 2026. On January 28, a SATENA (Servicio Aéreo a Territorios Nacionales) Beechcraft 1900D went down near Cúcuta, killing all 15 people aboard, including congressman Diógenes Quintero.
