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21 killed at US plane crash
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A MILITARY aircraft belonging to the US National Guard crashed in the US state of Georgia Saturday, killing all 21 people on board, Air Force officials said.
The C-23 Sherpa twin-engine propeller plane, which carried 18 passengers and three crew, went down near the town of Unadilla, about 70 kilometers south of Robins Air Force Base, at 10:00 am (15.00 GMT), according to base spokesman Major Jerry Herbel.
"There were no survivors," he added. "The cause of the accident is unknown."
The plane, assigned to the 171st National Guard Aviation Battalion based in Lakeland, Florida, was en route from Hurlburt Field, Florida, to the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia, according to the spokesman.
The passengers on the plane belonged to a unit of the Virginia National Guard from Virginia Beach.
"The purpose of the flight at the moment remains unknown," said Herbel.
A response team from Robins Air Force Base was on the scene shortly after the accident and had begun an investigation. Civilian authorities will also be involved, according to Herbel.
The C-23 is designed to carry 25-30 people but can also be reconfigured to ferry cargo, according to military officials. They are routinely used by the National Guard but not the Air Force, said Herbel, adding he could not explain why the Air Force did not use the plane. (SD-Agencies)
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