The Pentagon on Thursday identified the nine pilots and crew killed a day earlier when their Air National Guard plane crashed near an airport in Savannah, Ga.
“Taking care of our fallen Airmen’s families and loved ones is our top priority,” according to Adjutant General of Puerto Rico, Brig. Gen. Isabelo Rivera.
“We are fully supporting them and providing all the assistance and resources of the Puerto Rico National Guard during this difficult moment.”
{mosads}The airmen and crew were riding in a C-130 from the Air National Guard’s 156th Airlift Wing out of Puerto Rico and had taken off from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, from which the Air National Guard also operates.
The plane went down while performing a training mission and that the crash is under investigation.
The 165th Airlift Wing has been active in relief efforts following Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year. It was designated by the Air National Guard in September as the center point for operations to assist Puerto Rico, which was devastated by the storms.
According to a statement from the Puerto Rico National Guard, the nine killed in the Wednesday crash were: Maj. José Román Rosado, the plane’s pilot, from Manati, Puerto Rico; Maj. Carlos Pérez Serra, the aircraft’s navigator, from Canóvanas, Puerto Rico; 1st Lt. David Albandoz, the co-pilot, from Puerto Rico, but recently residing in Madison, Ala.; Senior Master Sgt. Jan Paravisini, a mechanic, from Canóvanas, Puerto Rico; Master Sgt. Jean Audriffred, of Carolina, Puerto Rico; Master Sgt. Mario Braña of Bayamón, Puerto Rico; Master Sgt. Víctor Colón of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico; Master Sgt. Eric Circuns of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico; and Senior Airman Roberto Espada of Salinas, Puerto Rico.