C-130 goes down in Afghanistan
The Associated Press reports that a C-130 crashed in eastern Afghanistan overnight. It looks like all 11 onboard, including 6 Air Force crew members, have died in the crash;
The six U.S. service members who died comprised the plane’s crew. The passengers were civilian contractors working with NATO’s Resolute Support mission and were the only passengers on board, he said.
The airmen were assigned to the 774th Expeditionary Air Lift Squadron, part of the 455th, Wickman said.
The New York Times says that there were 14 aboard. NBC News says 13.
The Taliban claim that they shot the aircraft down, but that’s not very likely and “a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity” denies that that there were any reports of hostile gunfire.
Category: Air Force, Terror War
Prayers up for the families of the departed.
God is going to be busy today hearing all the prayers.
Rest in Peace Patriots.
This sucks ass.
R.I.P. my brothers.
You’ve done your job and you’ve done it well.
Got-damn…this makes me angry.
As a cargo guy, I wonder if it was a load planning issue, mechanical issue, failure, such as something broke loose on take off or maybe part of the aircraft just failed.
Shit.
C130-J, Jbad, shortly after takeoff. Damn shame.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/10/01/c-130-crashes-afghanistan/73173916/
Holy CRAP there was mention of ground casualties, as in someone commented….
” Afghan deaths too sounds like it struck a vehicle on the runway during T/O.”
If that’s the case. GODDAMN IT EVEN MORE!!!!!!!! ???
“The cause of the crash is under investigation. A senior official at the Pentagon said Friday the aircraft hit a ground object as it was ascending, lost control and crashed into a guard tower at the end of the air field. Afghan civilians in the guard tower were killed in the ensuing fire, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.”
http://www.stripes.com/news/us/victims-of-c-130-crash-in-afghanistan-identified-1.371654
At first when I heard about 2 ground casualties, I thought “runway incursion”, but apparently not, in the classic sense. I wonder what they hit that made them unable to fly. Damn shame.
Tears and sadness today. So much death.
May they rest in peace.
Rest in peace.
Except for those bloodsucking contractors. Because you know they could have quit anytime. :/
While I take no offense, I just want to respectfully point out that about 80% of the contractors I happened to work with were veterans. Many of them had done their 20.
I agree. That was my point. I am (have been) one of those 80% but am frequently told I am not a “veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan because I was not on active duty” or I was not an infantryman and I could quit at any time or I knew what I was getting into blah blah.
Even now, we don’t know the names of the contractors on board since, you know, they don’t count.
Thanks DevilChief. Sometimes I just don’t get it on the first pass.
More proof that even routine military operations are hardly safe – in or out of a war zone.
May the dead rest in peace, and may God comfort their surviving family and friends.
to all who lost there Life Rest Well……
Damn.
Any aircrew here knows that we all have come close to biting it on “routine” ops. Things like this just slam that idea home.
RIP.
Stanza from the Navy Hymn,
Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces in the sky
Be with them always, in the air
In darkening storms and sunlight fair.
Oh hear us when we lift our prayer
For those in peril in the air.
I’ve heard hymn this far too many times. Rest in peace, brothers and sisters.
Sad, ‘Tis a dangerous business we find ourselves in my friends…
It’s a life we chose as did they full well knowing the consequences of our decisions.
Godspeed to all of them and the victims of the UCC massacre…
Except for one of them, I continue to hope that he rots in a lower level of hell…
Two AF Cops were aboard as Fly Away Security Team members. RiP my comrades, we got it from here…