C-130 crashes; 16 lost
As many as 16 members of the military were killed when a KC-130 from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina crashed in a Mississippi soy bean field. From ABC News;
Witnesses described hearing a loud “crackling” noise around the time of the plane crash.
Andy Jones, a local farmer, said he heard a loud boom and described watching the aircraft twirling through the air before falling down.
“[The plane] was spinning down,” Jones told The Associated Press late Monday.
Speaking at a press conference late Monday, Leflore County Emergency Management Director Fred Randle also offered no explanation for the crash and stressed that the situation was still under investigation.
The FBI was also on the scene Monday’s presser, and Randle said that the EMA would address the public about the crash again Tuesday.
The C-130 Hercules aircraft is fairly sturdy and not prone to malfunction, but what goes up….
Category: Marine Corps
Prayers for the crew and their families.
Reading the eyewitness accounts, it sounds like something went catastrophically wrong – with bodies scattered for more than a mile.
May God Bless all that were involved.
Rest in peace, shipmates.
Sad.
Rest well.
Depending on the age of the plane there may be age related structural fatigue issues. I remember a video of a California C-130 water tanker that folded the wings up due to fatigue failure. The Air Force has retired its E models and is replacing the center wing box on most H models it is keeping around due to these sort of structure problems.
Its too soon to say what the cause
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.
Prayers up for the families and those lost.
Too sad for words. Rest in peace.
Another reminder that training for war can sometimes be as dangerous and deadly as war itself.
Rest easy, Marines.
I think the refueling story is cover as local police are reporting finding scattered weapons. It was most likely a MARSOC training mission out of Camp Le Jeune that had refueled at NSA Millington.
Sad but as Jonn has said here so many times, training for war can be every bit as deadly as war itself. I’ve written pieces in the past for American Thinker, trying to explain that reality to civilians, most of whom simply don’t understand the truth of that.
RIP Marines…Semper Fi
15 Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman.
Equipment recovered at the crash site includes personal weapons and ammunition.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/11/marine-aircraft-disaster-15-marines-1-navy-corpsman-killed-in-mississippi-crash.html
FOX is now identifying it as a special operations team.
9 Marines from VMGR-452 Newburgh, NY and 6 Marines and a Corpsman from 2d Raider Battalion, Camp Lejeune. This is the second time that 7 members of 2d Raider Bn have been lost in an aircraft accident. The “Raider 7” were killed in a Blackhawk crash in March 2015 conducting training off the coast of Florida.
I was part of the MARSOC Raven exercise in May this year, which was a company from 2d Raider Bn. Semper Fidelis, till Valhalla
And small explosions were reported. Probably ammo cooking off.
Rest in peace. God comfort your families.
I pray death came quickly to all.
RIP all.
Prayers up! RIP
Semper Fidelis brothers and RIP.
Rest easy, friends. Your work is done.
Yes, POETROOPER, people don’t realize the hazards of training. I’ve known several Marines who have been killed over the years in training as well as just doing their job.
Examples are an engineer getting hit by a tree while a crew was clear some land, a Marine getting pinned between two 7 tons, a decent PFTer whose heart gave out on a run (literally), a Marine who got hit by a MK-19 round fired accidentally by the gunner in the truck behind him (fortunately too close to arm).
“was clearing”, that is.
Marine Corps Press Release:
http://www.marines.mil/News/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Display/Article/1242769/marine-corps-aircraft-crashes-killing-16/?
‘Marine Corps aircraft crashes, killing 16
July / 11 / 2017
LEFLORE COUNTY, Miss. —
The Marine aircraft that crashed Monday evening was a KC-130T from Marine Aerial Refueling and Transport Squadron (VMGR) 452, Marine Air Group-49, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Forces Reserve. The flight originated from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., as the squadron was supporting a requirement to transport personnel and equipment from there to Naval Air Field El Centro, Calif.
The crew and passengers consisted of 15 Marines and one Navy Corpsman. Equipment on board included various small arms ammunition and personal weapons. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal team is at the scene as a precaution in the interest of safety.
The identities of the personnel whose lives were lost in this tragic accident are still being withheld to allow time for their loved ones to be notified appropriately. While the details of the incident are being investigated, our focus remains on providing the necessary resources and support to the family and friends of these service members as they go through this extremely difficult time.’
Damn. Thoughts and prayers to the families and friends.
Sixteen Warriors taken to Valhalla before their time, Rest In Peace.
Heartbreak here. I spent 3 yrs AD with MARSOC and 10 yrs with MARFORRES (Program 9). You won’t meet more professional or patriotic Americans anywhere.
Prayer and confidence in our mission is what we have to rely on. God Bless their families. Lost Shipmates, look down and see our pain of losing you.
Semper Fi, Shipmates
CAPT Bones USN (ret)
Sad, sad situation. The open source accounts that I’ve read seem to indicate significant aircraft structural failure at altitude. Without thunderstorms in the area, I think the most likely scenario involves a possible severe turbulence encounter leading to wing box failure. This is purely speculation on my part, unfortunately.
Prayers to the servicemembers and their families.
As many have said, training for war can be just as dangerous. I’m so heartsick thinking of the grief and anger the families will face. The anger is understandable, because while no parent should ever bury a child, when they are in a war zone, we are “prepared”. At least as much as can be by guarding our hearts.
When they are CONUS, we foolishly let our guard down, forgetting that the training can be just as dangerous. Then comes the anger, which complicates the grief. We feel we’ve let our hearts betray us, that we betrayed ourselves by leaving our hearts unguarded.
My deepest condolences.