Shemya - Casco Grove

On July 30, 1982 at 08:20 AM, Shemya - Casco Grove experienced a crash involving Lockheed C-130 Hercules, operated by United States Coast Guard - USCG, with the event recorded near Casco Grove Coast Guard Station - LORAN Station (Attu Island) Alaska.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

11 people were known to be on board, 2 fatalities were recorded, 9 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 18.2%.

Crew on board: 8, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 3, passenger fatalities: 1, other fatalities: 0.

The crew departed Shemya Airport at 0810LT on a short flight of 10 minutes to the Casco Grove Coast Guard Station (LORAN Station) based on Attu Island. At that time, weather conditions were considered as good with clouds down to 400 feet, broken at 2,000 feet, visibility eight miles and wind from 210 at 20 knots. Because of the short flight, the crew did not take the time to align the aircraft's inertial navigation system prior to departure. Upon arrival to Casco Grove Airport, weather deteriorated and the captain elected to maintain visual contact with the water surface while the copilot and the navigator were monitoring the approach on radar. On approach to the airport, the crew failed to realize their altitude was too low when the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located about 3 miles southwest of runway 02 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and caught fire after impact. A crew member and one passenger were killed while 9 other occupants were injured.

Aircraft reference details include registration 1600, MSN 4757, year of manufacture 1977.