Lockheed C-130 Hercules

Historical safety data and incident record for the Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Safety Rating

8.9/10

Total Incidents

313

Total Fatalities

3524

Incident History

July 4, 2021 52 Fatalities

Philippine Air Force - Hukbong Himpapawid NG Pilipinas

Jolo Island Sulu

The four engine aircraft departed Cagayan de Oro Airport to transfer troops to Jolo. On board were 88 passengers and a crew of 8, including three pilots. After landing on runway 09 at Jolo Airport, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, collided with several house and came to rest in a wooded area, bursting into flames. At least 49 occupants were killed as well as three people on the ground. All others were injured.

United States Air Force - USAF

Al Taji AAF Salah ad-Din (<U+0635><U+0644><U+0627><U+062D> <U+0627><U+0644><U+062F><U+064A><U+0646>)

On 8 June 2020, at approximately 2205 hours local time (L), the mishap aircraft (MA), a C-130H (tail number (T/N) 94-6706), was involved in a mishap during a routine mobility airlift mission from Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, into Al Taji (Camp Taji), Iraq, when it failed to come to a stop during landing, overran the runway, and impacted a concrete barrier. All 26 mishap crew (MC) members and passengers survived the mishap, with relatively minor injuries to two of the individuals. The MA was damaged beyond repair, and was valued at $35,900,000. The MA was from the 165th Airlift Wing (165 AW), Georgia Air National Guard (ANG), was manned with Wyoming ANG crew members deployed from the 153d Airlift Wing (153 AW), in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and assigned to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing (386 AEW) at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait. The mishap occurred at the end of the first planned leg of the MC’s mission on 8 June 2020. The MC departed Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, at approximately 2053L, with an uneventful start, taxi, takeoff, and cruise to Camp Taji. During descent into Camp Taji, the MC prepared the MA for a nighttime landing, using night vision devices. During this time, the MC turned the MA earlier than their planned turn point, did not descend to lower altitudes in accordance with their planned descent, and allowed the airspeed to exceed recommended maximum speeds for the configuration the plane was in. During the landing, the MA continued to be above the planned glideslope and maintained excessive airspeed, with a nose-down attitude until touchdown. The MA proceeded to “porpoise” or oscillate down the runway from the point of touchdown until the MA was slowed sufficiently by use of reverse thrust from the engines to allow the MA to settle onto the wheels, which in turn allowed for the brakes to engage. The MA, despite slowing somewhat, had less than 1,000 feet of runway remaining by that point, and thus overran the runway and did not come to a complete stop until it impacted a 12-foot-high concrete barrier, approximately 600 feet past the runway.

January 23, 2020 3 Fatalities

Coulson

Peak View New South Wales

The airplane departed Richmond Airbase and was conducting fire control operations when contact was lost. Witnesses on the ground reported hearing a loud bang and saw a giant fireball around the time of the crash. ATSB said the fire retardant-laden aircraft, Tanker 134, was assisting with fire suppression efforts when the crash occurred near Peak View, northeast of Cooma. All three crew members were killed.

South African Air Force

Goma Nord-Kivu

The four engine airplane was completing a flight from Beni to Goma, carrying 59 South African troops and eight crew members from the 28th Squadron on behalf of the MONUSCO (Mission de l’Organisation des Nations unies pour la stabilisation en République Démocratique du Congo). The approach and landing were completed in heavy rain falls. After touchdown, the airplane veered off runway to the left and came to rest in a grassy area with the left wing broken in two and the n°1 engine on fire. All 67 occupants escaped uninjured and the fire was quickly contained. However, the aircraft seems to be damaged beyond repair.

December 9, 2019 38 Fatalities

Chilean Air Force - Fuerza Aérea de Chile

Drake Passage All World

The four engine airplane departed Santiago de Chile at 1021LT and landed at Punta Arenas for a technical stop at 1444LT. It took off at 1653LT on a leg to Teniente Rodolfo Marsh-Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva Airport located on King George Island, Antarctica, carrying 21 passengers and 17 crew members. After flying a distance of about 390 NM, while in cruising altitude, the radar contact was lost, vertical to the Drake Passage. SAR operations were initiated jointly by the Chilean, Uruguay and Argentine Air Forces which dispatched several aircraft over the area. Two days later, debris were found floating on water. It seems that none of the 38 occupants survived the crash.

December 6, 2018 5 Fatalities

United States Marine Corps

Pacific Ocean All World

The crew departed Iwakuni Airport on a refuelling mission over the Pacific Ocean. By night and in unknown circumstances, the four engine airplane collided with a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Both aircraft went out of control and crashed in the ocean some 200 miles off Muroto Cape, Japan. The United States Marine Corps confirms that two Marines have been found. One is in fair condition and the other has been declared deceased by competent medical personnel. All five crew members from the Hercules are still missing after two days of SAR operations and presumed dead. The KC-130 Hercules was assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 (the Sumos), 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

Pakistan Air Force - Pakistan Fiza'ya

Chaklala-Nur Khan AFB (Islamabad) Islamabad Capital Territory (<U+0648><U+0641><U+0627><U+0642><U+06CC> <U+062F><U+0627><U+0631><U+0627><U+0644><U+062D><U+06A9><U+0648><U+0645><U+062A>)

The crew was completing a training mission at Chaklala-Nur Khan AFB in Islamabad. Upon touchdown, a tyre burst. Control was lost and the airplane veered off runway to the right and collided with a concrete wall before coming to rest, burstin into flames. All nine occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire. It is believed that the landing was hard.

June 3, 2018 1 Fatalities

Algerian Air Force - Al Quwwat Aljawwija Aljaza'Eriiya

Biskra Biskra

Following an uneventful paratroopers mission over the area of Biskra, the crew was returning to Biskra-Mohamed Khider Airport. On final approach, the airplane stalled and crashed few hundre metres short of runway, coming to rest broken in two. All nine crew members were injured and the aircraft was destroyed. A day later, one of the survivor died from his injuries.

May 2, 2018 9 Fatalities

United States Air Force - USAF

Savannah Georgia

On 2 May 2018, at approximately 1127 hours local time (L), the Mishap Aircraft (MA), a WC-130H, tail number 65-0968, assigned to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard, 156th Airlift Wing (156 AW), located at Muñiz Air National Guard Base, Puerto Rico, crashed approximately 1.5 miles northeast of Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (KSAV), Georgia. All nine members aboard the MA—Mishap Pilot 1 (MP1), Mishap Pilot 2, Mishap Navigator, Mishap Flight Engineer, and Mishap Loadmaster (collectively the “Mishap Crew (MC)”), and four mission essential personnel, Mishap Airman 1, 2, 3, and 4—perished during the accident. The MC’s mission was to fly the MA to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona (commonly referred to as the “Boneyard”), for removal from service. The MA had been at KSAV for almost a month, since 9 April 2018, to undergo prescheduled fuel cell maintenance and unscheduled work on engine number one by 156 AW maintenance personnel using the facilities of the 165th Airlift Wing. During takeoff roll, engine one revolutions per minute (RPM) fluctuated and did not provide normal RPM when MP1 advanced the throttle lever into the flight range for takeoff. Approximately eight seconds prior to aircraft rotation, engine one RPM and torque significantly decayed, which substantially lowered thrust. The fluctuation on roll and significant performance decay went unrecognized by the MC until rotation, when MP1 commented on aircraft control challenges and the MA veered left and nearly departed the runway into the grass before it achieved flight. The MA departed KSAV at approximately 1125L. As the MC retracted the landing gear, they identified the engine one RPM and torque malfunction and MP1 called for engine shutdown. However, the MC failed to complete the Takeoff Continued After Engine Failure procedure, the Engine Shutdown procedure, and the After Takeoff checklist as directed by the Flight Manual, and the MA’s flaps remained at 50 percent. Additionally, MP1 banked left into the inoperative engine, continued to climb, and varied left and right rudder inputs. At an altitude of approximately 900 feet mean sea level and 131 knots indicated air speed, MP1 input over nine degrees of left rudder, the MA skidded left, the left wing stalled, and the MA departed controlled flight and impacted the terrain on Georgia State Highway 21.

July 10, 2017 16 Fatalities

United States Marine Corps

Itta Bena Mississippi

The aircraft departed MCAS Cherry Point-Cunningham Field in the early afternoon on a personnel transfer mission to El Centro NAS, California. En route, while cruising at an altitude of 20,000 feet, the n°4 blade on the engine n°2 detached, struck the left side of the fuselage, penetrated the cabin, then the right side of the fuselage and eventually impacted the right stabilizer that detached. The aircraft suffered a catastrophic structural failure, causing the cockpit to separate and detach. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a soybean field located 11 km southwest of Itta Bena. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 16 occupants were killed. Crew: Maj Caine M. Goyette, pilot, Cpt Sean E . Elliott, copilot, S/Sgt Joshua Snowden, flight engineer, Sgt Owen J . Lennon, flight engineer. G/Sgt Mark A. Hopkins, gunnery G/Sgt Brendan C . Johnson, gunnery Sgt Julian M. Kevianne, crewmaster, L/Cpl Daniel I. Baldassare, crewmaster. Passengers: Cpl Collin J. Schaaff S/Sgt William J. Kundrat, S/Sgt Robert H. Cox, S/Sgt Talon R. Leach, Sgt Chad E . Jenson, Sgt Joseph J . Murray, Sgt Dietrich A. Schmiernan, PO Ryan Lohrey.

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