Lockheed C-130 Hercules

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.