U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 Hercules aerial tanker has crashed in rural Mississippi. Local news coverage shows the plane as a totally destroyed burning hulk laying pancaked in a field.
At least 16 people are dead after a U.S. Marine Corps. KC-130 airplane from Tennessee crashed into a soybean field in Mississippi Monday.
The Clarion-Ledger reported that emergency calls began coming in around 4 p.m. and that firefighters battled thick smoke and several explosions. The Associated Press and CBS News reportedeight fatalities, and cited an official with the local Greenwood Airport as saying that the KC-130 suffered a structural failure at 20,000 feet altitude that caused it to crash.
USNI News understands that nine Marines were aboard the plane. The Marine Corps only confirmed this evening that “a USMC KC-130 experienced a mishap the evening of July 10. Further information will be passed as available.” The service has not yet released any additional details.
The Lockheed Martin KC-130 is the basic designation for a family of the extended-range tanker version of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft modified for aerial refueling. The KC-130J is the latest variant operated by the United States Marine Corps, with 48 delivered out of 79 ordered. It replaced older KC-130F, KC-130R, and KC-130T variants, while one USMC reserve unit still operates 12 KC-130T aircraft.
