Lockheed C-130 Hercules

Navy Hercules 151890 had flown for over three months with a maintenance discrepancy on the number one fuel tank quantity indicator. Before the mishap flight, another attempt was made to repair the solder connections in the cannon plug. Maintenance personnel were unable to satisfactorily complete the repair in the time available before that days flight. They hurriedly reassembled the cannon plug and verbally warned the oncoming flight engineer to leave the number one fuel tank quantity indicator system circuit breaker out to prevent the indicator motor from running and ruining the internal clutch. The aircraft then flew four flights prior to the accident. The verbal warning was passed between flight engineers, except on the fourth flight. While conducting preflight procedures the fourth flight engineer noticed the circuit breaker to be out and reset it. The circuit breaker popped within seconds and was then left out for the flight back to home field. The circuit breaker was reset by an unknown person between the time the aircraft landed and the preflight the next day by the mishap crew. Shortly after takeoff from Patuxent River-NAS, MD (NHK), while climbing through 7500 feet, an explosion occurred in the outboard part of the left wing. A fire erupted. The no. 1 engine was shut down and the extinguisher bottles fired. The crew was unable to control the fire. Control difficulties forced the pilot to carry out a forced landing. An emergency descent was flown at a speed of 270 kts IAS and a forced landing was made in a corn field. After the aircraft came to rest, the fire burned for 36 minutes. The fire continued burning aft and inboard before it was extinguished by a local volunteer fire department.

While taking off at Jacksonville AFB, northeast of Little Rock, the four engine airplane stalled and crashed in flames. A passenger was rescued while 11 other occupants were killed.

The Hercules was involved in a combined exercise called 'Cold Stream' between British and Italian Army under call sign 'Chalk 4', and was carrying 46 Italian paratroopers and six British crew members to the Villacidro dropzone located in Sardinia. Shortly after takeoff from Pisa-San Giusto Airport, while climbing by night, the airplane went out of control and crashed into the sea about 7 km offshore. The aircraft was destroyed and none of 52 occupants survived the crash. The assumption that the loss of control was the consequence of an in-flight structural failure was not ruled out.

During the takeoff roll, the left wing struck a snow bank. The aircraft rolled left and right, causing the right wing to struck the ground. On impact, the right wing broke in two between both engines and the aircraft caught fire. The crew was able to stop the airplane and to evacuate. There were no injuries but the aircraft was destroyed.

The crew was completing a cargo flight from Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, to Dover AFB, Delaware, with an intermediate stop at McGuire AFB, New Jersey, on behalf of the US Air Force. On final approach, the crew encountered low visibility due to fog. While transiting from IFR to VFR on short final, the airplane went out of control, struck the ground and crashed 5,470 feet short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.

The airplane departed Taipei-Songshan Airport at 1401LT bound for the Ching Chuan Kang Airbase located in Taichung. During initial climb, the crew was cleared to climb to 6,000 feet and heading 252°. Six minutes after takeoff, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain (6,150 feet high) located about 30 km southeast of Taipei. The wreckage was found six days later on October 8, about 10 meters below the summit. All 43 occupants have been killed.

After touchdown at El Toro AFB, the airplane went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest in flames on the apron, less than 50 yards from 'Air Force One'. A crew member was killed while four others were injured.

The crew departed Little Rock-Jacksonville AFB for a local training mission when the airplane crashed in flames in a prairie located southwest of Piggott. All six crew members were killed.

While in a commando mission along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the airplane was hit by enemy fire. A fire erupted on the left wing root and the crew was unable to extinguish the fire. A crew member (S/Sgt Eugene Fields) was able to bail out and was later recovered uninjured while the aircraft dove into the ground and crashed, killing all 10 other occupants.
Crew:
Maj William Leslie Brooks, †
1st Lt John Cline Towle, †
Lt Col Charlie Brown Davis, †
Lt Col Charles Stoddard Rowley, †
Maj Donald Garth Fisher, †
M/Sgt Robert Newell Ireland, †
S/Sgt Thomas Yuji Adachi, †
S/Sgt Eugene Fields,
S/Sgt Stephen Warren Harris, †
S/Sgt Ronnie Lee Hensley, †
A1C Donald Michael Lint. †

Shortly after takeoff from Kadena AFB, while en route to Vietnam, the crew informed ground that two engines failed and was initiating a return. Shortly later, the airplane went out of control and crashed into the ocean some 24 km southeast of Kadena AFB. All 11 occupants were killed.