
A U.S. Marine Corps KC-130T aircraft from VMGR-452 prepares to taxi during Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI) 2-15 in Yuma, Ariz., April 11, 2015. WTI is a seven-week event hosted by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) cadre. US Marine Corps photo.
This post has been corrected to reflect that the KC-130 itself has experienced only three in-flight mishaps, rather than four in-flight mishaps as was previously reported. A fourth entry provided by the Naval Safety Center was mistakenly labeled as a KC-130 mishap; rather, the Naval Safety Center told USNI News after this story was first published, “while air refueling with the KC-130 tanker, the receiver aircraft caught fire, rendered the jet uncontrollable and forced the pilot to eject. The pilot suffered lost workdays — his plane was destroyed. Because the KC-130 was involved in this Class A mishap is why it appears as a Class A mishap.The KC-130 landed without incident.”
The KC-130T crash that killed 15 Marines and a sailor is one of only three major in-flight incidents in that aircraft type in almost the last 40 years, making the plane among the safest in use today. Read More →