List of C-130 Hercules Crashes - USA Operators Crashes By Decade - 1980s

1980s

  • March 14, 1980 : C-130H 74-2064, c/n 4659, of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, explosion on board, inbound to Incirlik, Turkey, crashed 15 kilometers west of Incirlik
  • April 24, 1980 :During the ill-fated secret rescue mission at an airstrip in the Great Salt Desert of Eastern Iran, near Tabas codenamed Operation Eagle Claw, an EC-130E, 62-1809, c/n 3770, of the 7th ACCS, was destroyed in collision with a USN RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter, BuNo 158761. As the helicopter took off it flew into the wing root of the EC-130 and crashed, killing five USAF aircrew in the C-130 and three USMC aircrew in the RH-53 All of the RH-53Ds had to be abandoned at the site. At least one airframe was assembled from the abandoned helicopters, to join six RH-53Ds supplied by the United States to the Iranian Navy in 1978.
  • October 2, 1980 : C-130A 56-0504, c/n 3112, of the 105th Tactical Airlift Squadron, lost part of port wing leading edge, crashed near McMinnville, Tennessee. Aircraft had been operated by Air America as 604, c. February 1970.
  • October 29, 1980 : An extensively modified YMC-130H, 74-1683, c/n 4658, crashed at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field 1, Wagner Field, Florida, during a demonstration of a modified MC-130H Combat Talon aircraft for a planned Iranian hostage rescue attempt named Operation Credible Sport. Arresting rockets fitted to the aircraft fired out of sequence, some early and some not at all, resulting in an extremely heavy landing that tore off the starboard wing and set the aircraft on fire. Despite this mishap, the entire crew survived. The wrecked hull was dismantled and those parts not salvageable buried at Wagner Field. Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VnSfPh3yt8 Rumors persist that the hull was rebuilt as an AC-130H gunship, however due to the highly classified nature of the gunship, there is no known documented evidence to support this.
  • January 14, 1981 : C-130E 69-6581, c/n 4357, of the 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crashed on take-off from Ramstein Air Base, West Germany – fin stall, missing washer on rudder booster.
  • February 26, 1981 : MC-130E-Y 64-0564, c/n 4074, of the 1st Special Operations Squadron, crashed in sea near Tabones Island, Philippines during low-level turn.
  • September 21, 1981 : C-130H 74-1672, c/n 4623, of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, crashed 1,600 meters short of runway during night landing on desert airstrip near Springs Air Base, Nevada.
  • April 13, 1982 : C-130H 74-1678, c/n 4645, of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, as of October 1977 with black camel on tail. Crashed near Sivas, 360 kilometers east of Ankara, Turkey, when number four (starboard outer) engine mount failed, destroyed number three (starboard inner) engine, wing broke.
  • May 13, 1982 : C-130E 64-0543, c/n 4033, of the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, crashed when wing broke during formation flight near Judsonia, Arkansas.
  • July 30, 1982 : USCG HC-130H CG1600, c/n 4757, assigned Kodiak CGAS, crashed 4 kilometers south of Attu, Aleutian Islands, in bad weather landing – killing 2 Coast Guardsmen aboard.
  • February 13, 1983 : C-130H 74-1693, c/n 4693, of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, suffered a ground fire at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, written off. To loadmaster trainer at Pope, as of April 1984; fuselage only, same August 2012.
  • June 28, 1983 : C-130H 74-2068, c/n 4694, of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, crashed about 100 miles north of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, during Red Flag exercise. Stalled turning at low altitude.
  • August 27, 1983 : L-100-20 c/n 4333, delivered June 1969 as Lockheed Aircraft Service Company N7957S; leased to U.S. Navy, May 1969 for tests. Leased to Saturn Airways, N7957S, May 1970, named "Wimpy". Sold to Saturn, N17ST, October 1972. Modified to L-100-30, August 1973. To Trans International Airlines, December 1976, to Transamerica, October 1979, crashed 50 kilometers south of Dundo, Angola – hit mountain in fog.
  • February 28, 1984 : C-130E 68-10944, c/n 4324, of the 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crashed into mountain 55 kilometers northwest of Zaragoza, Spain.
  • November 2, 1984 : C-130E 68-10946, c/n 4326, of the 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crash landing at Giebelstadt Army Airfield, West Germany, nose section removed and used to repair c/n 4029, C-130E 64-0539, of the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing, damaged when it ran off runway at Lajes, Azores, April 1984.
  • December 29, 1984 : L-100 c/n 4101, first flown September 17, 1965, leased to Continental Air Services, N9260R, September 1965, then sold to the Government of Zambia, registered 9J-RCV, August 1966. Leased to Zambian Air Cargoes, August 1966, then sold to National Aircraft Leasing, registered N920NA, March 1969, in an FAA series usually reserved for aircraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, same January 1977. Leased to Alaska Airlines, April 1969. Leased to Saturn Airways, N24ST, June 1972, modified to L-100-30, November 1972. Leased to TIA, December 1976, port wing and engines damaged in explosion, May 1977, repaired; sold to TIA, April 1979. To Transamerica, October 1979, green and white scheme, Transamerica T on green tail in white – destroyed on ground as it landed Cafunfo, Angola during UNITA guerrilla attack. Electric buss panel fire due to gunfire spread, hull burnt out. Pilot, flight engineer survive groundfire and are captured by UNITA, repatriated through the Red Cross after a month; first officer, two Diamang couriers, killed by gunfire.
  • January 22, 1985 : A USAF C-130A 56-0501, c/n 3109, of the 95th Tactical Airlift Squadron, crashed in the sea during visual approach to Trujillo airport, Honduras.
  • March 12, 1985 : C-130E 64-0549, c/n 4044, of the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, crashed when it stalled during supply drop training mission at Fort Hood, Texas.
  • April 2, 1986 : HC-130P, 66-0211, c/n 4161, delivered August 1966 as HC-130H, redesignated HC-130P, September 1966, assigned to Air Force Systems Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. To 1551st Flying Training Squadron, October 1977. Marked in Lizard scheme, April 1986. Right wing broke in severe turbulence at low level, 25 kilometers north of Magdalena, New Mexico, New Mexico.
  • September 9, 1986 : C-130A, 56-0468, c/n 3076, delivered February 1957; of the 105th Tactical Airlift Squadron, Nashville, Tennessee, by December 1979, same January 1984. Lizard scheme, January 1986, crashed at end of runway, Fort Campbell, Kentucky – broken throttle cable.
  • October 4, 1986 : L-100-30 c/n 4391, delivered June 1971 to Saturn Airways, N15ST, named "Barney", coded 'G'. Sold to TIA, December 1976. Leased to Saudia, March 1978. To Transamerica, October 1979, leased to Heavylift, Stansted, Great Britain, July 1984. Leased to Southern Air Transport (SAT), July 1986. Crashed into hangar during night take-off from Kelly Air Force Base, Texas – control lock in cockpit not removed.
  • April 8, 1987 : L-100-30 c/n 4558, delivered November 1974 to Safair, registered ZS-RSE, then registered to Safair Freighters, USA, N46965, February 1982, incorrectly filed as N4696S. Registered to Globe Air, N517SJ (never painted on?), April 1987. Left wing hit ground 300 meters before runway at Fairfield-Travis Air Force Base, California during Southern Air Transport training landing when it lost power on both port engines during go-around, all five crew killed. Accident report lists it as SAT N517SJ.
  • July 1, 1987 : A USAF C-130E, 68-10945, c/n 4325, crashed during an open house at Fort Bragg, during a display of the low level airdrop technique known as LAPES, (Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System), in which a parachute is used to pull the cargo out the rear door while the plane makes a touch-and-go. Pilot failed to pull-up after deploying M551 Sheridan tank, hit treeline, burned, killing three on board, one soldier on the ground, and injuring two crew.
  • December 9, 1987 : USN LC-130R BuNo 159131, c/n 4522, operated by VXE-6 for the National Science Foundation, crashed landing at site D59, Carrefour, Antarctica, 1,200 kilometers from McMurdo, while bringing in spares for LC-130F BuNo 148321, c/n 3567, damaged when JATO bottle broke loose on take-off, February 1, 1971 and not repaired and flown out until January 1988. c/n 4522 written off.
  • June 8, 1988 : C-130E 61-2373, c/n 3720, of the 154th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron, crashed five kilometers short of runway while on approach to Greenville, Mississippi.
  • August 9, 1989 : C-130H 74-1681, c/n 4654, of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, crashed while dropping M551 Sheridan tank at Fort Bragg, North Carolina – load hung-up, parachute deployed.
  • November 27, 1989 : L-100 c/n 4129, delivered to ZAC-Alexander, registered 9J-RBW, April 1966, sold to Maple Leaf Leasing, 1969, leased to Pacific Western Airlines, line number 383, March 1969, damaged Eureka, Northwest Territory, August 1969, rebuilt as L-100-20, December 1969. Leased to Alaska International Air, (earlier Interior Airways, later Markair), December 1969. Sold to Pacific Western Airlines, registered CF-PWN, 1977, then sold to St. Lucia Airways, registered J6-SLO, May 1985, named "Juicy Lucy", after a rock and roll band, 1969–1972, transporting cargo for UNITA, July 1987. Sold to Tepper Aviation, Florida, N9205T, January 1988, named "Grey Ghost" – crash landing at Jamba, Huíla, Angola.

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