An alarming detail has emerged in the crash of a KC-130 in Mississippi on Monday. The mishap was the deadliest in the United States since the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 eight years ago near Buffalo, New York, in which 50 people perished.
At around 4pm on Monday afternoon, a KC-130 flying from Cherry Point, North Carolina crashed in a field in Leflore County, Mississippi. It has now been confirmed that all on board—15 Marines and one Navy corpsman—were killed in the accident. The KC-130 was part of a Marine Forces Reserve refueling and transport squadron out of New York’s Stewart Air National Guard Base. Nine of the service members were stationed at Orange County, New York. The other seven were based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The group was enroute to Yuma, Arizona, for a pre-deployment training exercise. The names of the service people have not yet been released.
While the investigation is just beginning, one detail has emerged that is most unusual. It has been reported that one of the plane’s engines was found almost a mile north of the crash site, with a debris field stretching over five miles, a clear indication that the airplane suffered structural failure at altitude. What caused the tragedy is still unknown and under investigation, but investigators are certain to be looking to answer the questions of why the one engine was found so far away from the rest of the wreckage and what role it played in the disaster.
