Indian AF C-130J-30 Crashes, No Survivors

[+ghostrider883]

An IAF C-130J-30 Super Hercules, one of six aircraft inducted three years ago, crashed today in Central India. There were five IAF personnel onboard (2 Wing Commanders, 2 Squadron Leaders and 1 Warrant Officer) and six Indian Army personnel,  Five dead & six survivors .

 

The aircraft,, call sign Dragon Two, took off from Agra at 10 am and crashed about 72 miles west of the Gwalior Air Force Station, one of the IAF's largest. A court of inquiry has been ordered. The aircraft belonged to the 77 Squadron  based at Hindon AFS, Delhi

 

RIP.

Edited March 28, 2014 by ghostrider883

[hrc]

RIP

[Stratos]

6 survivors or no survivors? Anyway S!

[macelena]

.

[Nesher]

RIP.

[+ghostrider883]

6 survivors or no survivors? Anyway S!

 

There was confusion initially that Army soldiers were on board as it was on a low level insertion exercise. Later it was confirmed only IAF crew were onboard. The ill fated C-130, srl no.  KC-3803 was part of two aircraft formation on a low level covert ops insertion exercise.

 

1. Wg Cdr Prashant Joshi - Captain

2. Wg Cdr Raji Nair - Co-pilot

3. Sq Ldr Kaushik Mishra - Trainee pilot

4. Sq Ldr Ashish Yadav - Navigator

5. Warrant Officer Krishna Pal Singh - Systems Operator

 

The crew of the other C-130J, which was the lead aircraft in the formation, reported that the ill-fated aircraft grazed a hillock in an otherwise plain landscape. The first aircraft pulled up as it reached the hillock, but the second aircraft went and grazed it. The input is also corroborated by the angle in which it crashed into the ground.

 

KC-3803 on delivery flight:

Edited March 31, 2014 by ghostrider883

[JediMaster]

CFIT is still a big problem worldwide.

[Stratos]

Thanks for the info Ghost.

[+ghostrider883]

Wake Turbulence, Flying Discipline Likely Doomed IAF C-130J

 

The Indian Air Force's C-130J Super Hercules that crashed March 28 in central India is likely to have impacted the ground during a low-level tactical sortie after being thrown out of control by wake turbulence  of the lead C-130J flying in front of it.

 

Initial indicators pointed to the high possibility of a sudden loss of control at 1,000 feet, giving the trailing aircraft's crew virtually no time to recover.

 

The IAF's former flight safety boss (and then AOC-in-C, Western Air Command) Air Marshal P.S. Ahluwalia told "From the information available, there appears to have been a breach of flying discipline on two fronts. One, by the ill-fated aircraft, which may not have updated and compensated its flight path to accommodate wake and other turbulence during closely formated flight. And two, by the lead aircraft itself."

 

The ill-fated plane’s crew was simulating  manoeuvers to drop paratroopers in a combat zone from an extremely low altitude to evade detection by enemy radars.

The plane was flying 300 feet above ground level but had eased up to 1,000 feet, ruling out the possibility of crashing into a hillock. 

Either way, the ill-fated crew likely had only seconds to apply corrective measures, grossly insufficient to right the aircraft at such low altitude. Investigations into the circumstances of the shock accident are still underway.

[JediMaster]

So they were flying in trail formation instead of echelon I guess. What a tragedy.