The Marine Corps has indefinitely halted flight operations of its KC-130T fleet as the result of a crash that killed 16 personnel earlier this month.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the USMC took the prudent action not to fly our KC-130T aircraft in the wake of the mishap on July 10 until further notice,” 2nd Lt. Stephanie Leguizamon, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps Reserve, said on July 27.
A Marine Corps KC-130T transport aircraft broke up during a July 10 night flight over Mississippi, killing all 16 service members on board.
The Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built aircraft took off from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., and was meant to transport personnel and equipment to Naval Air Field El Centro, Calif. One Navy Corpsman and 15 Marines made up the crew and passengers.
Brig. Gen. Bradley James, commanding General of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing to which the aircraft was assigned, said previously that the aircraft likely experienced a mishap at its cruising altitude. The debris was found in two large areas, suggesting the aircraft broke into at least two pieces before crashing to earth.
The Marine Corps Reserve operates 12 KC-130Ts, a variant of the four-engine propeller-driven aircraft capable of aerial refueling. The Navy also operates a fleet of KC-130Ts.