C-130

According to Wikipedia:

"The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medevac and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a gunship, for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial refueling, maritime patrol and aerial firefighting. It is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. More than 40 variants of the Hercules, including a civilian one marketed as the Lockheed L-100, operate in more than 60 nations."

The C-130 prototype flew first on Aug. 23, 1954, and more than 2,100 variants for more than 60 different nations' air forces have been produced. It has been one of the safest and most dependable aircraft ever built.

In addition to the previously listed variants the C-130 has been used to carry water fighting wildfires, it can also be equipped with antipersonnel mini guns or with a 105mm howitzer, making it an airborne enemy destroyer. It is used to transport wounded and injured personnel and even more missions.

On May 2, 2018, television viewers saw a video of a C-130 en route to final storage when it suffered a catastrophic failure shortly after takeoff. The aircraft appeared to begin to bank to the left, but the angle increased until the aircraft appears to have rolled over, lost lift, and it tumbled to the ground ending in a massive ball of fire. Nine crew members were killed when the 60-year-old plane crashed. We do not know why the C-130 crashed, but the plane was on its last flight before retirement. The investigation will assess blame for the accident, but the increasing number of military air crashes need to be explained. Are maintenance and training being reduced because the U.S. Congress enacted budget sequestration (automatic budget cuts)? Sequestration was enacted to force automatic budget cuts when Congress could not decide which ones to make. Military leaders have said training and maintenance are being subject to automatic cuts.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.