An Indian Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J military airlifter crashed 72 miles west of Gwalior airbase on 28 March 2014. The aircraft...
An Indian Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J military airlifter crashed 72 miles west of Gwalior airbase on 28 March 2014.
The aircraft was flying from Agra, New Delhi at 1000 hrs for a routine flying training mission. The crash killed all the five crew members, including two wing commanders and two squadron leaders.
This is probably the first crash of J variant which entered service in 1999. C-130J is considered one of the world’s safest and survivable aircraft. The aircraft is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE 2100 D3 turboprop engines and has considerable agility.
The crash is a big setback for IAF as, its fleet of C-130J is relatively new. Crashes taking place at regular intervals on strategic assets would severly affect IAF's strategic capabilities. The IAF C-130J fleet is mainly meant for transporting its special forces undetected into enemy territory.
The Super Hercules has been used extensively by the US Air Force and US Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan, proving its capabilitiies in rough and poor climates.
India purchased six C-130J-30s in 2008 at a cost of up to US$1.059 billion for its special operations forces through US government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The airlifter's were delivered in 2011.
India placed a follow on contract for six more C-130Js in Dec 2013.
A newly acquired Russian Mi-17V5 helicopter with IAF also crashed in 2013, during flood relief operations in Uttarakhand.
A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate into the cause of the accident.
