1980 — March 14, USAF C130 wing fuel tank explosion and crash near Adana, Turkey– 18

 

— 18  AP. “Eighteen killed in Turkey crash,” Times-Standard, Eureka, CA, 3-15-1980, 2.

— 18  ASN. Accident descrip. USAF Lockheed C-130H Hercules, 15 km W of Adana-Incirlik

— 18  Baugher, Joseph F.  1974 USAF Serial Numbers.  1-5-2012 revision.

— 18  C-130.net. C-130 Aircraft Database. “C-130 Accident Reports for 1980.” Accessed 2017.[1]

— 18  Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, 127.

 

Narrative Information

ASN:

“C/n / msn:      4659

“First flight:    1976….

“Total:             Fatalities:  18 / Occupants:  18….

“Location:       15 km (9.4 mls) W of Adana-Incirlik AB…Turkey

“Phase:            Approach….

“Destination airport:  Adana-Incirlik AB…Turkey

“Narrative:  Fuel tank explosion; crashed on approach.”

(ASN. USAF Lockheed C-130H Hercules, 15 km W of Adana-Incirlik AB…Turkey…3-14-1980.)

 

Baugher: “Lockheed C-130H-LM Hercules….2064 (c/n 382-4659) crashed 15 km W of Incirlik, Turkey Mar 14, 1980.  All 18 onboard killed. (ASN).”  (Baugher, Joseph F.  1974 USAF Serial Numbers.  1-5-2012 revision.)

 

Gero:

“Date: 14 March 1980 (c. 15:00)

“Location: Near Yenice, Cilicia, Turkey

“Operator: US Air Force

“Aircraft type: Lockheed C-130H (74-2064)

 

“The four engine turboprop transport plummeted into hilly terrain 25 miles (40km) south-west of Adana and about 15 miles (25km) due west of Incirlik Air Base, which was the point of origin and ultimate destination of a logistics mission in which the aircraft had been engaged in support of US military installations throughout Turkey.

 

“Including a crew of six US Air Force personnel, all 18 persons aboard perished. Last observed on radar at a height of around 5,000ft (1,500m), the C-130 had been descending, as cleared, to 3,000ft (1,000m) and on a south-south-easterly heading when an explosion occurred in its left wing. The weather in the area at the time of the crash consisted of light rain, with a broken layer of cumulus clouds at 4,000ft (1,200m) and solid alto-stratus at 10,000ft (3,000m), with a visibility of around 5 miles (10km). The wind was calm. Although the combustible material was identified as fuel, the source of its ignition and the underlying material failure that led to the explosion remain a mystery.” (Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, 127.)

 

Newspapers

 

March 14: “Ankara, Turkey (UPI) — A U.S. Air Force C-130 troop transport aircraft crashed today near Adana in southeastern Turkey, police reported. It was not immediately known how many were aboard the plane or whether there were casualties. The turboprop plane, known as the Hercules, burst into flames on crashing, police said. The plane was based at the United States’ Incirlik Air Base, near Adana, a Mediterranean port in southeastern Turkey.” (United Press International. “USAF Hercules Down in Turkey.” Tyrone Daily Herald, PA, 3-14-1980, p. 1.)

 

March 15: “Ankara, Turkey (AP) — A U.S. Air Force C-130 transport plane ferrying American military personnel crashed during a thunderstorm Friday near the southeastern Turkish city of Adana, killing all 18 aboard, U.S. Embassy officials reported. One report said lightning struck the plane. The embassy officials said all aboard, including six crew members, were U.S. military personnel….Rescuers who reached the crash site, in a mountainous region southwest of Adana, reported that badly burned bodies and debris from the plane were found over a large area. The site was 15 miles from the main highway between Adana and Tarsus. It took rescuers several hours to reach the wreckage, wading through knee-deep mud at times.

 

“The embassy officials said the plane was returning to the strategic NATO airbase in Incirlik, near Adana, from U.S. bases in Pirinclik and Diyarbakir, in eastern Turkey. There is an American radar base at Pirinclik which monitors Soviet missile tests and military activity. The aircraft was one of the logistical supply planes that make routine flights to various American military installations in Turkey, ferrying military personnel and delivering supplies and mail.” (Assoc. Press. “Eighteen killed in Turkey crash,” Times-Standard, Eureka, CA, 3-15-1980, p. 2.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Eighteen killed in Turkey crash,” Times-Standard, Eureka, CA, 3-15-1980, 2. Accessed 6-23-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/eureka-times-standard-mar-15-1980-p-2/?tag

 

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United States Air Force, Lockheed C-130H Hercules, 14 March 1980 15 km W of Adana-Incirlik Air Base (ADA), Turkey, Approach.  Accessed 2-25-2012 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19800314-0

 

Baugher, Joseph F. 1974 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-5-2012 revision. Accessed 3-13-2012 at:  http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1974.html

 

C-130.net. C-130 Aircraft Database. “C-130 Accident Reports for 1980.” Accessed 6-23-2017 at: http://www.c-130.net/aircraft-database/C-130/mishaps-and-accidents/year/1980/

 

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

 

Socrata, the Open Data Co. Airplane_Crashes_and_Fatalities_Since_1908(1). http://www.socrata.com/

 

United Press International. “USAF Hercules Down in Turkey.” Tyrone Daily Herald, PA, 3-14-1980, p. 1. Accessed 6-22-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/tyrone-daily-herald-mar-14-1980-p-1/?tag

[1] Notes “Fuel tank explosion on approach to Incirlik AB, Turkey.”