C130 down NE Cooma

[SCPL_1988]

There is a report in the Age
https://www.theage.com.au/national/n...23-p53u4s.html

QuoteThe C-130 Hercules crashed after 1pm on Thursday while battling the blaze near Cooma, as strong, hot winds swept across NSW, reigniting dozens of fires and wreaking havoc for exhausted firefighters.

Firefighting command lost contact with the aircraft after it made an approach towards a fire in the Snowy Monaro region. The Herald understands a "spotter plane" flying ahead of the American aircraft travelled through a valley near Peak View, but the C-130 never emerged behind it.
Witnesses to the crash told fire control over the radio the aircraft had "crashed" before another man answered him: "It’s just a ball of flames."
End Quote

Take a look at
https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.552%2C$multiply_1.5109%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_10 59%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/q_62%2Cf_auto/b0328a640f7bc74b36663bcb00af93d303a7947c

The above picture shows a flight into terrain without any intact bits of wing or fuselage.
This would decrease the probable cause of the accident to being other than an in flight wing failure.

On face Value, this may contradict the A-DSB data that shows stresses flight that looks like
severe turbulence resulting in a wing failure.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/n...24-p53ubf.html


Nine News
https://www.9news.com.au/national/fi...3-940558a02892

This has a radio call, that indicates a flight into the ground.
"Firecoms message red"
yeah it crashed.


"at about 1:30 pm it disappeared off the flight radar"

You Tube

Then

You Tube

"SHORTLY Before 1:30 pm,we lost contact with"
and
"There was a large fireball as it impacted the ground."

When asked about witnesses,the answer was vague.

Witnesses
"Witnesses in the area say they saw a “ball of fire” as the aircraft reportedly hit the ground."
https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/large-water-bombing-aircraft-has-crashed-at-peak-view-reports-c-661253

Flight Radar 24
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-...54?pfmredir=sm

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Three firefighters dead after Large Air Tanker crashes while fighting bushfires in southern NSW

By Kevin Nguyen and Matthew DoranUpdated earlier today at 7:10am

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

VIDEO: NSW Premier confirms death of three firefighters after air tanker crash (ABC News)
RELATED STORY: Homes lost as bushfires hit NSW South Coast
RELATED STORY: Blaze that cancelled Canberra flights downgraded to adviceThree US crew members were killed when their Large Air Tanker crashed while fighting a bushfire in southern NSW.

Key points:

• Contact with the aircraft was lost south of Canberra just after 2pm
• The aircraft was brought into Australia in August, 2019
• All Large Air Tankers have been grounded as a "mark of respect"

Early Thursday afternoon, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said it had "lost contact" with a Lockheed C-130 Hercules being used in water bombing operations in the Snowy Monaro area.

Firefighters, emergency services and military personnel launched a search and rescue operation and located the wreckage.

However, RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said all the crew members were "tragically" killed.

"[The aircraft] impacted heavily with the ground and initial reports are that there was a large fireball associated with the impact of the plane as it hit the ground," he said.

Commissioner Fitzsimmons said there was no indication on what caused the accident, but the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) was working to determine what happened.

The C-130 was contracted through North American aerial firefighting company Coulson Aviation (USA).
PHOTO: The C-130 which crashed while fighting a bushfire in southern NSW. (AAP Image: Dan Himbrechts)

The company has grounded their Large Air Tankers fleet as a precaution and as "a mark of respect".

The grounding of the water bombers by Coulson Aviation will have an immediate impact on aerial firefighting capacity, Commissioner Fitzsimmons said, but he understood their decision.

What we know about the C-130

As an investigation into the crash begins, here's what we know about the waterbomber and previous incidents involving the same model.

"It's absolutely warranted and I support them 100 per cent," he said.

"They are very mindful of the emotional and psychological effect that such a tragedy will have on the rest of their workforce, not just here in Australia but in North America or Canada."

Commissioner Fitzsimmons said all three occupants on the plane were American firefighters, and he extended his deepest sympathies to their families.

"Our hearts are with all those that are suffering in what is the loss of three remarkable, well respected, crew that have invested so many decades of their life into firefighting," he said.

The RFS said the aircraft was engaged in "routine" water bombing activities at the time of the crash.
PauseGIF0.2 MBSettings

GIF: The C-130 Hercules, seen on Flightradar24, suddenly stopped moving south of Canberra.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed the flight path for the C-130 suddenly stopping south of Canberra.

According to its flight data, the aircraft departed RAAF Base Richmond, in western Sydney, about 12:05pm.

However, soon after 2pm the aircraft stopped in an area called Peak View, north-east of Cooma.


This is different from the FlightAware tracking that can be looked at closely
and shows what appears to be severe turbulence before what appears to be
an in flight break up.

My take on it is that, the witness information leads to a flight into terrain
while the Flight Aware A-DSB indicates an in flight break up.

its possible that both occurred.