I admit I am not nearly as widely read as most others on here but
1. On his return from a sortie, wasn't Sharkey sent to investigate a contact some distance from the ships but close enough to warrant investigation ?
2. Wasn't the C-130 at a very low level already so if hit and stayed
at low level, how would a pilot going at speed know if they were
going to ditch ?
3. And as Navaleye said, Military aircraft in a war zone ?