Notice in the last photo that the port refueling underwing pod is missing, and that a very healthy stream of what is assumed to be fuel is pouring out of the attach point.
The tank between the engine nacelles is an external fuel tank, and the 'tanks' outboard of the engines are the refueling nacelles.
Yeah, this is likened to a Captain of a ship colliding with something....heads will roll and someone or somebody will either end up retiring early or heading for a remote desk job in some obscure part of the world.
It’s a dangerous business. Thank the Lord they all came out in one piece.
The recording is chilling, but it also provides new details about the terrifying incident.
BY TYLER ROGOWAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
In the early evening on September 29th, 2020, The War Zone was among the first to report on the collision between a USMC KC-130J Hercules tanker-transport and an F-35B Lightning II fighter from the same service in a military operating area (MOA) adjacent to the Salton Sea in Southern California. The Marines confirmed that the F-35B pilot safely ejected and the KC-130J made an emergency landing and everyone on board survived. Now, thanks to recorded air traffic control audio, we can hear exactly what communications were like before and after the collision occurred, as well as learn a number of new details about the mishap.
The audio was posted by JetScan1 over at LiveATC.net, you can listen to it for yourself here.
The KC-130J, which belongs to VMGR-352 "Raiders" based at nearby MCAS Miramar, was flying under the callsign RAIDER 50. In the recording, RAIDER 50's crew requested to LA Center to fly into the high altitude block of the Kane West MOA, which sits mainly on the west side of the Sulton Sea, but also crosses over it at its midpoint. The MOA was active at the time, but the KC-130J crew was aware of the other traffic. They were cleared to enter into it at 17,000 feet.
Next, we hear LA Center reply to American Airlines Flight 237 that saw some sort of explosion on the ground near where it was flying over. Immediately after we hear RAIDER 50 declare an emergency:
"LA Center LA Center, RAIDER 50 declaring an emergency, midair collision with VOLT 93. We have two engines out, we're leaking fuel, and likely on fire, and in emergency descent at this time. RAIDER 50."
The controller at LA Center then tries to confirm the KC-130 is in the Kane West MOA and asks to clarify if they are indeed "going down now." RAIDER 50 comes back on frequency back and states:
"We declare an emergency. We still have partial control of the aircraft. Two engines out. We are aiming towards uh..."
RAIDER 50 then cuts out and the controller asks for clarification if they are heading towards NAF El Centro or the airport at nearby Imperial, both of which are located to the south of Kane West MOA. The controller tries to raise them again, but there is no response.
Another voice comes on repeating that they think they said they had a mid-air and have two engines out. Another voice snaps back warning N979CF, a Hawker bizjet, not to clog the frequency and states that there is a plume of black smoke on the ground in the Kane West MOA and notes it came into sight about the time RAIDER 50 called in the emergency. He adds "there's at least one aircraft down it looks like." LA Center thanks the voice and another comes on and says "impact looks like it was prior to his last transmission."
RAIDER 50 is once again talking to LA Center, but they cannot be heard in the recording, likely because they had dropped significantly in altitude. The controller asks RAIDER 50 to clarify that they were attempting to head to Thermal, an airport located just beyond the northern edge of the Salton Sea. That is confirmed. Then the controller says "RAIDER 50, I understand you are about 20 miles away and you are looking for the winds, let me get the winds for you. The wind is 150 at 08 knots."
RAIDER 50 then confirms engines number four and three are out and that they have the airport in sight at about 15 miles out. The controller then gives them a number to LA Center to call on the ground once they land and passes the airport's UNICOM frequency to the crew.
That's where the recording cuts off. We know the aircraft didn't land at Thermal, it ended up in a farmer's field, badly damaged, on its belly, but still overall intact. Everyone survived.
Truly amazing work by the crew.
The professionalism and relative calm that is showcased in this recording by all those involved is truly remarkable.
Although we only have limited details about this mishap, one thing is clear, RAIDER 50's crew has one hell of a story to tell.
VMGR-352 flying their iconic Jolly Roger.
I see fuel pouring out of that left wing int the field. That will ruin the soil...........................
Kind of surprised refueling accidents doesn’t happen more often
A little bondo and paint and some engine work and it’ll be good as new.
All that wilderness and they crashed in town?
If one has to make a wheels-up forced landing, the pilot of the tanker made an excellent choice of a plowed-earth field. Soft, level, and no hazards like trees.
#1 looks to be the standard four blade, paddle blade you see on C-130s and P-3s, but that inboard prop is one of those new style. #3 and #4 are unknown.
What's interesting is that they (seem to have) mixed prop types on one aircraft.
If you enlarge the image you posted of the downed aircraft, you can see very significant damage to the KC-130s props. Based on appearance of propeller blades, the only intact prop is on the port inboard engine. Port outboard engine blades are bent, starboard outboard are missing (note the open nacelle panels) and, while you cannot see the starboard inboard engine due to the aircraft fuselage, its propeller blades cannot be seen.
So the aircraft seems to have suffered loss of its port refueling pod and had damage to three of its four propellers in the accident. Yet the pilot brought the aircraft down down from altitude, identified a dirt farm field to land in, and landed the aircraft relatively intact. The refueler is definitely repairable.
Just a layman’s opinion, but that is probably Distinguished Flying Cross (or equivalent) level flying.
Interesting that the right outboard engine looks really messed up, and the left outboard is missing a couple of blades.
Looks like the pilot did a great job getting it down.
Between the wing tip vortices and the prop vortices and the usual turbulence on a hot day, there are simply too many things trying to kill you.
That pilots do this day and night in all sorts of weather so successfully and with so few accidents is a testament to their skill and our ingenuity.
They make it look easy even when it’s not.
And even when it went terribly wrong, they all walked away to try again another day.
Thank YOU, God! The training never stops.
No visible structural damage. Change out the engines, get the landing gear back to function, fly it out of there.
The pilot brought it down soft as a (really big) feather. Skills.
Thank goodness the crew is safe.