Posted on 02/09/2005 5:30:12 PM PST by HAL9000
A BOMB planted by insurgents "likely" blew the right wing off a Royal Air Force transport in Iraq and caused it to crash more than a week ago, killing 10 servicemen, Britain's The Sun newspaper reported today. One of those killed was Melbourne man Flight Lieutentant Paul Pardoel, a former RAAF navigator with dual Australian-British citizenship who was flying with the RAF.The entire right wing of the C-130 Hercules was torn off, sending it instantly into a violent spin.
It broke up in about four seconds – but not before the pilot hit the mayday button, The Sun reported.
What was left of the Hercules spiralled and somersaulted into a desolate marsh 30 km north-west of Baghdad, the mass-circulation daily said.
"A bomb now looks the most likely cause" of the January 30 crash, a senior RAF source was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
The Sun reported that investigators thought it unlikely the plane suffered a mechanical problem, or was hit by a surface-to-air missile, or that ammunition aboard it had exploded.
Ammunition or a missile would not have caused the wing to sheer off, and the plane was probably out of missile range, they said.
"But sabotage is a another distinct possibility. Metal fatigue is another option but is considered much less likely. The suggestion that the plane was hit by a missile is a virtual non-starter," the source said.
The bodies of the nine Royal Air Force aircrew – including Flt Lt Pardoel – and one soldier were flown into RAF Lyneham in south-west England on Tuesday.
British officials have said the cause of the crash of the C-130 which resulted in Britain's largest single-day loss of life since it helped launch the Iraq war in March 2003, was still being investigated.
A senior US general said he believed the crash was due to an attack rather than a technical problem.
Lieutenant General Lance Smith, deputy commander of the US Central Command in Iraq, emphasised that it was his personal impression, and not the result of an ongoing enquiry into the incident.
"I personally believe that there may have been hostile action or something that happened inside the aircraft, but I don't think it was mechanical in nature," General Smith said at the Pentagon in Washington.
He said the aircraft could have been the victim of small-arms fire, or even "a lucky shot from an RPG", or rocket-propelled grenade.
Thanks for keeping us updated about this -- I've been wanting to know what brought this plane down.
If it was a bomb, I hope they figure out who did it and how it got there.
I'm sure that they have eliminated wind-shear conditions and center fuel tank problems as possible causes.
They let a terrorist on board their plane?
That missile video got out pretty quick. Maybe it was created as some disinfo by ex-mukharabat to distract attention from the fact they had a mole in the airport?
Didn't the Sun report a few days ago the plane was hit by 8 SAMs or some such nonsense?
One problem as more and more foreign sources get posted on FR is that people really don't have a handle on the tabloid nature or reliability of a lot of them (Good example: "India Daily" which sounded official but turns out to basically be a raving kook site.)
As much as Britain and Europe in general are eat up with "multicultural diversity" and political correctness, they probably didn't have any choice.
They would have been afraid to say anything if he had had twenty pounds of C4 in his hand.
One "packaged" video they used was the infamous action figure hostage. Only those who want to believe them will.
The video that you are talking about appears to have been made up from three, or more, sources.
The first scene was a close up of some kind of electrical launching device. It is definitely not part of a MADPAD or radar SAM launching system.
The second scene of a rocket in flight came from another source. I suspect that it was a free flight over ground un-guided artillery rocket. I heard and saw plenty of 122mm rockets just like that in Vietnam.
The third scene shows a smoke trail and an explosion. The smoke trail did not match the smoke trail from the second scene. This marks this as the third piece of video.
The final scene shows burning wreckage on the ground. I find this very unusual. If an aircraft had been shot down its crash site would had one, or more, quick reaction teams with air-borne support enroute within a few minutes. These teams are quick and sudden death for anyone who crosses them. There fore, staying around long enough to take video of the wreckage is not high on the list of survival traits.
Bottom line - some quick video editing to continue winning the public relations war. With all of the “buzz” it has received over the last 10 days it was well worth the effort.
""But sabotage is a another distinct possibility. Metal fatigue is another option but is conside"
I seem to recall some pretty graphic video of a C130 used for firefighting in SoCal that had a wing come off during ops. No Ji-hate-ists around then...
Just how old was this Brit C130?
"PRESS RELEASE -- Secretary of the Air Force, Directorate of Public Affairs
Release No. 02-06
February 11, 2005
C-130Es Grounded
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill - Air Mobility Command Commander, Gen. John W.
Handy, directed 30 U.S. Air Force C-130E model aircraft be grounded Feb 10. An additional 60 C-130 aircraft, ncluding some of the E, H, H1, and HC-130 N/P models were placed on restricted flight status to minimize wing stress and increase the safety margin.
The 30 C-130E aircraft were grounded based upon a recommendation by the C-130 System Program Office at Robins AFB, Ga. Since 2001, a series of inspections of the center wing box structure of C-130 has revealed that
cracks to the structure were greater in number and severity than originally expected.
Most of the aircraft affected are in AMC's inventory, but affected aircraft are also assigned to Air Education and Training Command, Pacific Air Forces, US Air Forces in Europe, the Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve
Command.
"Working together with the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Command and our active duty units, we are committed to meeting our requirements to war
fighters around the world', Handy said."
C-130K. This was based on the H model and was delivered in the mid-late 1960s.
The video of the wreckage is perfectly genuine. The Allison T56 engine is recognisable. The aircraft came down in a known hotbed of insurgency about an hour before darkness.
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