Puerto Rico Air National Guard WC-130H Crashes near Chatham City, Georgia.

Published on: May 2, 2018 at 8:46 PM

Reports Say 9 People on Board Dead.

A Lockheed WC-130H transport plane, 65-0968, from the 156th Airlift Wing from Puerto Rico has crashed near Chatham City, Georgia today. There were 5 crewmembers and 4 passengers on board. All of them reportedly died in the accident.

Local and social media in the area has shown video and photos of the aircraft burning heavily with debris, including most of the tail section on a roadway. Some flights to the nearby Savannah airport have been affected by the incident, although it is unclear if the aircraft was operating in connection the Savannah facility at the time of the crash.

One witness told CNN.com that, “The ground shook like a bomb going off.”

A WC-130H burns after crashing near a roadway in Georgia. (Photo: IAFF574 Savannah via Twitter)

The Lockheed WC-130H variant of the C-130 Hercules is tasked with weather reconnaissance including hurricane reconnaissance. It can remain in flight for as long as 15 hours and carries specialized meteorological monitoring equipment including the dropsonde wind speed and direction sensor.

This accident continues a series of recent incidents and accidents in U.S. military aviation.

Top image credit: Eduardo Rivera / Minaya Photography.

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Tom Demerly is a feature writer, journalist, photographer and editorialist who has written articles that are published around the world on TheAviationist.com, TACAIRNET.com, Outside magazine, Business Insider, We Are The Mighty, The Dearborn Press & Guide, National Interest, Russia’s government media outlet Sputnik, and many other publications. Demerly studied journalism at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. Tom Demerly served in an intelligence gathering unit as a member of the U.S. Army and Michigan National Guard. His military experience includes being Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Georgia (Cycle C-6-1) and as a Scout Observer in a reconnaissance unit, Company “F”, 425th INF (RANGER/AIRBORNE), Long Range Surveillance Unit (LRSU). Demerly is an experienced parachutist, holds advanced SCUBA certifications, has climbed the highest mountains on three continents and visited all seven continents and has flown several types of light aircraft.
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