Shocking footage shows the C-130 crashing in Australia and killing all the three U.S. crew members last week.
A clip, filmed with a mobile phone, shows the moment the EC-130Q N134CG “Tanker 134”, operated by the Canadian-owned Coulson Aviation company and deployed to Australia to assist in fighting the catastrophic wildfires that have ravaged the country for weeks, crashed in the Snowy Monaro Area in southern NSW, Australia, killing the three U.S. crew members on board.
The aircraft had departed Richmond, NSW.
The C-130 can be seen dropping fire retardant before entering a thick cloud of smoke for some seconds, before crashing on the ground for reasons that are being investigated.
Capt. Ian McBeth, First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson and Flight Engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr. died in the crash. Both were U.S. Veterans: Ian McBeth served with the Wyoming Air National Guard and was still a member of the Montana Air National Guard, Coulson stated in a media release. He has spent his entire career flying C-130’s and was a qualified Instructor and Evaluator pilot. Ian earned his Initial Attack qualification for Coulson in 2018. Hudson graduated from the Naval Academy in 1999 and spent the next twenty years serving in the United States Marine Corps in a number of positions including C-130 pilot. He retired as a Lt. Colonel and received many decorations during his career. DeMorgan served in the U.S. Air Force with eighteen years as a Flight Engineer on the C-130, loggin gover 4,000 hours with nearly 2,000 hours in a combat environment.
Here’s the graphic footage:
