C-130 Hercules News

January 9, 2020 (by Asif Shamim) - A South African Air Force (SAAF) C-130BZ crash landed at Goma airport in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Thursday 9th January.
The aircraft, from 28 Squadron based at Waterkloof’s airbase, was transporting UN personnel back from the eastern city of Beni when its left engine caught fire upon landing, said Mathias Gillman, acting spokesperson for the UN MONUSCO mission.

“MONUSCO sent a rescue team that brought the fire under control and everyone was safely evacuated,” Gillman told The Associated Press.

The C-130BZ was identified from pictures taken at Goma as being #403 shows extensive damage to the left wing and fire damage on engine 1. First impressions indicate this may result in the airframe being written off.

This is the first serious accident/incident involving the South African Air Force’s C-130BZs in over fifty years of operations.