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March

14 Mar 1980 C-130H #74-2064, c/n 4659, of the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, explosion on board, inbound to Incirlik, Turkey, crashed 15 kilometers west of Incirlik

April

24 Apr 1980 During the ill-fated secret rescue mission at an airstrip in the Great Salt Desert of Eastern Iran, near Tabas codenamed Operation Eagle Claw, an EC-130E, #62-1809, c/n 3770, of the 7th ACCS, was destroyed in collision with a USN RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter, BuNo 158761. As the helicopter took off it flew into the wing root of the EC-130 and crashed, killing five USAF aircrew in the C-130 and three USMC aircrew in the RH-53[19] All of the RH-53Ds had to be abandoned at the site. At least one airframe was assembled from the abandoned helicopters, to join six RH-53Ds supplied by the United States to the Iranian Navy in 1978.

May

28 May 1980 C-130H T.10-1 of the Spanish Air Force (EscuadrĂ³n 311) crashed into mountain in central Gran Canaria.

September

5 Sep 1980 L-100-20 #317 of the Kuwait Air Force crashed near Montelimar in southeastern France
14 Sep 1980 C-130E #453 of the RSAF (4 Squadron), crashed on take-off from Medina Saudi Arabia
14 Sep 1980 C-130H, #9T-TCE of the Zaire Air Force crashed during take-off from Kindu, Zaire, during a three-engine attempt with a maximum load.

October

2 Oct 1980 C-130A #56-0504, c/n 3112, of the 105th Tactical Airlift Squadron, lost part of port wing leading edge, crashed near McMinnville, Tennessee. Aircraft had been operated by Air America as 604, c. February 1970.
15 Oct 1980 CC-130E #130312 of the Canadian Forces operated by 436 Squadron, stalled at low level and crashed near Chapais, Quebec, while on a Search and Rescue Mission for a lost helicopter.
29 Oct 1980 An extensively modified YMC-130H, #74-1683, c/n 4658, crashed at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field 1, Wagner Field, Florida, during a demonstration of a modified MC-130H Combat Talon aircraft for a planned Iranian hostage rescue attempt named Operation Credible Sport. Arresting rockets fitted to the aircraft fired out of sequence, some early and some not at all, resulting in an extremely heavy landing that tore off the starboard wing and set the aircraft on fire. Despite this mishap, the entire crew survived. The wrecked hull was dismantled and those parts not salvageable buried at Wagner Field. Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VnSfPh3yt8 Rumors persist that the hull was rebuilt as an AC-130H gunship, however due to the highly classified nature of the gunship, there is no known documented evidence to support this.

November

4 Nov 1980 C-130H #3556 of the Venezuelan Air Force crashed after engine failure near Caracas. Eleven people died.