More than 15 percent of the approximately 2,350 Lockheed C-130 Hercules production hulls have been lost, including 70 by the US Air Force and the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Not all US C-130 losses have been crashes, 29 of those listed below were destroyed on the ground by enemy action or other non-flying causes.
From 1967 to 2005, the Royal Air Force (RAF) recorded an accident rate of about one Hercules loss per 250,000 flying hours.. Note that this data does not cover losses due to hostile action, which are counted separately from "accidents". United States Air Force Hercules (A/B/E-models), as of 1989, had an overall attrition rate of 5 percent as compared to 1 to 2 percent for commercial airliners in the U.S., according to the NTSB, 10 percent for B-52 bombers, and 20 percent for fighters (F-4, F-111), trainers (T-37, T-38), and helicopters (H-3).Diehl, Alan E., PhD, Former Senior USAF Safety Scientist. Silent Knights: Blowing the Whistle on Military Accidents and Their Cover-ups, Brassey's, Inc., Dulles, Virginia, 2002, Library of Congress card number 2001052726, , p. 45.
This is thought to be a complete listing through July 1, 2012, but omits the JC-130A (53-3130, c/n 3002) test airframe that was tested to destruction and airframes retired or withdrawn from service. By the nature of the Hercules' worldwide service, the pattern of losses provides a barometer of global hotspots over the past fifty years.
Guide to Hercules construction numbers The two prototype YC-130s, AF Serial Numbers 53-3396 and 53-3397, were built at the Burbank, California plant, and were given c/ns 1001 and 1002. Production Hercules have all been built at the Lockheed-Marietta, Georgia plant, and began their c/ns at 3001 (USAF 53-3129, still extant at the Air Force Armament Museum). The first prototype, c/n 1001, was disassembled at Warner Robins AFB in October 1960. The second prototype, c/n 1002, was salvaged at Indianapolis, Indiana in April 1962. (Lars Olausson, Lockheed Hercules Production List, 1954–2008, April 2007, page 2.) There have been a small number of c/ns assigned to airframes on order that were not built for various reasons. Also, C-130A model production ended at c/n 3231, and a new series for the B-model began at c/n 3501, the only time a large block was skipped for an upgraded airframe.
Some 2,500 hulls have been built or are on order. USMC KC-130J BuNo 167111, c/n 5580, delivered December 2006 to VMGR-352, is the 2,300th Hercules. As of 2011, constructor numbers have been projected for anticipated orders through c/n 5800, with projected delivery in 2015 (Olausson, Production List, March 2011).
Hercules crashes by country of operator
Algeria
June 30, 2003: Algerian Air Force C-130H (MSN 382-4926) 7T-WHQ crashed shortly after takeoff from Boufarik Airport, after an engine caught fire. The Hercules crashed into the Beni Mered district on the outskirts of Blida, destroying at least four houses. All five crew and ten people on the ground were killed. August 13, 2006: L-100-30 (MSN 382-4880) 7T-VHG of Air Algérie was destroyed when it collided with terrain following a high-rate descent from 24,000 feet in Piacenza, Italy. The pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer were killed. February 23, 2009: An Algerian Air Force C-130 crashed, details not known. February 11, 2014: Algerian Air Force C-130H-30 (MSN 382-4919) 7T-WHM crashed in a mountainous area en route to Constantine, killing all but one of the four crew and 74 passengers on board. June 3, 2018: Algerian Air Force C-130H (MSN 382-4911) 7T-WHT crashed when it skidded off runway after landing, eight crew members and skydiving instructors on board injured. The fuselage broke in two just behind the wing.
Angola May 16, 1981: L-100-20 (MSN 382-4830) D2-EAS of Angola Air Charter shot down by infrared missile near Menongue, Angola. June 8, 1986: L-100-20 (MSN 382-4832) D2-THA of Angola Air Charter wheels up landing, Dondo, Angola, written off. January 5, 1990: L-100-30 (MSN 382-4222) D2-FAG of Angola Air Charter hit by missile at Menongue, Angola, crash landed, written off. April 7, 1994: L-100-30 (382-4679) D2-THC of TAAG Angola Airlines damaged beyond repair by fire after landing at Malenge, Angola, overheated brakes. January 2, 1999: L-100-30 (MSN 382-4839) D2-EHD of Transafrik and operating for the United Nations shot down by UNITA after take-off from Huambo, Angola.
Argentina August 28, 1975: C-130E (MSN 382-4309) TC-62 of the Argentine Air Force was destroyed when a bomb placed by Montoneros exploded on the runway in front of the aircraft during take-off from Tucuman, Argentina. Six of 114 Gendarmes on board were killed. See Operativo Independencia for the background history. June 1, 1982: C-130E (MSN 382-4310) TC-63 of the Argentine Air Force was shot down by Royal Navy Sea Harrier XZ451, of air group, coded '006', piloted by Lieutenant Commander Nigel Ward, with AIM-9L Sidewinder missile and guns during the Falklands War (). May 15, 1996: C-130H (MSN-4576) TC-67 of the Argentine Air Force was damaged beyond repair on bad weather landing at Tandil, Argentina. No fatalities.
Australia September 24, 1994: L-100-30 (MSN 382-4826) PK-PLV of Heavy lift crashed into water on take-off from Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, overspeed on number four propeller. This was the second and last Hercules accident at this airport. January 23, 2020: EC-130Q USN 161496 (MSN 382-4904) N134CG of Coulson Aviation (Australia) under contract to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service was destroyed when it crashed near Cooma, New South Wales during operations to fight a bushfire of the 2019–20 Australian bushfires. Three aircrew from the US were killed.
Belgium July 15, 1996: C-130H CH-06 of the Belgian Air Force crashed at Eindhoven AB in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The aircraft was carrying 37 members of the Dutch Army Fanfare Band, two pilots, one engineer and one loadmaster (41 total). The aircraft had departed from Villafranca in Italy. It is believed that the co-pilot initiated a go-around after noticing a flock of birds on the runway. Some were ingested resulting in loss of power on three engines. The aircraft hit the runway and caught fire. 32 people died in the crash and resulting fire. Nine heavily burned survivors were rescued, two of whom later died in hospital. This crash is also known in the Netherlands as the Herculesramp (Hercules disaster). May 5, 2006: C-130H CH-02 of the Belgian Air Component was destroyed in hangar fire at Brussels Airport, Belgium, along with three civilian Airbus A320s.
Bolivia September 28, 1979: C-130H CP-1375 of Transporte Aéreo Boliviano flew into water after night take-off from Panama-Tocumen. December 21, 1989: C-130A TAM62 of the Bolivian Air Force crashed at Guayaramerin, Bolivia, 700 kilometers north-northeast of La Paz, after three-engine take-off. 22 of the 27 people on board were killed. December 31, 1994: C-130B TAM67 of the Bolivian Air Force crashed on three-engine take-off from Trinidad, Bolivia. January 14, 2000: C-130B TAM60 of the Bolivian Air Force crashed at Chimorre Airport (Bolivia). The aircraft departed down the left side of runway 35, but 600 meters from the approach end, impacted into a ditch and came to rest in a forested area off the left side of the runway. The aircraft was a total loss with five passengers dead according to information provided in citation. February 27, 2026: C-130 FAB-81 of the Bolivian Air Force crashed near El Alto at 18:15 local time (22:15 GMT). The aircraft was carrying banknotes. At least 24 people were killed in the accident. At least 43 were injured.
Brazil October 26, 1966: C-130E 2452 of the Brazilian Air Force (1 Esquadrão, 1 Grupo, Galeão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), crashed during landing with a high sink rate. December 21, 1969: C-130E 2450 of the Brazilian Air Force (1 Esquadrão, 1 Grupo, Galeão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), written off at Recife, Brazil. June 24, 1985: C-130E 2457 of the Brazilian Air Force (1 Esquadrão, 1 Grupo, Galeão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), crashed in fog on landing approach to Santa Maria Air Force Base, Brazil. December 12, 1987: C-130H 2468 of the Brazilian Air Force crashed into sea on approach to Fernando de Noronha island, Brazil. 29 were killed. October 14, 1994: C-130E 2460 of the Brazilian Air Force (1 Esquadrão, 1 Grupo) was destroyed at Formosa, 60 kilometers northeast of Brasília, Brazil, when ammunition load caught fire in the air. November 27, 2014: C-130H 2470 undershot the runway at Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Air Base (TNM/SCRM), King George Island, Antarctica, hitting a rock out-crop which ripped off the starboard undercarriage legs. The aircraft proceeded down the runway, settling to starboard, when the No. 4 and No. 3 propellers contacted the snow. The aircraft ground-looped to a standstill largely intact. Despite plans to repair the aircraft, it was decided to dismantle it in an environmentally safe method so the parts could be removed to Brazil.
Canada April 15, 1966: CC-130B 10304 of the Royal Canadian Air Force crash landed in a field after losing a forward cargo door inflight, resulting in structural damage due to explosive decompression. April 27, 1967: CC-130E 10309 of the RCAF crashed after take-off from Trenton, possibly due to an elevator trim failure. July 16, 1969: L-100 CF-PWO of Pacific Western Airlines crashed Cayaya, Peru, wing hit ground during go-around in fog. November 21, 1976: L-100-20 CF-PWX of Pacific Western Airlines crashed at Eastville, near Kisangani, Zaire, low fuel, emergency landing in fog at night. Field landing lights off on arrival, not enough fuel to return, let down in jungle, one survivor. October 15, 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. April 11, 1982: L-100-20 CF-PWK of Northwest Territorial Airways burned on ground, off-loading gasoline, Paulatuk, Northwest Territories (69N, 124W). November 16, 1982: CC-130H 130329 of the Canadian Forces crashed during a Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES) operation at Namao when the load failed to clear the aircraft causing it to crash. March 29, 1985: Two Canadian Forces CC-130H, 130330 and 130331 both of 435 Squadron, crashed after having a mid-air collision over CFB Namao, near Edmonton, Alberta. This remains the only dual Hercules mid-air collision. January 29, 1989: CC-130E 130318 of the Canadian Forces and operated by 435 Squadron when it crashed 600 feet short of the runway during a night approach at −46C, in Fort Wainwright, Alaska. October 30, 1991: CC-130E 130322 of the Canadian Forces was flying to Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert from Edmonton, Alberta via Thule Air Base, Greenland. While on final approach to the airstrip the pilot apparently was flying by sight rather than relying on instruments. The aircraft crashed on Ellesmere Island approximately 16 km (9.9 miles) short of the runway, killing five of the 18 passengers and crew. Subsequent rescue efforts by personnel from CFS Alert, USAF personnel from Thule AB and CF personnel from 440 Squadron, CFB Edmonton, Alberta, 413 Sqn CFB Greenwood, Nova Scotia and 424 Sqn Trenton, Ontario, were hampered by a blizzard and local terrain. The crash investigation recommended all CC-130s be retrofitted with ground proximity detectors and beefed-up Arctic survival equipment. The crash and rescue efforts were the basis of a film called Ordeal in the Arctic. July 22, 1993: CC-130E 130321 of the Canadian Forces and operated by 435 Squadron, Edmonton, Alberta, crashed while performing a low-level practice LAPES drop at CFB Wainwright, Alberta. During the drop the airplane hit a berm and crashed in prairie grassland, breaking up into three pieces. Five of the nine military personnel on board died.