CLOSE The military refueling plane crashed in a soybean field in rural Mississippi, killing at least 16 people. The local sheriff said, "Most of them are gonna be Marines." USA TODAY

Photo of video posted by Chris Nissen on Facebook showing black smoke coming from sight of plane crash in Mississippi. (Photo: Submitted by Chris Nissen)

Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story misattributed a quote. Sheriff Ricky Banks said: "Most of them are gonna be Marines."

JACKSON, Miss. — A military refueling aircraft crashed Monday afternoon in a soybean field in Leflore County, killing at least 16 and leaving a debris field five miles in radius, officials said.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Lee Smithson said the plane crashed on the Sunflower-Leflore county line.

Leflore County EMA Director Frank Randle confirmed that 16 are dead in the crash.

"Most of them are gonna be Marines," said Sheriff Ricky Banks. He could not confirm whether there were any civilians on the plane.

The U.S. Marine Corps Twitter account posted that "A USMC KC-130 mishap occurred the evening of July 10. Further information will be released as available."

A USMC KC-130 mishap occurred the evening of July 10. Further information will be released as available. pic.twitter.com/QEFhooJZmC — U.S. Marines (@USMC) July 11, 2017

Marine Corps spokeswoman Lt. Kristine Rascicot confirmed that the plane that crashes was a USMC KC-130, but said she was not able to release any more details.

Capt. Sarah Burns said in a statement that a Marine C-130 "experienced a mishap" Monday evening, echoing almost the exact language of the tweet.

A helicopter flies of the still-smoking crash site of a military plane near Moorehead Road in Itta Bena, Miss., July 10, 2017. (Photo: Elijah Baylis, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger)

A KC-130 aircraft is an extended-range tanker version of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules that has been modified for aerial refueling.The C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop aircraft used primarily for military transportation. It's known as a workhorse used in refueling, humanitarian missions, firefighting, search and rescue, and combat missions, according to the Lockheed Martin website.

It wasn't clear Monday evening where the flight originated or where it was headed.

Leflore County deputy coroner Will Gnemi confirmed that his office was called to the accident scene. He said investigators were looking for other victims at the rural crash site, searching in a soybean field with tall vegetation.

Greenwood Fire Chief Marcus Banks told the Greenwood Commonwealth's Tim Kalich that the debris field was about five miles in radius.

Banks told the Commonwealth that the call came in around 4 p.m. An aircraft crash truck rushed to the scene, and 4,000 gallons of foam were used in an effort to put out the fire, he said.

Firefighters were driven away by several "high-intensity explosions," Banks told the Commonwealth, adding that they thought it was possibly some ammunition igniting.

The Commonwealth reported that the flight last contacted air traffic controllers at an elevation of about 20,000 feet.

"Please join Deborah and me in praying for those hurting after this tragedy," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement on Facebook. "Our men and women in uniform risk themselves every day to secure our freedom."

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said the NTSB was not involved in the investigation because the plane was a military aircraft.

Contributing: Daniel Connolly, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal. Follow Therese Apel on Twitter: @TRex21

Related:

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2ubUnq8</s>(Reuters) - At least 16 people were killed when a U.S. military plane crashed in rural Mississippi on Monday evening, a regional emergency management official said.

No official details were immediately available on the circumstances of the crash in northern Mississippi's LeFlore County, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Jackson, the state capital.

Captain Sarah Burns, a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps, said only that a U.S. Marines KC-130 Hercules transport aircraft had "experienced a mishap," with news media initially reporting five confirmed deaths.

Several hours later, Fred Randle, LeFlore County director of emergency management, told Reuters that at least 16 people had perished. Randle gave no further details of the incident.

The incident was a "tragedy", Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said in a statement on social media site Facebook, but provided no details.

Images posted online by news organizations showed the crumpled wreckage of a plane engulfed in flames in a field surrounded by tall vegetation, with a large plume of smoke in the sky above the crash site.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Writing by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Steve Gorman and Clarence Fernandez)</s>A U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 has crashed into a field outside Greenwood, Mississippi, according to a tweet sent by the United States Marine Corps.

The plane was reportedly carrying eight or nine people, according to WNCN.

RELATED: An investigation into the mysterious crash of an F-16 at Ellington is under way

Alan Hammons, an official at Greenwood Airport in Mississippi, told WNCN that the plane was tracked by air traffic controllers and suffered a “structural failure” at 20,000 feet.

Initial reports indicate that the plane came from the Naval Support Activity Mid-South Base located in Millington, Tennessee according to the Clarion Ledger.

The Lockheed Martin KC-130 is a four-engine turboprop military tanker aircraft used for aerial refueling. This variant of the C-130 is used by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Marine Corps.

Firefighters are working to put out the fire in the field, which was sparked by the crash.

Officials did not have information on what caused the crash or where the flight originated.

The Governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant, shared his prayers in a Facebook post shortly after the crash:</s>FEFLORE COUNTY, Miss. (WKRN) – At least four people died Monday evening after a U.S. Army plane crashed in Leflore County, Mississippi.

The plane has been identified as Lockheed C-130 Hercules, the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to WATN-TV.

The Hercules is a large, four-engine aircraft used for military transport by both the Army and Air Force.

Stay with News 2 and refresh this page for updates.</s>Sixteen people are dead following a Marine Corps airplane crash in Mississippi, according to authorities at the crash site.

First responders said the C-130 left Memphis on Monday.

The plane crashed in Leflore County just off Highway 82 on Monday afternoon.

The plane is believed to have exploded in mid-air. Investigators said they found debris on both sides of the highway, leading them to believe an explosion happened prior to the crash.

A Mississippi State Trooper said the plane is loaded with ammunition, causing emergency workers to have to keep their distance.

"There's a lot of ammo in the plane. That's why we are keeping so far back. We just don't know what it'll do. It burns a bit then goes out, burns a little more then dies down," the trooper told WMC Action News 5 crews.

The United States Marine Corps confirmed the aircraft was a Marine aircraft.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant asked everyone to pray for those impacted by this tragedy.

“I am saddened by the terrible plane crash this evening in Mississippi that took the lives of five soldiers serving our country. My thoughts go out to the families of the deceased, and I hope for the survival of the others on board.”

This is a developing story. We will update this as more information becomes available.</s>Sixteen people are dead following a Marine Corps airplane crash in Mississippi, according to authorities at the crash site.

Sixteen people are dead following a Marine Corps airplane crash in Mississippi, according to authorities at the crash site.

The KC-130 is the Marine variant of the C-130 Hercules -- a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and originally built by Lockheed which is now Lockheed Martin.

According to Lockheed Martin, the Hercules first entered American service in 1956, mainly as a result of America's experience in the Korean War when American forces discovered their aerial transports were ill-equipped for missions along the 38th parallel which divides North and South Korea.

"The U.S. military needed a single versatile aircraft that could be used for any and all transportation needs," the aircraft manufacturer said.

Enter the Hercules, the antithesis of the sleek, speedy jets of its day, but it's low center of gravity reaches 360 mph with a huge and easy to use cargo area that could carry up to 40,000 pounds.

Now, the C-130 has become famous for its ability to refuel other aircraft in flight, fly a small military force and its heavy equipment around the world, and for its capability of landing on short, unfinished airstrips.

The aircraft has also been used for firefighting, search and rescue, and as a hurricane hunter, flying straight into the eye of the storm to gather scientific data.

At 60 years in production, C-130s are the longest continuously produced military aircraft -- logging in more than 1.5 million flights, with more than 70 variants and more than 2,400 aircraft.

Lockheed Martin claims there is literally a Hercules airborne somewhere in the world every minute of every day.

The KC-130 first appeared in 1962 with a range of about 1,500 miles as a tanker and more than 3,000 miles as a cargo transport.

The aircraft's latest version, the KC-130J, can weigh as much as 164,000 pounds and is able to fly as much as 4,200 nautical miles.</s>A Marine Corps KC-130 transport aircraft crashed in LeFlore County, Miss., on July 10 at approximately 4 p.m. CDT, claiming the lives of 16 service members. 

 

 The flight originated from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. Federal Aviation Administration officials contacted the Marine Corps when the aircraft disappeared from air traffic control radar over Mississippi. The cause of the crash is unknown at this time; the incident is under investigation.

 

 The identities of the service members whose lives were lost in this tragic accident are being withheld to allow time for their loved ones to be notified. While the details of the incident are being investigated, our focus remains on providing the necessary resources and support to the family and friends of these service members as they go through this extremely difficult time. More information will be released as it becomes available.

 

 For more information, please contact Marine Forces Reserve Public Affairs at Phone: 504-256-8172 or mailto:mfrpao@usmc.mil</s>A U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 Hercules aerial tanker has crashed in rural Mississippi. Local news coverage shows the plane as a totally destroyed burning hulk laying pancaked in a field. The mishap reportedly occurred sometime around 4:00 PM Central Standard Time (CST) near Greenwood, Mississippi, along a stretch of Highway 82 that runs near the boundary between the state's Leflore and Sunflower Counties. Initial reports were unclear as to who owned the aircraft, first identified only as a C-130 Hercules. The U.S. Marine Corps later confirmed on Twitter that one of its KC-130 aircraft was involved in the accident.

The official Tweet did not include any details, stating that "further information will be released as available." Later we found out that 16 souls were aboard the stricken aircraft and all perished in the crash.

The service did not specify whether the plane was an older KC-130T or a new KC-130J model and it was not immediately apparent what variant was involved from photographs and video. The Marines use these aircraft for mid-air refueling, as well as basic cargo hauling duties. There is a also a roll-on/roll-off kit that can transform the newer KC-130J models into armed weapons and surveillance platforms, called Harvest Hawks. An early report indicated that the aircraft had originally taken off from Naval Support Activity Mid-South Base situated in Millington, Tennessee, but this is unlikely as the facility does not have an airfield. However, it is located near Millington Regional Jetport, which had been a Naval Reserve base until 1993. Mississippi officials had not apparently confirmed the aircraft's point of origin as of around 7:00 PM CST, according to a story from local NBC affiliate WCNC.

As casualty counts became more defined, and rose well beyond the few Marines rumored to have been killed shortly after the crash, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said in a post on Facebook: "Please join Deborah and me in praying for those hurting after this tragedy. Our men and women in uniform risk themselves every day to secure our freedom."

Though the Marine Corps has not released any details, the aircraft may have suffered a "structural failure" at 20,000, Alan Hammons, an official with Mississippi's Greenwood Airport, told local CBS affiliate WNCN. MSNewsNow, citing unnamed "investigators," said the presence of debris on both sides of Highway 82 suggested a mid-air explosion. Who those individuals would have been is unclear, however, since the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed it was not involved since the aircraft was property of the U.S. military. Other reports state the aircraft may have suffered an explosion mid air before it fell to the ground. We will update this story as more information becomes available.</s>(ABC News) — The U.S. Marine Corps confirmed that a Marine Corps KC-130 aircraft crashed in LeFlore County, Mississippi, on Monday.

According to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, there are fatalities. The agency was uncertain where the aircraft was based.

Further details will come following next of kin notifications.

“A USMC KC-130 experienced a mishap the evening of July 10,” said Capt. Sarah Burns, a Marine Corps spokesperson. “Further information will be passed as available.”

Local authorities have provided contradictory information about the number of people believed to be killed and on board at the time of the crash. Figures have ranged from four to six dead and eight to nine on board the plane.</s>LEFLORE COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – Several agencies are investigating a deadly United States Marine Corps (USMC) plane crash that happened in Leflore County on Monday afternoon.

Sixteen service members died when the plane went down in a field.

We’re told the flight itself did not originate from Cherry Point, North Carolina. But that leg of the Marine Corps KC-130 flight did start in North Carolina. Officials with the Marine Corps are working to notify the family members of those on board before releasing more details about the plane’s flight schedule.

According to the USMC, federal aviation officials say the aircraft disappeared from air traffic control radar. The cause of the crash remained under investigation Tuesday morning.

None of the 16 serve members killed have been identified. USMC officials are working to notify their families.

The Marine Corps issued a statement that says in part:

While the details of the incident are being investigated, our focus remains on providing the necessary resources and support to the family and friends of these service members as they go through this extremely difficult time.

Several state, local and national authorities have offered their condolences to the families of the service members.

President Donald Trump also issued a statement offering condolences to the families of the sixteen service members who were killed.

We will continue following this story throughout the day. Stay with WJTV 12 as we get you answers on the investigation from Leflore County.
A United States Marine Corps Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft carrying sixteen people has crashed near the American town of Greenwood, Mississippi. All sixteen bodies have been recovered.