106 C-130s cleared

SCOTT AFB, Ill. - Gen. Maryanne Miller, commander of the Air Mobility Command, ordered the temporary removal of 123 of 450 Total Force C-130 Hercules from service on Aug. 7 after atypical cracks were discovered on the lower center wing joint or “rainbow fitting” during programmed depot maintenance. In consultation with aircraft maintenance and engineering experts, Gen. Miller directed an immediate time compliance technical order (TCTO) inspection to identify and correct any cracking to ensure airworthiness of these C-130 aircraft. In accordance with the TCTO, in-depth visual and modified non-destructive inspections of the wing box will be conducted on affected C-130H and J-model aircraft that have not received the extended service life center wing box and have greater than 15,000 equivalent flight hours. If cracking is identified during the 8-hour inspections, a depot-level replacement of the rainbow fitting will be required. Aircraft that are inspected and determined to have no cracking will be immediately returned to service. The Air Force takes the safety of its Airmen and aircraft very seriously and is working diligently to identify and repair affected aircraft as soon as possible. At this time, it has been assessed that this temporary removal of service will not impact ongoing C-130 support to overseas contingency operations. (Source: Air Mobility Command 08/08/19) Gulf Coast Note: Though GC regional AF command C-130H/J aircraft were not specified as part of this TCTO inspection, there are commands in NW Florida and south Mississippi that fly variants of these aircraft. Mississippi: The combined eight C-130J-30 assigned to 815th Airlift Squadron and 10 WC-130J assigned to 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron ("Hurricane Hunters") make up more than 95 percent of Keesler AFB's total flying mission. Florida: The 413th Flight Test Squadron’s C-130 Combined Test Force became its own entity last September at Eglin AFB when it was designated as a detachment, encapsulating more than a decade’s worth of specialized developmental tests on the C-130 Hercules. As the AF’s hub for all C-130 acquisition developmental testing, the newly minted 96th Operations Group Det. 1 performs testing of everything from small aircraft parts and software to major weapons system acquisitions – nose to tail. The C-130 has been in production since 1954 and been modified countless times since. The amount of expertise needed to fly these different variants is vast. The Eglin detachment is called the face of C-130 developmental testing. Over at Hurlburt Field, the 15th Special Operations Squadron (15th SOS) is one of nine flying squadrons within the 1st Special Operations Wing. The squadron flies the MC-130H Combat Talon IIs. The 1st Special Operations Group Det. 2 - the newest flying unit within the 1st SOW - employs the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship. The detachment is tasked to support developmental and operational testing of the AC-130J. Neither the Navy nor Marine Corps have taken C-130s offline. Those services fly the C-130T, KC-130T and KC-130J versions of the aircraft. UPDATE 08/09/19: Two C-130 variants of the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla., were inspected for unusual wing joint cracks and returned to service after no defects were discovered, an AFSOC spokeswoman said Aug. 9. The EC-130J Commando Solo, an information and psychological operations plane, and an AC-130W Stinger II gunship were the only two "spec ops" aircraft that required a closer look. UPDATE2: The AF has inspected, and cleared to fly again, most of the 123 C-130 Hercules that were grounded last week due to concerns about potential cracking in a crucial wing joint. Air Mobility Command has returned 74 C-130 variants to service as of Aug. 9. Just one of the grounded C-130s has been found to have a defect so far. It is not clear how long the remaining 48 C-130 variants might take to be inspected, since the pace depends on base capacity. The inspections take about eight hours. UPDATE3: AMC has inspected 107 of the 123 C-130s pulled from service earlier this month. One of 107 was discovered to have the “atypical cracks” on the wing joint. As of Aug. 16, 106 of inspected aircraft have returned to service. There is no specific timeline for when the entire fleet will return to service, though the inspection process, which began less than two weeks ago, has moved quickly. (Source: AF Magazine 08/19/19)