Crime & Safety
C-130 Lands Safely in Quonset after Landing Gear Failure
A routine training mission became an emergency situation, but crew members prevailed and were able to "reenergize" the hydraulic system.
A Rhode Island Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane landed at Quonset Airport safely on Tuesday after its landing gear suffered a failure and the wheels wouldn’t come down.
Crew members aboard the plane were able to reenergize the system and get the wheels lowered after circling over the airport for some time, finally landing Tuesday evening as a contingent of firefighters from the Quonset and the North Kingstown Fire Departments stood by for the emergency landing.
The plane, out of the 143rd Airlift Wing, circled Quonset Airport for a time as the three crew members on a routine training mission found themselves in a potentially dire emergency.
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They reportedly had about six hours of fuel as crews worked to address the hydraulic failure, firefighters said.
Along with an armada of fire apparatus and rescue vehicles, North Kingstown launched its Marine 5 unit to prepare for the possibility of a crash landing. Meanwhile, surrounding communities provided station coverage for North Kingstown.
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Ultimately, thanks to the crew’s efforts, the plane touched down at around 8:30 p.m. without incident.
“Congrats to the crew of the C-130 for an exceptional job in dire circumstances, and thanks to those FD that responded to assist,” the North Kingstown fire union tweeted. “Well done!”
Rhode Island National Guard Lt. Col. Peter Parente said that the landing gear could be lowered manually if the effort to reenergize the system didn’t work.
The C-130 is a 97-foot-long quad-rotor airplane primarily used for airlifting missions and can carry an enormous amount of cargo, including helicopters, tanks and can airdrop up to 42,000 pounds.
The incident has no connection to the upcoming air show in Quonset. (Stay tuned for more on that this week.)
Photo: A Rhode Island C-130J Super Hercules sits on the ramp at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC), Michigan during the 143d Airlift Wing’s (AW) Operational Readiness Inspection in 2012.
National Guard Photo by Master Sgt John McDonald
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