The Marine Corps said Tuesday that a KC-130 tanker plane, which is capable of carrying thousands of gallons of jet fuel in its belly tank, was carrying only troops and their equipment when it crashed in Mississippi on Monday afternoon.
All 16 people on board the plane died when the plane went down in a soybean field in LeFlore County, a rural area of the state, at about 4 p.m.
In addition to the crew, the plane was carrying seven members from the Camp Lejeune-based 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, which included six Marines and one Navy Corpsman.
The plane, from the Marine Aerial Refueling and Transport Squadron, was taking the troops from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., for what was described as “routine small unit pre-deployment training.”
The names of the dead are being withheld according to the service’s policies about the notification of next of kin, and the military is working to ensure that all available resources and support are provided to the families and friends.
