What happened
A C-130 Hercules aircraft, operating on behalf of the Dutch Air Force to transport a military band, was involved in a fatal accident during its arrival at Eindhoven. The flight originated from Verona-Villafranca, with a brief stop in Rimini, where a small number of passengers disembarked. Upon approaching Eindhoven, the aircraft established contact with the tower at 18:00 and was cleared for a direct final approach to runway 04.
During the final stages of the approach, the co-pilot initiated a go-around procedure, likely due to the presence of a large bird population near the runway. During this maneuver, both left-side engines ingested birds, leading to a loss of power in both units. Following this, the crew shut down the third engine and feathered its propeller. The aircraft subsequently performed a left turn and impacted the ground just off the left side of the runway.
An intense fire broke out immediately following the impact, fueled by the aircraft's onboard oxygen system. The rescue effort was severely hampered by the structural damage to the fuselage, which prevented several exits from being opened, while the fire rendered other exits inaccessible. Due to the scale of the incident, responders did not realize the high number of passengers on board for approximately 23 minutes. The accident resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries.
Findings
- The primary cause of the engine failure was the ingestion of birds into the number one and number two engines.
- The post-crash fire was intensified by the release of oxygen from the aircraft's internal systems.
- Structural deformation of the airframe obstructed several emergency evacuation routes.