Last updated: 24 September 2022
| Status: | |
| Date: | Thursday 6 December 2018 |
| Time: | c. 02:00 |
| Type: |  Lockheed Martin KC-130J |
| Operator: | United States Marine Corps |
| Registration: | 167981 |
| C/n / msn: | 5617 |
| First flight: | |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | 100 km (62.5 mls) SSE off Muroto Cape, Japan ( Pacific Ocean)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Iwakuni MCAS (IWK/RJOI), Japan |
| Iwakuni MCAS (IWK/RJOI), Japan |
A USMC F/A-18 fighter aircraft with two crew onboard experienced a midair collision with a USMC KC-130J tanker aircraft with 5 crew onboard during refueling operations over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan.
Both F/A-18 crewmen were rescued by Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces. One later died.
The search for the crew of the KC-130, attached to the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR-152), was abandoned on December 11, 2018.
Sources:
» III MEF Marines press release» U.S. Marines abandon search for five missing aircrew after crash near Japan (washingtonpost.com, 11 Dec. 2018)
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Iwakuni MCAS to Iwakuni MCAS as the crow flies is 19884 km (12427 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
Distance from Iwakuni MCAS to Iwakuni MCAS as the crow flies is 19884 km (12427 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
