NTSB Releases Report on SBA Crash Landing

Photos: Max Rosenberg

By edhat staff

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cites system failures as the cause for the Lockheed C130 crash landing at Santa Barbara Airport in August.

On August 25 just before 10:30 p.m., a restricted category Lockheed C-130A experienced multiple system failures shortly after takeoff from Santa Maria Public Airport and made an emergency landing at the Santa Barbara Airport. International Air Response (IAR operated the airplane as a cross-country flight with 2 flight crew and 5 passengers. All were employees of IAR and were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage and fire damage from a postcrash fire.

According to the operator, the airplane was stationed in Malaysia in order to respond to emergencies in the area. It was scheduled for a maintenance C-check and was en route to IAR’s
home base in Phoenix. The flight had made a refueling stop in Hilo, Hawaii, and another refueling stop in Santa Maria. During those legs of the flight, no problems had been encountered.

NTSB’s preliminary report states the flight crew heard a loud popping noise and the passengers heard a loud bang shortly after taking off while the torque gages provided unusual and fluctuating readings.

“A crew member in the cargo compartment announced misting hydraulic fluid mixed with smoke. The flight crew saw fire-warning lights and other anomalies. The passengers donned their supplemental oxygen and the cockpit crew turned off the four engine bleeds. At this time, they also noticed the utility hydraulic pressure fluctuating and a crew member advised that the landing gear should be lowered before there was a total utility system failure. The landing gear was lowered; the nose and left landing gear lowered, but the right landing gear took longer to lower. The cockpit crew observed three green lights from the landing gear, which indicated the landing gear was lowered and locked. The flight crew turned off the numbers 2 and 4 hydraulic pumps. As they continued to trouble shoot the multiple failures, they diverted to SBA based on weather considerations…”

The pilot declared an emergency began their descent to Santa Barbara, advising the airport that he would make S-turns to lose altitude as they had no flaps. As a result, their approach speed would be fast, and they would likely use the full length of the runway. “As the airplane touched down, he applied full inboard reverse thrust as soon as the nose wheel touched down. The rightwing began to drop and the airplane drifted to the right. He applied full left rudder and began using the No. 1 engine reverse to try and keep the airplane on the runway. The airplane continued to the right and departed the right side of the runway. The Captain intentionally ground looped the airplane as it was continuing toward SBA’s main terminal and parked airplanes. The airplane came to a stop about 270-degrees right of the runway heading,” the report reads.

Two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors inspected the airplane and identified the number 3 bleed air duct had failed, which blew hot air onto the surrounding electrical wires and hydraulic lines.

The investigation is on-going.