Emergency personnel continued the grim task Tuesday of removing bodies from the smoldering wreckage of a KC-130T Marine tanker that exploded in a Mississippi Delta soybean field the day before, killing all 16 aboard — 15 Marines and one Navy corpsman.
Amid rising temperatures, Leflore County Coroner Debra Sanders rode a dune buggy down a dirt road, taking more body bags to the scene.
The cause of the crash, the deadliest Marine plane crash since 2005, still isn’t known. The FBI is assisting
with the investigation, as is protocol, but foul play is not suspected.
The identities of those killed in the crash had not been released as of Tuesday evening, pending family notification.
Confusion dominated most of the day Tuesday as officials released information on where the plane had departed from and where it was headed.
The KC-130T belonged to the Marine Aerial Refueling and Transport Squadron (VMGR) 452, Marine Air Group-49, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Forces Reserve, based in Newburgh, New York, with the Stewart Air National Guard base. Nine Marines from that unit were killed in the crash.
But the plane was transporting an assortment of service members from different locations and had interim planned stops along the way before heading to a final destination of Yuma, Arizona.
Among the stops were Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, North Carolina, where the plane picked up personnel, and a later planned stop at Naval Air Field, El Centro, California.
The unit was transporting six Marines and one Navy sailor from Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command, and their associated equipment for routine small unit pre-deployment training at Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma. The seven were from the Camp Lejeune-based 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, according to Marine Forces Reserves spokesman Capt. Andrew Chrestman.
Investigators and emergency personnel worked throughout the day Tuesday to recover victims. The wreckage and debris was flung in a 5-mile radius, with authorities searching the field where the tanker crashed as well as the field across U.S. 82.
Six members of the Mississippi Highway Patrol blocked the intersection of U.S. 82 and County Road 287, only letting those authorized to pass through.
"Right now there are crews on the crash site, investigating what happened, they're going to look at what caused (the crash), to figure out what happened," said U.S. Marine Forces Reserve spokesman Maj. Andrew Aranda. "The next step is to continue with the investigation. It's very early in its stages right now, and it's just to preserve what evidence we can to help make a determination later on of what was caused (the crash)."
A view from overhead shows the charred wreckage, its flames and smoke extinguished.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire MARSOC family at this time," said the chief of staff of the Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command. "The incredible demands of this dangerous and demanding calling forge some of the tightest unit and family bonds found in the U.S. military. This loss impacts us all."
The city of Newburgh was quiet on Tuesday, as was the surrounding community, as details of the crash slowly trickled in. Media from several news organizations have gathered outside of the base, and several flowers and U.S. flags were placed near the front entrance.
The last time 16 or more people died in a Marine Corps aviation incident was on Jan. 26, 2005, when 31 were killed when a CH-53E crashed in al-Anbar Province in Iraq, Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Burns said.
The most recent Marine crash was in January 2016 "when two CH-53Es crashed during a training event in Hawaii, killing 12," the U.S. Naval Institute reported.
The Military Times said the crash comes "at a time of intense concern about the readiness and condition of theCorps’ aviation fleet." The site reports that "top Marine officials say the Corps has suffered a severe lack of experienced maintainers in recent years."
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