At Least 16 Killed During Military Plane Crash In Mississippi

<p>A U.S. military plane crashed into a field&nbsp;in rural Mississippi Monday, killing at least 16 people aboard, spreading debris for miles and creating a fiery wreckage, officials said.&nbsp;</p>

Tuesday, July 11th 2017, 7:21 am

By: News 9


A U.S. military plane crashed into a field in rural Mississippi Monday, killing at least 16 people aboard, spreading debris for miles and creating a fiery wreckage, officials said.

Leflore County Emergency Management Agency Director Frank Randle told reporters at a late briefing that 16 bodies had been recovered after the KC-130 spiraled into the ground about 85 miles north of Jackson in the Mississippi Delta.

Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Burns said in a statement that a KC-130 "experienced a mishap" Monday evening but provided no details. The KC-130 is used as a refueling tanker.

Andy Jones said he was working on his family's catfish farm just before 4 p.m. when he heard a boom and looked up to see the plane corkscrewing downward with one engine smoking.

"You looked up and you saw the plane twirling around," he said. "It was spinning down." 

Jones said the plane hit the ground behind some trees in a soybean field, and by the time he and other reached the crash site, fires were burning too intensely to approach the wreckage. The force of the crash nearly flattened the plane, Jones said.

"Beans are about waist-high, and there wasn't much sticking out above the beans," he said.

Jones said a man borrowed his cellphone to report to authorities that there were bodies across U.S. Highway 82, more than a mile from the crash site.

Greenwood Fire Chief Marcus Banks told the Greenwood Commonwealth that debris from the plane was scattered in a radius of about 5 miles.

Jones said firefighters tried to put out the fire at the main crash site but withdrew after an explosion forced them back. The fire produced towering plumes of black smoke visible for miles across the flat region and continued to burn after dusk, more than four hours after the crash.

"It was one of the worst fires you can imagine," Jones said. He said the fire was punctuated by the pops of small explosions.

Officials didn't release information on what caused the crash or where the flight originated.

An official with Greenwood Airport in Mississippi told CBS News the plane had taken off from Memphis, and the aircraft was under the control of the Memphis Traffic Control Center.  It was last seen at 20,000 feet when it disappeared from radar, the official said. 

The official said the Marines are taking the lead in the investigation.

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