The fleet of C130 Hercules aircraft have been dropping water and fire retardant on flames EPAAn aircraft tackling bushfires in Australia has crashed, killing all three American crew on board. The modified former military Lockheed C130 Hercules transport plane was flying at a low level in turbulence and smoke in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales when it went down shortly. The 99ft four-engined turboprop aircraft had been tackling fresh outbreaks of the huge bushfires that had already claimed 29 lives since September. People in Cooma, in the Snowy Mountains, embrace after learning of the crash Jenny Evans/Getty ImagesThe US-owned aircraft are capable of dropping 15,000 litres of fire retardant on risky low level swoops across fire grounds. They have been leased to the the state’s rural fire service during what has been an unprecedented summer of fires across…

Source: The Times January 23, 2020 09:00 UTC