1965 Hong Kong USMC KC-130F crash
United States Marine Corps Lockheed KC-130F Hercules · Loss of control due to engine failure
From Kai Tak International Airport (HKG/VHHH) in British Hong Kong to Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 59 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 71
- Survivors
- 12
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Lockheed KC-130F Hercules
- Aircraft type
- Lockheed KC-130
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 149802
- Operator
- United States Marine Corps
- Onboard fatalities
- 59
- Route
- From Kai Tak International Airport (HKG/VHHH) in British Hong KongTo Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Estimated position: Kai Tak Airport, the airport the Wikipedia article names as the site. Where on or near it is not known.
From the Wikipedia article
A United States Marines Corps (USMC) Lockheed KC-130F Hercules, ferrying a group of US marines back to South Vietnam from rest-and-relaxation leave in then-British Hong Kong, crashed on take-off, causing a total of 59 deaths out of the 71 people on board the aircraft on August 24, 1965.
The accident
The accident began after the aircraft, a USMC Lockheed KC-130F Hercules (Bu.No.149802), veered to the left shortly after take-off, struck a sea-wall and then crashed and plunged into the waters surrounding Kai Tak Airport's runway at a distance of 40 ft off Hong Kong Island.
Investigation and cause
Cause
The cause of the accident was attributed to a partial failure of the number one engine during the plane's take-off from the runway.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1965 Hong Kong USMC KC-130F crash” (revision 1359326553, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 1965 Hong Kong USMC KC-130F crash
- Revision
- 1359326553 · 2026-06-14 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q25042932
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "1965 Hong Kong USMC KC-130F crash" (page 47014159, revision 1359326553)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- airport the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata coordinates)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.