Bomb 'likely cause' of Hercules crash

[darrels joy]

Bomb 'likely cause' of Hercules crash: report

The crash of a British military transport plane in Iraq occurred after the loss of its entire right wing and investigators believe a bomb planted by insurgents was the most "likely cause," the Sun newspaper has reported.

The Sun reported that the entire right wing of the C-130 Hercules plane was torn off, sending the plane instantly into a violent spin and causing it to break up in about four seconds but not before the pilot hit the mayday button.

What was left of the plane spiralled and somersaulted into desolate marshland 30 kilometres north-west of Baghdad, the mass-circulation daily said.

"A bomb now looks the most likely cause" of the January 30 crash, a senior Royal Air Force source was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
"But sabotage is a another distinct possibility. Metal fatigue is another option but is considered much less likely. The suggestion that the plane was hit by a missile is a virtual non-starter," the source said.

Exploding ammunition or a missile would probably not have caused the wing to sheer off, and the plane was probably out of missile range, they added.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman refused to comment on the report.

"We don't speculate when the findings of a board of inquiry have yet to be concluded," the spokesman said.

The bodies of the nine Royal Air Force aircrew, including an Australian, and one soldier were flown into RAF Lyneham air base in south-west England on Tuesday.

It was Britain's largest single-day loss of life since it helped launch the Iraq war in March 2003.

Meanwhile a senior US general said he believes the crash was due to an attack rather than a technical problem.

Lieutenant General Lance Smith, deputy commander of the US Central Command in Iraq, emphasised that it was his personal impression, and not the result of the ongoing inquires.

"I personally believe that there may have been hostile action or something that happened inside the aircraft, but I don't think it was mechanical in nature," Lt Gen Smith told reporters at the Pentagon in Washington.

He said that the plane could have been victim of small-arms fire, or even "a lucky shot from an RPG", or rocket-propelled grenade.