Air Force grounds all 139th Airlift Wing aircraft

Monica Dunn, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·2 min read
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Oct. 12—The U.S. Air Force grounded all C-130 Hercules aircraft for safety concerns, which is slowing operations at the 139th Airlift Wing.

The Air Force Air Mobility Command's order, issued on Sept. 27, impacts 116 aircraft. Ten of those aircraft are assigned to the 139th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base.

The C-130 Hercules is best identified by four blades on each of its four propellers. There are two other variations of the Hercules with six blades or eight blades on the four propellers, but those weren't included in the grounding order.

A maintenance crew at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia first discovered a persistent leak in their C-130 Hercules propeller after an operation. The Air Force inspected the propellers further and discovered additional propellers with the same issue. This led the Air Mobility Command to issue the order, requiring all of the C-130 Hercules with the four-bladed propellers to be inspected and replaced.

The Air Mobility Command is working to prioritize which wings get the fixed propellers first.

"Our service members are our greatest asset, and we are absolutely committed to their safety," the Air Mobility Command order said.

The Air Force has not given an estimate on when wings can expect to be able to fly their C-130 Hercules again. However, Senior Master Sgt. Michael Crane, the 139th Airlift Wing's public affairs superintendent, said the Air Force is looking at multiple ways to accelerate the process.

The commander of the 139th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans hopes to be flying again by the new year.

"Nobody wants to be back in the air more than we do," said Col. John Cluck. "We just like say, if Santa could bring me four great good props, best Christmas present ever."

The grounding is not only impacting the 139th Airlift Wing's operations but also its ability to help with Hurricane Ian. The wing has historically helped with hurricane relief efforts, including Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Katrina.

"Well, certainly if we hadn't been grounded, we would have been able to offer up aircrew and airplanes to support any mission there, which we have done in many of the multiple past hurricanes we've had throughout time," Cluck said.

The 139th Airlift Wing did offer its ground services, but those were not needed, Cluck said.

As the 139th Airlift Wing waits for its C-130 Hercules aircraft to fly again, Cluck said it is still keeping busy.

"We still have a lot of work. We're still a whole wing mission," Cluck said. "This has given us time to clean up some of the deferred-maintenance issues we have with planes."