Did he crash or was he shot down?

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by Platapus

1. How far is it from where he started to where he wanted to fly to?

far. like really far. Something on the order of 3-4,000 nautical miles

Originally Posted by Platapus

2. What is the endurance distance of a C-130?

semi-far... about 2500 nautical miles. hope he is a strong swimmer

Originally Posted by Platapus

3. Is it even possible for one person to complete the duties of pilot and Flight Engineer to get the C-130 properly set up for long distance travel? It is an awesome aircraft, but hardly self-flying.

possible, yes. but even well trained, extraordinarily motivated crew members would probably find it to be a challenge. especially if low weather, failures or other encumbrances were to be encountered.

Originally Posted by Platapus

4. The ground crew might be dumb enough to fuel a C-130 based on a phone call, but how did this individual gain access to the aircraft while on the flight line? When I was in the AF, no one just walked up to a military aircraft on a hot pad with out a lot of ID. Also how did he get clearance to take off without a filed flight plan?

some towers are closed at night, perhaps this one was too? or perhaps he poured the coals to it and threw caution to the wind which is what alerted the USAF to the problem in the first place "hey its the tower calling, is this the base CO? cool, thought you might like to know one of your aircraft just flew the Leroy Jenkins 4 departure procedure." etc