Military Plane Crash Kills 16 In Mississippi

Cover picture courtesy of WLBT.

A military plane has crashed into a field in rural Mississippi, United States, killing all 16 people aboard and spreading debris for miles.

The KC-130 - which is used as a refuelling tanker - came down in a field north of Jackson.

Marine Corps spokeswoman Captain Sarah Burns said in a statement that the plane "experienced a mishap" on Monday evening but provided no details.

Andy Jones, an eyewitness, described watching the KC-130 aircraft spiral to the ground, with smoke pouring from one engine:

"You looked up and you saw the plane twirling around. It was spinning down."

By the time he and others reached the crash site, fires were burning too intensely to approach the wreckage.

Mr Jones said that the force of the crash nearly flattened the plane.

Greenwood fire chief Marcus Banks told the Greenwood Commonwealth that debris from the plane was scattered in a radius of about five miles (8km):

"It was one of the worst fires you can imagine."

He said firefighters tried to put out the fire at the main crash site but withdrew after an explosion forced them back.

Towering plumes of black smoke were visible for miles across the flat region and continued to burn after dusk, more than four hours after the crash.

Aerial pictures taken by WLBT-TV showed the skeleton of the plane burning strongly.

The cause of the crash or details of the flight are not yet known.