5 Killed in Crash of Indian Military Cargo Plane

An Indian Air Force transport plane crashed Friday, killing all five crew members, in the latest of a string of accidents at the country’s armed forces.

The C-130J Super Hercules plane, which was on a training mission, crashed in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, said an air forcespokesman.

This was the first crash of a C-130J plane since they were first delivered to India by Lockheed Martin Corp. about three years ago, according to The Indian Express. Two were deployed in the search and rescue efforts for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370; the plane is equipped with advanced infrared detection sensors which help in surveillance. 

The air force spokesman said he did not know if one that crashed on Friday was one of those used in the search efforts for the Malaysian Airlines jet.

The news has raised some alarm in Israel, which has used the Hercules planes since 1971. Israel is in the process of upgrading its current fleet with new technology and receiving new Hercules planes from the US. 
However, Indian media has noted that the Indian Defense Forces has seen a slew of  accidents, and that the plane itself might not be of concern. 

Earlier this month an engineer was killed in an accident at a construction site building a submarine for the Indian navy, according to Wall Street Journal India. In February,  a naval commander died in a gas leak accident in a shipyard in Mumbai; the country’s naval chief resigned to take responsibility for the recent spate of accidents, including a fire on a submarine earlier that day that left two crew members dead