Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Santa Barbara Airport Remains Closed In Wake Of Cargo Plane Crash Landing

Santa Barbara Airport remains closed in the wake of the Sunday night crash landing of a cargo plane.

No one was hurt, but the cleanup and investigation of the incident has closed the airport's main runway.  Several inbound and outbound commercial flights were cancelled.  Airport officials are hoping to resume operations by Monday night.

The privately owned C-130 cargo plane was headed from Santa Maria to Mesa, Arizona when it apparently had some type of hydraulic issues.  The crew declared an emergency, and landed at Santa Barbara Airport just after 10 p.m. 

The plane was unable to deploy its landing gear, so the aircraft landed on its belly.  The plane was heavily damaged, with a wing hitting the runway, and some of the propellers of the four engine aircraft damaged by contact with the ground.

No injuries were reported among the seven people on board.  The plane belongs to a company which uses aircraft to spread dispersant over oil spills in the ocean.  Updated versions of C-130's are used by the military.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
Related Stories