The accident occurred during a touch and go at Naval Air Station Key West. During the take-off just prior to the aircraft becoming airborne, the Loadmaster, who was seated in the rear of the cargo compartment, heard an electrical buzzing sound and observed an orange jet-like flame shoot across the cargo ramp from left to right at floor level. He then unbuckled his harness and was reaching for the fire extinguisher when an expansive orange fireball erupted, causing him to protect his head with his jacket. Once the fireball receded, he proceeded forward and alerted the crew to the fire while calling for the takeoff to be aborted.
Concurrently, the aircraft had just become airborne and reached 10 feet above the runway. With sufficient runway remaining, the Flying Pilot landed straight ahead and aggressively stopped the aircraft while the Non-Flying Pilot notified ATC. Once the engines were shut down, all nine crewmembers quickly egressed and moved upwind of the aircraft. Crash, Fire, and Rescue services responded and expeditiously extinguished the fire. The aircraft was extensively damaged and one crew member received a minor injury during egress.
The Flight Data and Cockpit Voice Recorders were recovered along with many parts related to the auxiliary hydraulic system, located in the aircraft’s rear. The investigation team identified that a stainless steel braided flexible hydraulic line associated with the auxiliary hydraulic system pump was breached where it routed next to an electrical power cable. The ongoing investigation is focussed on the maintenance history of the auxiliary hydraulic system.