On 30 January 2005 a Royal Air Force Lockheed C-130K Hercules C1, serial number XV179, callsign Hilton 22, was shot down in Iraq, probably by Sunni insurgents, killing all 10 personnel on board.

In September 2006, the British Channel 4 News aired an article criticising the Ministry of Defence for having fitted only one C-130 Hercules with a foam fire-suppressant system.

Part of the right hand wing was found to have separated from the body of the aircraft, and it was located 1.3 miles (2.1 km) south-southwest of the main crash site.

They were only able to spend a short time at both sites due to local hostilities with a cordon and security being provided by 150 United States Marine Corps personnel.

[17] Most United States Air Force (USAF) Hercules aircraft were fitted with Explosion Suppressant Foam (ESF) since the Vietnam war.

[19] Pilots from these air forces serving on exchange had expressed grave concerns about the safety of RAF Hercules, as did some RAF pilots, such as Squadron Leader Chris Seal who had written a memo in 2002 detailing lessons learned in Afghanistan and the necessity to fit ESF in all Hercules aircraft.

[18] Air Marshal Sir John Baird, writing to a relative of a killed serviceman, called the situation a national disgrace.

The later Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Glenn Torpy, writing to a relative of one killed, stated that all British servicemen are given all necessary safety equipment for their mission and that "until the loss of XV179, the Hercules aircraft was not judged vulnerable to this kind of attack".

Since the loss of XV179 the MOD has started fuel tank inerting as a matter of urgency and we have decided to fit the explosive suppressant foam to some of our aircraft.

[citation needed]An inquest was opened in April 2008 and was presided over by the Wiltshire Coroner, David Masters, who delivered his verdict 22 October of the same year.