As many as 77 people were killed on February 11 when a C-130 Hercules military plane belonging to the Algerian Air Force crashed in Algeria's eastern Oum El Bouaghi Province. Xu Yongling, a test flight expert with the Chinese air force, explained that the C-130 was the first airplane exclusively designed to deliver military forces by air, and served as the development model for military transport aircraft for many years.

The C-130 "Hercules" Transport Aircraft is a multi-purpose tactical transport aircraft developed by USA. Its research and development began in 1951. In December 1956, it came into service with the American air force. According to Xu Yongling, the aircraft's basic concepts were also used in the later American C-141, C-17 and C-5 models, and the Russian IL-76.

More than 2,000 aircraft of this type have been produced. In addition to being used by the American air force, it has been exported to more than 60 countries and regions. In the 1980s the USA exported the L-100 cargo aircraft to China. This is the civil version of the C-130.

Xu Yongling pointed out that the C-130 was the first airplane custom-designed to deliver troops by air. All previous military transport aircraft were produced through design modifications to existing civil aircraft. The emergence of the C-130 established the basic technical concept of modern military aviation for delivery of equipment---First, it is a "mobile cargo hold". In contrast with civil transport aircraft which demand comfort and safety, military transport aircraft demand a large cargo capacity. Next, its delivery range is long. In addition, it offers considerable battlefield adaptability.

However, it has several defects: First, its dead weight capacity is not large - about 20 to 30 tons, which places it as a middle-sized transport aircraft. Second, its basic design has remained unchanged since the 1950s, and its safety and economy are not optimal.

On the other hand, the C-130 also has its technical strengths. It is still suitable for military aviation. Therefore many Western countries and developing countries purchase it in large numbers, and even use it for commercial flights.