On July 15, 2018, the Lockheed WC-130H Hercules, en route from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport to Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) in Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Georgia, suffered a catastrophic loss during takeoff. The aircraft impacted Augusta Road (Highway 21) and burst into flames shortly after takeoff. All nine occupants were fatally injured. The aircraft was attached to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and had been undergoing routine maintenance in Savannah. The MA had been at Savannah for almost a month, since 9 April 2018, to undergo pre-scheduled fuel cell maintenance and unscheduled work on engine number one by 156 AW maintenance personnel using the facilities of the 165th Airlift Wing. During takeoff roll, engine number 1 RPM fluctuated and did not provide normal RPM when the captain advanced the throttle lever into the flight range for takeoff. Approximately eight seconds prior to aircraft rotation, engine number 1 RPM and torque significantly decayed, which substantially lowered thrust. The fluctuation on roll and significant performance decay went unrecognized by the crew until rotation, when the captain commented on aircraft control challenges and the aircraft veered left and nearly departed the runway into the grass before it achieved flight. As the crew retracted the landing gear, they identified the engine number 1 RPM and torque malfunction and the captain called for engine shutdown. However, the crew failed to complete the Takeoff Continued After Engine Failure procedure, the Engine Shutdown procedure, and the After Takeoff checklist as directed by the Flight Manual, and the aircraft’s flaps remained at 50 percent. Additionally, the captain banked left into the inoperative engine, continued to climb, and varied left and right rudder inputs. At an altitude of approximately 900 feet mean sea level and 131 knots indicated air speed, the captain input over nine degrees of left rudder, the aircraft skidded left, the left wing stalled, and the aircraft departed controlled flight and impacted the terrain on Georgia State Highway 21.On July 15, 2018, the Lockheed WC-130H Hercules, en route from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport to Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) in Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Georgia, suffered a catastrophic loss during takeoff. The aircraft impacted Augusta Road (Highway 21) and burst into flames shortly after takeoff. All nine occupants were fatally injured. The aircraft was attached to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and had been undergoing routine maintenance in Savannah. The MA had been at Savannah for almost a month, since 9 April 2018, to undergo pre-scheduled fuel cell maintenance and unscheduled work on engine number one by 156 AW maintenance personnel using the facilities of the 165th Airlift Wing. During takeoff roll, engine number 1 RPM fluctuated and did not provide normal RPM when the captain advanced the throttle lever into the flight range for takeoff. Approximately eight seconds prior to aircraft rotation, engine number 1 RPM and torque significantly decayed, which substantially lowered thrust. The fluctuation on roll and significant performance decay went unrecognized by the crew until rotation, when the captain commented on aircraft control challenges and the aircraft veered left and nearly departed the runway into the grass before it achieved flight. As the crew retracted the landing gear, they identified the engine number 1 RPM and torque malfunction and the captain called for engine shutdown. However, the crew failed to complete the Takeoff Continued After Engine Failure procedure, the Engine Shutdown procedure, and the After Takeoff checklist as directed by the Flight Manual, and the aircraft’s flaps remained at 50 percent. Additionally, the captain banked left into the inoperative engine, continued to climb, and varied left and right rudder inputs. At an altitude of approximately 900 feet mean sea level and 131 knots indicated air speed, the captain input over nine degrees of left rudder, the aircraft skidded left, the left wing stalled, and the aircraft departed controlled flight and impacted the terrain on Georgia State Highway 21.