C-130 used to ferry obese woman to hospital - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

C-130 used to ferry obese woman to hospital

After deeming an ailing woman too obese for ambulances or even light planes, paramedics responsible for transporting her to the hospital fell upon a last resort: heavy-duty military airlift.

Only a C-130 Hercules cargo plane could transport the 528-pound Australian woman from her northwest mining town to Townsville, a city in the Queensland province.

The Hercules is capable of transporting more than 37,000 pounds and is typically used to move troops and heavy cargo.

The Australian Defence Force, which deployed the C-130 from Sydney, likely spent nearly $100,000 U.S., according to The Courier-Mail newspaper. Though deemed safe to travel by road, no ambulance could fit her and the woman would have damaged the Royal Flying Doctor Service’s light planes.