US cargo plane hit by missile in Baghdad lands safely

Agence France-Presse | January 8, 2004

[HAL9000]

A US Air Force C-5 cargo plane carrying 63 passengers and crew members was allegedly hit by a surface-to-air missile as it took off from Baghdad international airport, but it managed to land safely, a senior US Defence official said.

"It looks like its number four engine was hit by a surface-to-air missile, but it was able to turn around, come back and land," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

An investigation into the incident is under way.

Earlier, the air force said in a statement that the C-5 declared an in-flight emergency "because of excessive engine vibrations in their number four engine," the Air Force said in a statement.

"The aircraft had just departed the airport when the problem occurred.

"The crew was able to land safely - there were 63 passengers and crewmembers on board the aircraft [and] no injuries were reported," it said.

It would be the third time since May 1, when major combat operations were declared over, that a plane has been hit by a surface-to-air flying out of Baghdad international airport.

[finnman69]

Three hits by hand held SAMs on large multi engine jets and no crashes.

Anyone still think airliners need millions of dollars worth of decoy equipment?

[Support Free Republic]

Rank	Location	Receipts	Donors/Avg		Freepers/Avg		Monthlies
47	Norway	50.00	1	50.00	14	3.57

Thanks for donating to Free Republic!

Move your locale up the leaderboard!

[Destructor]

When the Army catches the perps they should be executed on the spot!

[JSteff]

yeah but only because families could go to airports and see a mini fireworks display every time a jet is coming in for a landing. We need it "for the children."

[ErnBatavia]

When the Army catches the perps they should be executed on the spot!

I'm hoping that there is some heavy duty research going on, to where the firing spot of these, as well as the mortars and RPG's, can be instantly pinpointed and zapped by return fire.

[b4its2late]

When the Army catches the perps they should be executed on the spot!

With a surface to surface missle!

[js1138]

Anyone still think airliners need millions of dollars worth of decoy equipment?

Perhaps the missile warheads did not explode. Inquiring minds want to know why.

[idkfa]

Does anyone know if a C-5 has ever been shot down? The only crash of a C-5 I can recall is in Vietnam and it was carrying orphans at the time. I don't think it was shot down though.

[ChefKeith]

What shots these ragsheetheads are! How hard it must be to hit a lumbering C5 as it takes off.

I think it is time to put one of these in orbit around the area:

[m1-lightning]

I'm hoping that there is some heavy duty research going on, to where the firing spot of these, as well as the mortars and RPG's, can be instantly pinpointed and zapped by return fire.

There is a company researching that exact technology but I'm not sure who it it or when it will be ready. I'll have to find the thread I read it on.

[ChefKeith]

There was 1 other that crashed I think in Europe a while back from mechanical but non shot down that I know of.

[ChefKeith]

non none

[finnman69]

[finnman69]

C-5 Losses
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/c-5-loss.htm

67-0172 w/o May 25, 1970 in ground fire

67-8303 w/o Oct 17, 1970 in ground fire
In September 1971 the effects of corrosion and fatigue were demonstrated by an accident at Altus AFB, which destroyed an aircraft when the number one engine and pylon tore loose from the wing of a C–5A preparing to takeoff. Investigation revealed a 1.35-inch-long crack on the inboard titanium longeron. Fatigue failure of the inboard cap of the aft pylon truss accounted for the separation.
68-0227 w/o Sept 27, 1974 in ground fire

On 04 April 1975 the US was involved in the evacuation of more than 2,000 Vietnamese orphans out of Saigon as North Vietnamese forces marched on the city. A C-5, which was returning to the Philippines after delivering war material, and a C-9 were loaded with children from Saigon'' orphanages and female government employees. These children were to be adopted into families in the United States and Europe. The mission, named Operation Babylift, was the first of more than 30 planned. Workers at the airport carried the children -- more than 100 infants and 140 older children -- into the C-5 one by one. A majority of them were only 2 years and younger. Almost half the children sat in the cargo compartment of the aircraft below, while the remainder sat in the troop compartment upstairs. At 23,000 feet the aft door was torn from the aircraft. The safety investigation would later reveal one of the door locks failed and created a pressure overload on all the other locks. When that happened, it blew out the doors, and the C-5 then experienced a rapid decompression. When the aft door blew out it severed three of the four hydraulic systems as well as the flight controls. The explosion ripped a large hole near the rear of the aircraft. The pilot diverted the plane and headed back to Tan Son Nhut AB, but the C-5 couldn’t make it. The pilot made an emergency landing in a rice paddy, within two miles of the base, shearing off the cargo compartment of the aircraft. Many of the orphans were still asleep when the aircraft hit the ground, bounced up, and began to break apart as it hit again and slid to a stop. The entire cargo bay of the aircraft sheared off as the plane tore across the field. Of the 140 passengers below only six survived. Eleven out of the 29 crewmembers lost their lives. The nurses and technicians aboard did their best to save as many children as they could. Thanks to the aircrew's flying skills, however, 176 of the 314 people on board survived, including 150 orphans.

On 28 August 1990 a C-5A (68-0228 from the 60th MAW) crashed after takeoff from Ramstein AB, killing 13 of 17 aboard. At the time of the crash, the crew was flying a mission in support of Operation Desert Shield. Nine were reservists of the 68th Airlift Squadron who had volunteered for duty in the Gulf (the incident sometimes referred to have happened on 29 August).

[WackyKat]

Anyone still think airliners need millions of dollars worth of decoy equipment?

Yes

[John H K]

Perhaps the missile warheads did not explode. Inquiring minds want to know why.

The warheads are just really small.

Shoulder-fired SAMs really are only effective vs. helicopters.

Basically they are only going to shoot down a large airliner or transport through luck.

50% of SINGLE engine small fighter aircraft such as A-4s have survived shoulder-fired SAM hits.

If you're shooting C-5s I'd imagine you'd only force a crash destroying the aircraft on 1 out of 20 hits or so.

[idkfa]

C-5 Losses

# 67-0172 w/o May 25, 1970 in ground fire
# 67-8303 w/o Oct 17, 1970 in ground fire
# In September 1971 the effects of corrosion and fatigue were demonstrated by an accident at Altus AFB, which destroyed an aircraft when the number one engine and pylon tore loose from the wing of a C–5A preparing to takeoff. Investigation revealed a 1.35-inch-long crack on the inboard titanium longeron. Fatigue failure of the inboard cap of the aft pylon truss accounted for the separation.
# 68-0227 w/o Sept 27, 1974 in ground fire
# On 04 April 1975 the US was involved in the evacuation of more than 2,000 Vietnamese orphans out of Saigon as North Vietnamese forces marched on the city. A C-5, which was returning to the Philippines after delivering war material, and a C-9 were loaded with children from Saigon'' orphanages and female government employees. These children were to be adopted into families in the United States and Europe. The mission, named Operation Babylift, was the first of more than 30 planned. Workers at the airport carried the children -- more than 100 infants and 140 older children -- into the C-5 one by one. A majority of them were only 2 years and younger. Almost half the children sat in the cargo compartment of the aircraft below, while the remainder sat in the troop compartment upstairs. At 23,000 feet the aft door was torn from the aircraft. The safety investigation would later reveal one of the door locks failed and created a pressure overload on all the other locks. When that happened, it blew out the doors, and the C-5 then experienced a rapid decompression. When the aft door blew out it severed three of the four hydraulic systems as well as the flight controls. The explosion ripped a large hole near the rear of the aircraft. The pilot diverted the plane and headed back to Tan Son Nhut AB, but the C-5 couldn’t make it. The pilot made an emergency landing in a rice paddy, within two miles of the base, shearing off the cargo compartment of the aircraft. Many of the orphans were still asleep when the aircraft hit the ground, bounced up, and began to break apart as it hit again and slid to a stop. The entire cargo bay of the aircraft sheared off as the plane tore across the field. Of the 140 passengers below only six survived. Eleven out of the 29 crewmembers lost their lives. The nurses and technicians aboard did their best to save as many children as they could. Thanks to the aircrew's flying skills, however, 176 of the 314 people on board survived, including 150 orphans.
# On 28 August 1990 a C-5A (68-0228 from the 60th MAW) crashed after takeoff from Ramstein AB, killing 13 of 17 aboard. At the time of the crash, the crew was flying a mission in support of Operation Desert Shield. Nine were reservists of the 68th Airlift Squadron who had volunteered for duty in the Gulf (the incident sometimes referred to have happened on 29 August).

[WackyKat]

I saw C-5s flying out of Dobbins AF Base when I was a kid.

They are HUGE

[Snickersnee]

I seem to remember a C-5 crashing at Rhein-Main at the beginning of the Gulf War, circa fall of 1990.