Just north of Dover is the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge where thousands upon thousands of Snow Geese transit during their annual migrations. Some years, they even nest there for longer periods. In the 80's a C-5 took off from Dover heading to the north and ran into a large flock. By the time the pilot was able to get the aircraft back around for an emergency landing he had lost two engines and they barely made it. Approximately 60 bird strikes were documented on that aircraft.
After that a radar unit was installed at the base dedicated specifically for bird warnings, especially over Bombay Hook. Takeoffs were sometimes delayed if bird activity was especially heavy. Every effort was made to keep birds and airplanes apart. However, a large flock can easily ascend out of the refuge and into the path of an airplane after it has taken off and there is not much the pilot can do about it.
We don't know if that is what happened today, but it sure sounds like a good possibility.
17 aboard taken to two hospitals, at least three serious but most with minor injuries
Update 11:55 am
The News Journal/Scott Nathan
04/03/2006 DOVER -- All 17 people aboard survived the initial impact when a C-5 -- the U.S. military’s largest aircraft -- crashed at Dover Air Force Base early this morning after an undetermined in-flight emergency.
The massive plane, en route to Kuwait, was broken into three huge chunks, with the nose of the plane severed from the rest of the fuselage.
Fourteen were taken to Kent General Hospital with minor injuries, one with a broken leg, and 11 were expected to be released shortly.
The pilot and co-pilot were pinned in their seats when the plane crashed just south of the base, according to an Air Force officer who had friends on the plane...
I was there from '83 to '88 working as a jet engine mechanic. We were prepping for an ORI and the acft you're talking about was a Travis AFB bird that had a low turbine inlet temperature (TIT) margin, I believe on #2 engine.
We worked our tails off to get the engine changed so the jet could depart before the ORI and wouldn't count against us just to have it come back with the bird strikes.
IIRC it was the #3 and #4 engines and the right side of the fuselage. The fuselage had been penetrated by engine parts that had come apart from the damage.
Thankfully the ORI Inspection team gave us a pass on that one counting against us and we ended up passing the inspection.
SZ