Posted on 04/03/2006 5:47:49 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, April 3, 2006 – All 17 people aboard survived the crash of an Air Force C-5 Galaxy transport jet at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Air Force officials reported. No official information was available on the condition of the survivors, who are members of Air Force Mobility Command's 436th Airlift Wing and the Air Force Reserve's 512th Airlift Wing. Both units are based at Dover.
The jet crashed short of the runway at 6:30 a.m. while attempting to return to the base shortly after takeoff, reportedly because of mechanical problems. The huge aircraft broke into three pieces -- the tail, fuselage and cockpit section.
A board of Air Force officers will investigate the crash. The last previous C-5 crash was on Aug. 28, 1990, during Operation Desert Shield, when a C-5A crashed after takeoff from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, killing 13 of the 17 people on board.
Stretching almost the length of a football field, the C-5 stands as high as a six-story building. The cargo compartment is 121 feet long, 19 feet wide and 13 feet high. The Berlin Airlift required 308 aircraft of the C-47 vintage, the military equivalent of the DC-3. Seventeen C-5s could have completed the same operation, according to a fact sheet on Dover Air Force Base's Web site.
The Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in December 1903 was 102 feet shorter than the C-5's 222.9-foot wingspan.
Flown in them with my unit and gear many times.
Outstanding news....prayers for all...
I agree with you on that one.
"Are the DU moonbats mourning yet? You know they cheer when they hear about one of our boys getting killed in Afghanistan or Iraq."
~~~~~~~~~~~
The DU moonbats will be subtle with their disappointment...likely claiming something like the 17 airmen who so miraculously survived the C-5 crash have been deterred from their "evil mission" to wipe out the threats of the "misunderstood terrorists" in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Praise the Lord.
Thanks for the good news ping.
I love good news.
Hurray! I've flown in those before. They ARE amazing machines. I'm thinking it was a load/weight problem, but I'll wait until I can read more about it.
The pilot and crew deserve ALL the credit for getting that aircraft back to ground...even if it did end up in pieces. No casualties? A miracle, no doubt. :)
Were there any Space-A on board?
Nothing released on the specifics of the 17.
It looks like the nose section is still pointed in the direction they were heading on landing, while the main body skewed around over 90-degrees, with the left wingtip digging into the ground and the outboard engine ripping off its mount.
Date Deployed December 1969 (for training); June 1970 (operational); December 1984 (to Reserve).
I found the answer here:
http://www.spacea.info/board/messages/15794.html
>I asked Public Affairs Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB, IL about today's accident at Dover AFB, Delaware.
>There were 14 crew members and 3 passengers who are DoD contractors. ALL SURVIVED. There were NO space-a passengers on this mission.
They fly those into Los Alamitos ....when they depart,... the engines are very distinctive sounding...very high whine...
The C-17 's are seen frequently going into the Long Beach Airport and their engines are very different sounding, more of a rumble....
Wow, the thing had to be filled to the gills with fuel!
Couple C-5 articles:
http://www.afa.org/magazine/Jan2004/0104galaxy.asp
http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/c5.asp
I am thinking they are damned lucky they crashed where they did. If it were another location I don't know if they would have survived. Thank God! I hope that their injuries are not long term.
Thank God the crew survived. With a dismal mission availability rate of around 50% (usually engine related), I'm surprised more don't go down.
It's a great aircraft (well, the B models anyway), but they really need new engines and avionics. Imagine an airliner that could only be used 50% of the time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.