Associated Press ^ | December 28, 2002 | Associated Press Staff
Posted on 12/28/2002 5:35 AM CST by MeeknMing
Air Force will pay $12,000 for bomb damage to home
12/28/2002
EL PASO - Gloria Aker got a late Christmas present this week when the U.S. Air Force agreed to settle a claim for damage it caused when it accidentally bombed her Monahans home in July.
Ms. Aker's home was hit by a dummy bomb accidentally dropped from an Air Force F-177A Nighthawk on a practice run from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
Although the dummy didn't contain explosives, it pierced the roof of Ms. Aker's home, flew across a bathroom, slammed through a wall into a closet and then plowed 6 feet into the ground.
On top of that, a device used to locate the bomb discharged smoke throughout the house.
Ms. Aker was at home with her two children when the bomb hit. Her daughter was at her side, but her son was in his bedroom, and she frantically called through the smoke for him. All three were shaken but unharmed.
Ms. Aker has been living with her parents while her house, 200 miles east of El Paso, is repaired. There are still a few things to be done, such as replacing carpet that the Air Force ripped up when it retrieved the bomb, but she is preparing to move back.
But the children don't have the same comfort level they once did in the house, she said.
"My kids are having a hard time. My son and my daughter have nightmares. They're not too excited about going home," said Ms. Aker, who said she also has bad dreams of something falling from the sky and triggering flames that engulf her home.