Posted on 04/03/2006 5:10:20 AM PDT by Trust but Verify
No details per ABC radio
Bird strikes are killers! Since 1978, 35 USAF aircrewmen have died due to bird strike damage and crashes.
Cargo pallet came loose on impact, no fire. Crew compartment appears intact.
If everyone were strapped in (and NOT near the pallet!) they might be OK.
I'm sort of news deprived here and am relying on WDEL online as well as WBOC-TV online.
DOVER (WBOC/AP)- A C-5 airplane carrying 17 crashed at around 6:30 this morning in a field off of Route 9, about one mile south of the Dover Air Force Base.
According to First Lt. Marnee Losurdo of the Dover Air Force Base, 17 people were
aboard the plane. Dover Mayor Stephen R. Speed, an eyewitness to the scene, told WBOC that 14 out of the 17 on board were able to walk away from the crash. The extent of the injuries of those on board is still not known yet. But a Bayhealth-Kent General Hospital spokesman told WBOC that 10 people on board the plane were taken to the hospital for their injuries.
Emergency crews including firefighters, medical personnel and security forces are on the scene, the base reported in a release.
A spokeswoman at the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Col. Ellen Haddock, says initial reports are that the plane took off from Dover and had some indications of a problem. She says it turned back to land and fell short of the runway.
According to an assistant fire chief with the Dover Fire Department, the plane lost one of its engines before it crashed.
It is known the plane was broken into three pieces upon impact: the cockpit, fuselage and the tail. The tail assembly is several hundred yards east of the cockpit and fuselage. It does appear the plane clipped a power line when it crashed. There was no evidence of smoke or flames.
The C-5 Galaxy cargo plane is one of the largest aircraft in the world, according to the Air Force. It was first delivered to the military in 1970. Even with a payload of 263,200 pounds, the latest version can fly non-stop for 2,500 miles at jet speeds, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp.
Dover is home to the 436th Airlift Wing, with more than 4,000 active-duty military and civilian employees, and operates the largest and busiest air freight terminal in the Defense Department.
The base is also home to the Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs, which processes bodies from the nation's wars.
A board of Air Force officers will investigate the crash. Route 9 is closed near the crash scene.
Not surprising..our military can think on their feet..."adapt..adapt..adapt"!
Good example here.
I suppose you are correct.
If they only lost one engine, I'm kind of surprised they couldn't make it back to the base, unless there was another problem. Still, to put that thing down in a cornfield, loaded, and have all 17 onboard survive? Miracle. That's the best word for it.
}:-)4
Thank goodness. Thanks for the update.
'bout 15 mos. ago.
One of the video clips I saw early on this morning showed just how close to the runway they were.
The land where it went down is a potato farm.
Correction - the land is AF property. AF spokeswoman has confirmed NO fatalities.
Yes, the bulk of the passenger seats are in the rear and facing backwards. There are some seats up front...which they do put passengers there too when there's only a few of them.
It's definitely a C-5, just look at the triangular side window..the one on the 17 is a polygon...plus the width of the landing gear pods isn't as 'pudgy' as a 17. They are very similar in body symmetry though.
Try Pilot. :)
That, too :)
Debris from the a/c up there?
The only reason I can figure is that South Little Creek is the nearest road into town. I'm sure residents are being given access to Rte 9.
If they were dumping fuel, is it possible that that area is where the fuel was dumped. Just a guess.
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