Posted on 04/03/2006 5:10:20 AM PDT by Trust but Verify
No details per ABC radio
I would certainly hope so. :-)
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.
In looking at the close ups of the broken section of the fuselage forward of and still attached to the wings, I have to agree. The squared off piece of equipment on the right side (left side in picture) that looks like it has a bite taken out of it looks like it might be the forward end of the crew galley.
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...
How many berths do they usually have built-in on a C5 anyway?
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
DOVER, Del. - A huge military cargo plane headed for Spain developed problems after takeoff and crashed trying to return to Dover Air Force Base early Monday, military officials said. All 17 people aboard survived, though several were injured.
The C-5 Galaxy, the military's largest plane at more than six stories high and 247 feet long, crashed just short of the runway and broke in two behind the cockpit. The tail assembly landed several hundred yards away, and an engine was thrown forward by the impact, but there was no evidence of fire.
"It looks like it kind of slid along the ground almost like a water landing of sorts," said Lt. Col. Mark Ruse, Commander of the 436th Air Wing Civil Engineering squadron at Dover.
Fourteen of the injured, taken to a Dover hospital, were covered with jet fuel and had to be decontaminated in the parking lot, but none of their injuries were life threatening, Kent General Hospital officials said. Three others were taken to Christiana Care in Newark, said hospital spokeswoman Sharon Justice.
"It's absolutely a miracle" that the injuries were not more serious, Ruse said.
The C-5 was being flown by a reserve crew from the 512th Airlift Wing, said Capt. John Sheets of the Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
All flights from the base were suspended as emergency crews, some in hazardous materials suits, combed through the wreckage in a light rain under overcast skies.
Some sprayed foam on the left wing, which had lost its engine, while others removed the remaining fuel from the plane.
Lisa Barrentine, who lives near the crash site and often hears military planes flying over her property, said she knew something was wrong when she heard the C-5 overhead around 6:30 a.m.
"It wasn't quite the rumble you normally hear, it was larger, and you could hear the windows shaking," she said.
Tech Sgt. Melissa Phillips, a base spokeswoman, said a board of officers investigate the cause of the crash.
Dover is home to the largest and busiest air freight terminal in the Defense Department, including the mortuary that processes bodies from the nation's wars.
The C-5 Galaxy cargo plane, made by Lockheed Martin Corp., is one of the largest aircraft in the world, according to the Air Force. Even with a payload of 263,200 pounds, it can fly non-stop for 2,500 miles at jet speeds.
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On the Net:
There are two small bunk rooms immediately aft of the cockpit. If I remember correctly, each room has two bunks. They are intended primarily for crew rest during long flights, unless they are taken over by VIP's who often come out of nearby Washington, D.C. to go overseas on C-5's. Then the crew has to go "begging" for rest space while the VIP rests comfortably in his "private cabin."
Pardon my obvious politics here, but that used to be a pet peeve of mine that I just can't seem to forget.
Thanks, Generals and attaches get the Golden treament to some degree it sounds. I have a USAF nephew in law at
Andrews.
Not sure exactly what he does but he's around big birds.
re: VIPs.. Congressman and such are unlikey to ride these I would take it.
Thanks for your info on the 80's incident. I couldn't remember the exact year, but we must have been there at the same time. I retired from there in 86. After that incident, taking off to the north during bird season was always "interesting."
The U.S. Air Force can Ill afford to lose a C-5 Galaxy since the line to build them has long been closed. They are
extreamly important for strategic Airlift because they are our only aircraft that can carry the M1 Abrams main battle tank.
I think the Air Force should get approval to build some new C-5 Galaxy size air craft to continue with that mission. They are very expensive planes but the money is well spent.
"Even with a payload of 263,200 pounds, it can fly non-stop for 2,500 miles at jet speeds."
I think it can fly a wee bit farther tan 2,500 miles non-stop.
These AP reporters are cracker-jack, man.
Nope, Congressmen and civilian VIP's were pretty regular passengers, especially on trips to Europe. I didn't begrudge them the ride, but it did irritate me when one VIP took up the whole bunk room (leaving one bunk completely unused) for the sake of his privacy. Typically we took off late at night so as to arrive in Europe during daylight hours. There was no way you could sleep all day prior to takeoff. That meant by the time of your arrival in Europe you may have only had a small amount of sleep scrunched up in a chair while the VIP snoozed in his "private cabin." Then you have to be very alert for landing, maybe doing an approach to low minimums, deciphering instructions from German accented controllers, etc.
I remember one mission where we were looking forward to a 24 hour crew-duty day and we lost both bunk rooms, one for each VIP. I got into a shouting match with the Dover command post and refused to take the mission under those circumstances. The command post finally backed down and put both VIP's in a single bunk room. That left one for us. Then we took off. We arrived at out destination tired, but safe.
Thank Heavan the pilot managed to avoid heavy settlements or major structures!
"Or Football."
Or anything.
Small world. My brother was a passenger on that flight. Told me about it years ago.
Holy tamales! Its a MIRACLE no one was killed (and that it did not burst into flames!!
As a contrail watcher, without binoculars I can never tell the difference between those of a 747 and a C5.
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