C5 crashes near Dover AFB

ABC News | 04/03/2006

[Trust but Verify]

No details per ABC radio

[Apercu]

I stand corrected - C-17 it is.

[Heatseeker]

What part of Rt 9 Gabz? The part behind (east) of the base or the dual part to the south?

[commish]

Looking at the pictures my take is that the pilots did one hell of a job getting this baby down in basically one piece.

Obviously she did not just fall from the sky, they were able to bring her in, and everyone who escaped the plane have those pilots to thank for them being alive.

[Allegra]

Sad ping...

[BluH2o]

The aircraft is two and a half football fields long ...

2.5 football fields long translates into 750 ft. that sounds a little exaggerated to me.

[GW and Twins Pawpaw]

The doofus who wrote of the accident that you linked to is, well, a doofus....

[Gabz]

The field is just east of 113...........Rte 9 is closed east of Kitts Hummock road.

That plane came down within about a mile of the highway

[wolficatZ]

Live feed for Windows Mediaplayer copy/paste

mms://a1491.l1175848405.c11758.n.lm.akamaistream.net/D/1491/11758/v0001/reflector:48405

[McGavin999]

You are exactly right.

[Coop]

I'm all confused (not exactly new territory for me). I rode on one of these birds a couple of times as a passenger. Now that I think about it, isn't the passenger compartment up above, but behind the wings? Seems to me the loadmaster and I had quite a walk to reach the cockpit.

So if my hazy memory is correct now, then my earlier comment about the passenger compartment being split was incorrect.

[Gabz]

The reports I've heard say they reported a mechanical problem.

God Bless those people. Those pilots are awesome.

[cardinal4]

That pic is not a C-5, its a C-17..

[Gabz]

C-5 cargo jet crashes near Dover
Update 7:56 am
By JEFF MONTGOMERY
The News Journal

04/03/2006
A C-5 jet transport crashed south of Dover early today, breaking into at least three pieces and coming to rest on land east of Del. 9 near Kitts Hummock Road.

Dover fire officials and a base spokesmen confirmed that the accident had ocurred. At least 17 people have been taken to Christiana Hospital. Other information on the number of people aboard was unavailable.

All routes to the crash site were blocked this morning. Route 9 east of Dover is closed.

Delaware State Police Cpl. Jeff Oldham said the first calls about the crash came in around 7 this morning. Some witnesses said they saw the plane go down nose first.

The accident is the worst ever in the United States for the C-5, the nation's largest military transport. One of the big jets crashed in Germany during the buildup for the first war in Iraq. Another crashed during the American pullout from Vietnam.

[Mr Fowl]

As for me I live on the NJ side of Delaware Bay. These C5's fly over my house many times a day flying around Delaware Bay waiting to land in Dover. On windy days when the C5's are turning making a 180deg turn the wind sometimes will push them sideways.

Alot of times a few C5's will fly very very low over the bay less then 1000 feet above the water. Got some pictures somewhere on a CD during a duckhunt in the marsh along delaware bay

[sargunner]

Your're right Coop. The main passenger compartment is aft of the wing.

[garyhope]

But thanks for trying anyway! lol

[Coop]

That pic is not a C-5, its a C-17..

How about a compromise? We'll call it a C-11 and be done! :-)

[xusafflyer]

I've been on the C-5. The general passenger compartment looks okay (between tail break and front break). The flight crew area is in good shape.

Where do the loadmaster(s) usually sit? Would a relief pilot be in that area of the front break?

[Coop]

Yeah, that looks close enough.

[Heatseeker]

Thanks - now I know exactly where it is too. :(