C-17 Crashes at Elmendorf

[LinkF16SimDude]

Just saw it on FoxNews.com: C-17 crash at Elmendorf. No word yet on survivors.

Article here

[Asif]

C-17 aircraft crash, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska

7/29/2010 - ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- An Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft, assigned to the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base crashed about 6:14 p.m. (Alaska time) today. At the time of the accident, it was on a local training mission.

Four aircrew were on board; their condition is unknown at this time.

First responders are on scene.

A board of officers will investigate the accident.

More information will be released as it becomes available

source: http://www.elmendorf.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123215440

[Asif]

Four killed in military plane crash in Alaska: air force

(AFP) – 37 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — A US military cargo plane crashed during a training mission at the Elmendorf base in Alaska, killing all four crew members aboard, an Air Force spokesman said Thursday.

The plane, a C-17 cargo aircraft, reportedly crashed into a wooded area about two miles away from the runway from which it took off.

A statement from the Elmendorf base in Anchorage said four crewmembers assigned to the base's 3rd Wing were on board at the time of the crash at 6:14 pm local time (0215 GMT).

"Yesterday, we lost four members of our Arctic Warrior family and it's a loss felt across our entire joint installation," said Colonel John McMullen, 3rd Wing commander.

"Right now our immediate focus is on providing all possible support to the loved ones of our fallen aviators. We are also engaged in a deliberate investigative process," he said.

The identities of the four were withheld pending notification of next of kin. Three were from the Alaska air national guard and the fourth was on active duty.

The crash comes ahead of the base's popular Arctic Thunder air show and open house, set for this weekend. Planes have been preparing for the show, but it was not initially clear if the C-17 was part of the performance, or whether the event would go ahead after the accident.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell and his wife Sandy issued a statement expressing their sympathies after the crash.

"Sandy and I were saddened to learn of the military plane crash," he said. "Alaskans are very connected to the military and our thoughts and prayers are with Alaska's Air Force family."

source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... owphp_T8HA

Cargo plane crashes at Elmendorf, 4 dead [update]
Joshua Saul | Jul 29, 2010

[Update 7/29, 4:40 a.m. AKT] Adds confirmation that all four crewmembers were killed, statement from 3rd Wing commander, notes Thursday morning press conference.

An Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft crashed on Elmendorf Air Force Base at about 6:14 p.m. Wednesday. The aircrew was made up of four people, three in the Alaska Air National Guard and one on active duty at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The Air Force announced early Thursday morning that all four were killed. Their names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

"Our deepest sympathy and sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of those Airmen killed in this crash. Yesterday, we lost four members of our Arctic Warrior family and it's a loss felt across our entire joint installation," said Col. John McMullen, 3rd Wing commander. "Right now our immediate focus is on providing all possible support to the loved ones of our fallen aviators. We are also engaged in a deliberate investigative process."

The plane was on a local training mission and first responders are on the scene of the crash, according to an earlier Air Force press release.

The C-17 is a high-wing, four-engine, T-tailed military transport plane, according to the Boeing website. The plane is 174 feet long and has a wingspan of just under 170 feet.

An air show at Elmendorf is scheduled to start Saturday. The two-day event attracts huge crowds to watch performances by the Blue Angels, the Snowbirds, and a demonstration by the C-17 Globemaster. It's not immediately clear if the air show will go on as planned, but it seems likely that some practice will be interrupted by the crash.

The plane crashed shortly after taking off, according to Capt. Uriah Orland, an Air Force spokesman. Orland did not know what caused the crash.

"Any talk of that would be speculation, and we're not going to speculate at this time," he said, adding that a board of officers will investigate the accident.

Air National Guard Air Force officials have scheduled a press conference on Thursday morning, where further details may be disclosed.

source: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatche ... ead-update

[darkvarkguy]

Sad news indeed. Prayers for the families involved. I believe this the first 'write-off' of the C-17 as all the other aircraft involved in prior accidents/battle damage were repaired and returned to service.

[TC]

Yes, this is the first Class A resulting in the destruction of the aircraft. 01-0196, the plane which landed halfway off of the runway at Bagram, early in OEF has been back in the fleet for a few years. 96-0002, the Bagram gear-up landing bird, is still being refurbished at Long Beach, CA.

[That_Engine_Guy]

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

God's speed brothers... TEG

[TC]

A Nickle in the Grass...

[VarkVet]

RIP

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123234579

[LinkF16SimDude]

At the bottom of VarkVet's af.mil link is a another link to more info that includes a video of the incident from takeoff to just before impact (props to 'em for not being ghoulish). It should auto-launch in WMP.

Video here