Injuries Reported, No Known Fatalities

ANN REALTIME Update, 04.03.06, 1340 EDT: All 17 persons on board the C-5 that went down after reporting mechanical trouble shortly after takeoff, this morning, have emerged from the accident without life threatening injuries. That fact was labeled as "It's a miracle. It's absolutely a miracle,” according to Lt. Col. Mark Ruse, commander of Dover AFB's 436th Air Wing Civil Engineering sqdrn. Most of the crew (at least 11, so far) has already been discharged from the hospital where they had been taken shortly after the accident... much of which was related to their having been doused by fuel as the aircraft broke up and medical concern about contact burns or irritation associated with such hazardous materials.

Additional details are emerging about the history of the aircraft that was involved. The aircraft, originally enroute to Kuwait, was operated by a reserve crew from the 512th Airlift Wing, according to Capt. John Sheets of the Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. It had also been down to Warner Robins AFB recently for unscheduled maintenance... the nature of which has not been disclosed and it is unknown if any aspect of that maintenance may have had a bearing in today's accident.

Some reports indicate the aircraft either lost or was in the process of 'losing' an engine when they informed the tower that the flight was in trouble. According to the News-Journal of Wilmington, investigators are 'focusing on the possibility birds flew into the engine. There is a large bird-feeding area at a garbage dump just east of the main runway, and base officials have warned for years of the danger of a plane coming in contact with birds.'

The USANG has just lost a massive C-5 heavy-lift aircraft in an accident that occurred shortly after one of the giant four-engine aircraft took off and attempted to return to the airport after reporting difficulty. The aircraft went down just short of the Dover AFB runway, in Dover, Delaware, close to Route 9.

An emergency was declared just prior to the aircraft's impact and current TV reports and video show the aircraft somewhat broken up, in at least three large segments. The National Guard aircraft was reportedly crewed by 17 people and is the largest aircraft flown by the US military.... it is also one of the largest transport aircraft in the world.

The accident took at place at 0645 local time, while an official from the Delaware Department of Public Safety, has reported that "some people" were taken to hospitals with injuries.

ANN has inspecting a number of video images of the aircraft (vidcap shown below) and noted that the front of the fuselage is separated from the aircraft with the cockpit section turned 90 degrees to the left of the main fuselage, and significant damage to the aft section of the airframe, including the complete separation of the tail section.

The left wing also shows significant damage, due to ground contact. The remains of the tail section is located several hundred yards from the fuselage.

The last previous C-5 crash was on Aug. 28, 1990, during Operation Desert Shield, when a C-5A crashed after takeoff from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, killing 13 of the 17 on board. An Air Force investigation board will be convened to research the cause of this mishap.

C-5 Info (As Compiled By The USAF)

Mission

The gigantic C-5 Galaxy, with its tremendous payload capability, provides the Air Mobility Command intertheater airlift in support of United States national defense. The C-5, the C-17 Globemaster III and the C-141 Starlifter are partners of AMC's strategic airlift concept. The aircraft carry fully equipped combat-ready military units to any point in the world on short notice then provide field support required to help sustain the fighting force.

Features

The C-5 is one of the largest aircraft in the world. It can carry outsize and oversize cargo intercontinental ranges and can take off or land in relatively short distances. Ground crews can load and off load the C-5 simultaneously at the front and rear cargo openings.

Other features of the C-5 are:

• Able to take off fully loaded within 8,300 feet and land within 4,900 feet.
• High flotation landing gear with 28 wheels sharing the weight.
• Nose and aft doors that open the full width and height of the cargo compartment to permit faster and easier loading.
• A "kneeling" landing gear system that permits lowering of the parked aircraft so the cargo floor is at truck-bed height or to facilitate vehicle loading and unloading.
• Full width drive-on ramps at each end for loading double rows of vehicles.
• A system that records and analyzes information and detects malfunctions in more than 800 test points.
• The C-5 is similar in appearance to its smaller sister transport, the C-141 Starlifter, although the C-5 is much larger. Both aircraft have the distinctive high T-tail, 25-degree wing sweep, and four turbofan engines mounted on pylons beneath the wings.

The Galaxy carries nearly all of the Army's combat equipment, including such bulky items as its 74-ton mobile scissors bridge, from the United States to any theater of combat on the globe.

Four TF39 turbofan engines power the big C-5, rated at 43,000 pounds thrust each. They weigh 7,900 pounds each and have an air intake diameter of more than 8.5 feet. Each engine pod is nearly 27 feet long.

The Galaxy has 12 internal wing tanks with a total capacity of 51,150 gallons -- enough to fill 6 1/2 regular size railroad tank cars. A full fuel load weighs 332,500 pounds. A C-5 with a cargo load of 270,000 pounds can fly 2,150 nautical miles, offload, and fly to a second base 500 nautical miles away from the original destination -- all without aerial refueling. With aerial refueling, the aircraft's range is limited only by crew endurance.

Background

Lockheed-Georgia Co. delivered the first operational Galaxy to the 437th Airlift Wing, Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., in June l970. C-5s are stationed at Altus AFB, Okla.; Dover AFB, Del.; and Travis AFB, Calif. AMC transferred some C-5s to the Air Reserve components starting with Kelly AFB, Texas, in 1985; followed by Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y.; and Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass. In 2004, Tennessee Air National Guard, Memphis, Tenn. retired their C-141s and converted to C-5A's.

In March 1989, the last of 50 C-5B aircraft was added to the 76 C-5As in the Air Force's airlift force structure. The C-5B includes all C-5A improvements as well as more than 100 additional system modifications to improve reliability and maintainability. All 50 C-5Bs are scheduled to remain in the active-duty force, shared by comparably sized and collocated Air Force Reserve Associate units.

Based on a recent study showing 80 percent of the C-5 airframe service life remaining, AMC began an aggressive program to modernize the C-5. The C-5 Avionics Modernization Program began in 1998 and includes upgrading avionics to Global Air Traffic Management compliance, improving navigation and safety equipment, and installing a new autopilot system. Another part of the plan is a comprehensive re-engining and reliability improvement program, which includes new engines, pylons and auxiliary power units, with upgrades to aircraft skin and frame, landing gear and the pressurization system.

This modernization program will restore aircraft reliability and maintainability, maintain structural and system integrity, reduce cost of ownership and increase operational capability well into the 21st century.

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Outsize cargo transport
Prime Contractor: Lockheed-Georgia Co.
Power Plant: Four General Electric TF-39 engines
Thrust: 43,000 pounds, each engine
Wingspan: 222.9 feet 
Length: 247.1 feet 
Height: 65.1 feet 
Cargo Compartment: height , 13.5 feet; width, 19 feet; length, 143 feet, 9 in
Pallet Positions: 36
Maximum Cargo: 270,000 pounds
Maximum Takeoff Weight: C-5B 769,000 pounds (peacetime), 840,000 pounds (wartime)
Speed: 518 mph (.77 Mach)
Range: 6,320 nautical miles (empty)
Crew: 7 (pilot, co-pilot, two flight engineers and three loadmasters)
Unit Cost: C-5A - $152.8 million (FY98 constant dollars) C-5B - $179 million (FY98 constant dollars)
Deployed: C-5A - 1969, C-5B - 1980
Inventory: Active force and Reserve, 126

FMI: www.af.mil