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