Comments on: Another C-17 incident at Bagram

By: USN Girl

USN Girl — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:06:11 +0000

I was at Bagram in 2005 when the C-17 went off the runway. I saw the event and all of the recovery. Our squadron was even asked to aid Boeing in the “restoration.” Everyday walking the flight line to work, we would see the mammoth sitting there sadly. The runway was barely big enough for the C-130’s, and I was shocked every time I saw a C-17 take off and land. It was a simple mistake of over correction on the pilots part. One of his wheels from the landing gear slipped of the runway and he over corrected. It’s like driving a car. Your tire goes off the hard concrete and hits loose gravel. If you don’t handle the situation properly then you can loose control of the vehicle. He and his crew did every thing that they could to make the out come better. The damage could have been a hell of alot worse and lives could have been lost. I think that they deserve some credit for that, instead of the berating that the original author has given them. I have ALOT of respect for the guys who fly those planes, especially when the runway was in the bad condition that it was then. And lets add the fact that they are almost doing the impossible, in a WARZONE!

By: guppy

guppy — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:28:12 +0000

Having an FE is no guarantee one will be saved from a silly mistake. Remember the C-5 that crashed at Dover after they pulled back the thust on a good engine after shutting another one down? They had three good engines available but were only producing thrust on two. There were 2 experienced FEs on that ship and neither they nor the pilots caught what happened.

By: a wife

a wife — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 03:50:09 +0000

I am cruising the internet and reading up on Bagram and found this article. My husband is stationed there and is one of the pilots of a small aircraft. Is taking off and landing really that dangerous? He told me that there are no threats at all to him or the plane. Is he lying to try and make me feel better. Grrrrr, maybe I will hurt him instead when he gets home.

By: C-17 FCC

C-17 FCC — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:46:59 +0000

I was the flying crew chief on the first incident and I assure you there was no “cowboy-hotdog” stuff going on there. Like every other incident it was a matter of a culmination of events that led to the one big mishap. Number one being poor runway conditions. There were two other incidents involving a C-130 and another with a A-10 the same week we crashed due to runway conditions. As for this incident I believe perhaps the GPWS cicuit breaker was pulled and the crew did not get any warning of the impending mistake. My prayers go out to the crew because I remember not being able to sleep for months after my incident.

By: C5mech

C5mech — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:03:17 +0000

As a heavy airlift maintainer and avid watcher of all things aviation-crash related, I would lay 90% odds that the crew pulled the circuit breaker that “squawks” at them that the landing gear is down with throttles retarded. The airplane tells you it is in a bad configuration for landing by doing this and while annoying it is there for a reason. I do not work on the C-17 but I do work on the C-5, and I know of at least 4 or 5 other crashes of other airframes that were caused by this exact same mistake. The sad part is that the crew will likely get off with a slap on the wrist or maybe “allowed” to retire. I have seen instances in the past where enlisted maintainers were charged with negligent homicide for the maintenance equivalent, I have personally been to Bagram, and I have been aboard when aircrews push airplanes to the limit unnecessarily. I was in the intel briefs and knew the dangers by the way.

By: Kamu808

Kamu808 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:21:39 +0000

Let me tell you, If you haven’t been shot at, if you havn’t been to Bagram, or in fact havn’t been in the warzaone save it. the most vulnerable time for the aircract is during approaches and takeoffs!!! I stand with my brethren and saying you sound like an moron. There was no overshoot, everyone survived. The your friendly neighborhood CE troop!!!

By: Ex C-17 Pilot

Ex C-17 Pilot — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:26:36 +0000

1. I know nothing of this last accident at Bagram AB, but the 196 mishap had many extenuating findings and causes, including ATC communications, airfield lighting, airfield NOTAMS, and previous ambiguous and conflicting information.

2. I also have over 3,500 hours in C-141Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s w/ FEs and although I love, respect, and revere them greatly, aircraft with FEÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s have had mishaps too. The C-17 has an absolutely stealer Safety Record/Mishap Rate!

By: airshow

airshow — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:16:20 +0000

The hotdogging comment came from the article and refers to others as speculating about pilot actions. Being in the Aviation business for 33 years it’s always interesting how on blogs those that pretend to be pilots are always denigrating others who only try to raise issues. Who cares that someone thinks C17 pilots are hotdogging going into Bagram? Let them discuss it…..it deserves mentioning, even in a hostile zone. If I remember right, wasn’t there a B52 pilot that cared little for his crew by flicking into the infield? Those that are quick to show displeasure have no idea what CRM is really for. It’s to open your mind.

By: LtC retiree

LtC retiree — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:16:18 +0000

@Hap Arnold I've flown the C-130J into Bagram since 2005. We've done AEF deployments to Bagram as well. We fly with two pilots and two loadmasters. Both MWS are designed and certified to operate with that crew manning. Crew's are well trained for those missions too.

By: McChord C-17LM

McChord C-17LM — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:44:48 +0000

The fact that you called our approaches into a DESIGNATED combat zone “hotdogging” set the tone for rest of the junk that I read. We are trained and instructed to come in”that way”. There are people out there that do want to hurt us. The base gets attacked fairly frequently. As other ACTUAL AIRLIFT AVIATORS in here have said, YOU DO NOT KNOW WTF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!