Follow-up to C-17 Crash

One of the most popular articles on my blog recently was a post about C-17s encountering difficulties landing at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.  The US Air Force announced recently that they had completed their investigation into the incident, essentially concluding that the crew failed to follow landing checklist procedures while on approach to the airfield.  This was in part due to a number of minor distractions on approach and in part due to a not-that-uncommon last-minute flight control handoff. 

I feel badly for the crew, but on the other hand I think it’s your first day of flight school where you’re taught that the big red lever controls the wheels and that they should probaby be DOWN when you’re landing.  The report is available here.  More photos are here.