News

Seventeen people recover after surviving C-5 crash

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Melissa Phillips
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Seventeen people are in various stages of recovery after surviving a C-5 aircraft crash less than a mile from Dover Air Force Base's southern perimeter Monday.

The crew was listed in the following conditions as of Thursday morning: Capt. Brian Lafreda, 326th AS, fair at the Christiana Care Health System, Wilmington, Del.; Lt. Col. Robert Moorman, 326th AS, fair, Christiana Care; Lt. Col. Harlan Nelson, 326th AS, fair, Kent General Hospital-Bay Health Medical Center, Dover, Del.; Master Sgt. Timothy Feiring, 709th AS, released; Master Sgt. Michael Benford, 709th AS, released; Tech. Sgt. Vincent Dvorak, 709th AS, good, Christiana Care; Master Sgt. Brenda Kremer, 709th AS, released; Chief Master Sgt. David Burke, 326th AS, released; Chief Master Sgt. George Mosley, 709th AS, released; Tech. Sgt. Henry Fortney, 326th AS, released; Senior Airman Scott Schaffner, 89th AS, stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, released; Tammy Lucas, Lockheed Martin employee, released; Staff Sgt. David Abrams, 436th AMXS, released; Senior Airman Nicholas Vathes, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, fair, Kent General; retired Chief Petty Officer Paul Kath, released; Hannelore Kath, released and retired Tech. Sgt. Raul Salamanca, released.

"Our crew did a spectacular job of landing the airplane in its location," said Colonel Chad T. Manske, 436th Airlift Wing vice commander and current acting commander of the wing. "Thankfully, there were no fatalities and by the grace of God the aircraft didn't explode."

Broken pieces

The C-5 Galaxy Model B broke apart into three major pieces at 6:42 a.m. in a grassy area surrounding the base's fenced perimeter. The land is still classified as proprietary to the base and was purchased years ago to provide a cushion of airspace to protect the civilian population from extremely rare and unlikely incidents such as this, said Colonel Manske.

Probable timeline

Officials will release details after Air Force officers analyze information collected from Accident and Safety Investigation Boards. Base officials did, however, share a rough timeline with more than 50 local and national media agencies who arrived to report on the mishap.

At approximately 6:21 a.m., the transport plane took off headed for the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility carrying sustainment supplies for people serving in the Global War on Terror. Sustainment supplies are described as anything ranging from food, personnel or equipment.

Emergency declared

Just moments into the flight the pilot declared an inflight emergency, prompting the crew to return to the base.

In situations like this, the crew is trained to declare an inflight emergency and would have checked to ensure the plane was still under control. At that point, the crew would assess the cause of the emergency, process their aircraft checklists, determine a location to safely land to mitigate risks and prevent loss of life, and communicate their course of action to everyone aboard the plane, according to Colonel Manske.

The gigantic plane, which can transport six Greyhound buses end-to-end and looms above the flightline at the height of a six-story building, crashed into the field at 6:42 a.m.

Air Force and local first responders comprised of medical, firefighters, security forces and civil engineer personnel, immediately responded to the scene.

Life-saving training

The question remains why didn't the aircraft, fully-laden with fuel for a long trip over the Atlantic Ocean, blow up on contact?

Base officials won't speculate on the cause of the accident, but they say they are thankful for whatever the reason.

"Our crews are thoroughly and stringently trained on a continued basis to handle events in the aircraft," said Col. Ronald A. Rutland, 512th Airlift Wing commander, the Reserve Associate wing located at Dover AFB. "At this time we are not sure of everything that occurred during this flight; it's currently under investigation.

"I consider our crews here at Dover, the 512th and 436th Airlift Wings, as consummate professionals," Colonel Rutland said. "It is with great relief that we had no loss of life in this incident."

The crew was comprised of 709th and 326th Airlift Squadron members and personnel from the 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

This particular aircraft recently underwent an avionics modernization program upgrade to convert the cockpit from 1960s instrument technology to one similar to that used by modern civilian airliners.

AMP was introduced in 1998. The modernization program enhances aircraft reliability and maintainability, and helps maintain structural and system integrity, while reducing operating costs.

"The AMP cockpits are needed to operate aircraft in the saturated airspace over the North Atlantic Ocean and Europe," said Colonel Manske. "It also allows us to interface with other military and civilian airplanes more precisely than before."

C-5 crash and accident history

Only five C-5 aircraft have been lost since the plane's inception in 1969. Until now, no Dover AFB planes have been destroyed.

"The safety of the aircraft is paramount to our crews or they wouldn't have flown it that morning," said Colonel Manske. "It's a great aircraft. It sustained a massive force against its hull during the crash, yet it still protected our crews."

A board of Air Force officers has convened and is investigating the cause of the accident. In order to protect the integrity of the investigation process, none of the crewmembers will be able to discuss Monday's events. The unclassified findings will be released to the public as soon as the board results are released.

Accident and Safety Investigations typically take about four months to complete.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the survivors, family members and coworkers impacted by the crash," said Colonel Manske. "We wish all of them a speedy recovery."