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It was supposed to land at MacDill AFB, but landed at a smaller airport which couldn't even fit it!
http://yfrog.com/mk7ekz

It reparted safely some hours later.

AFAIK The C-17 was designed so it COULD stop on very short runways to get the troops or supplies in where a "conventional" aircraft couldn't......even dirt strips if I remember

Yep. It obviously can fit.

At least they remembered to put the landing gear down.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/ ... m_020409w/

In other articles readers wondered how long the aircrew would keep their flight status.
Seems to me the controller should have helped in this situation too.

KevinJarvis wrote:In other articles readers wondered how long the aircrew would keep their flight status.
Seems to me the controller should have helped in this situation too.

Yeah I thought that to...was the Macdill tower guy taking a nap?

Mark

I couldn't watch that yfrog link at all, however, youtube is my friend! Here is a clip of the C-17 taking off from the same airfield yesterday evening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HILFkFKtV9o

Ron

Edit: BTW, what a f*****g great aeroplane!

The crew shouldn't be reprimanded, they should be given medals for airmanship.

These things normally occur at night when you can't see very well. This one is not really explainable or excusable.

BTW, from multiple sources they had departed from SW Asia and had the Central Command 4-star on board. Doh!

On the take-off, looks like he still had at least another 800 - 900 feet of runway.

MikeJG {The crew shouldn't be reprimanded, they should be given medals for airmanship.} Can I hear an amen on that ?

I've taken a look at the map of that area, and Mac Dill is just few miles away, just across the pond, on the other side of Orlando.
My guess: they removed the payload from the airplane once landed in order to decrease its weight and allow a safer takeoff.

james84 wrote:My guess: they removed the payload from the airplane once landed in order to decrease its weight and allow a safer takeoff.

Pilots will probably remain in his underwear and sunglasses!

james84 wrote:I've taken a look at the map of that area, and Mac Dill is just few miles away, just across the pond, on the other side of Orlando.
My guess: they removed the payload from the airplane once landed in order to decrease its weight and allow a safer takeoff.

And, of course, James, we know you meant Tampa. McDill AFB/USA Central Command are located there.

Was James the navigator ??

LOL! Probably!

Here is a pretty good local news report on the incident!
http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/ ... ar-437276/

Ron