Air Force Cargo Plane (Incorrectly) Lands At Davis Islands Airport

[Ryan Ruck]

Oops...

Air Force Cargo Plane (Incorrectly) Lands At Davis Islands Airport

July 20, 2012


The military cargo plane landed Friday afternoon at Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands.

Air Force officials from MacDill Air Force Base are trying to figure out why an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III landed at Peter O. Knight airport shortly after noon, according to MSgt Bryan Gatewood, spokesman for the 6th Air Mobility Wing.

Gatewood said officials were headed to the small municipal airport to find out why the military jet landed there.

Ryan Gucwa, a pilot, was getting ready to get in his Piper Navajo and take off from the airport when he looked up and saw "this huge C-17 coming in over the top of the shipping port."

Seeing military airplanes over Peter O. Knight was not unusual, Gucwa said, but "this was only 100 feet off the ground and that is bizarre. Once the wheels touched the ground, I was terrified that there was no way to stop in time."

The nose landing gear of the cargo jet stopped about six to 10 feet from the end of the runway, said Gucwa, who took cell phone video of the landing.

The plane, he said, had markings from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. Officials there would not immediately comment.

The landing surprised people who work in downtown Tampa office towers.

Frank Kilgore, a pricing manager for Hapag-Lloyd, an international shipping firm with office in the Suntrust Tower, said he heard someone in his office yell that the plane was on a final approach to the small municipal airport on Davis Islands.

"I knew immediately that it was not right," Kilgore said.

Commercial real estate broker Jason Donald was looking out his office window in a downtown skyscraper and saw the plane pass low over the fuel tanks in the Port of Tampa, then turn south towards Peter O. Knight.

"I face directly over the Bay and saw that plane come in so fast and thought to myself 'Never in a million years is he going to make it,'" Donald said. "I was waiting for flames."

There seemed to be a moment when the pilot realized the mistake, Donald said, but too late.

"He was carrying so much speed, I thought, 'This is not going to happen,'" he said. "If his front tire was not in the grass at the end of the runway, he was darn close."

It took about 17 seconds from the time the cargo jet's wheels touched down to time it came to a screeching halt near the end of the runway, according to video taken by Ryan Gucwa, who was at the scene.

[American Patriot]

It was a military plane with White House communications people?

We always landed at little air ports.

LOL

[Ryan Ruck]

Nope, this was 100% accidental. They landed a C-17, the second largest cargo aircraft we operate there!

The longest runway at Peter O. is only ~3400'x100'.

[American Patriot]

Actually, the C-17 is the LARGEST a/c we operate...

Ain't nothing bigger, except the Russian Antov AN-225...

And I've had TWO Margaritas (by my count, made by hand... which means they are NOTHING like you've ever had before)

[American Patriot]

By the way....

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-c-17-glo...es-581149.html
On the same path back in a C-17 Globemaster III it took us 2 hours with plenty of leg room to spare. Yes, a C-130 can land on what is considered a short runway (2,500 feet). Guess what? A C-17 Globemaster III can land on the same size runway and it can carry up to twice as much cargo plus 120 people in seats.

[American Patriot]

The ONLY problem *I* see is it takes about 3500 feet for one to take off. LOL

[Ryan Ruck]

Actually, the C-17 is the LARGEST a/c we operate... Ain't nothing bigger, except the Russian Antov AN-225... And I've had TWO Margaritas (by my count, made by hand... which means they are NOTHING like you've ever had before)

Did the margaritas help you forget the C-5 Galaxy?


ETA: I've also had a bottle of this (that is the bottle I bought) and a bit of vodka later myself...

It was great! Had a rather smokey, maple bacon taste to it. I wouldn't drink it regularly but, it's a fun beer.

[American Patriot]

Ummm no.

The C-5 is smaller than the C-17 and smaller than the Russian plane. lol

Bacon beer? hehehe

[Malsua]

Nice commie power fist on that beer. Did you turn a little red inside after drinking it?

[American Patriot]

/snickers

[Ryan Ruck]

Ummm no.

The C-5 is smaller than the C-17 and smaller than the Russian plane. lol

Bacon beer? hehehe

You'd better double check. I had to because I couldn't remember myself...

Nice commie power fist on that beer. Did you turn a little red inside after drinking it?

Rogue is brewed in Oregon and it is on most all of their beers. Meh, what do you expect...

[American Patriot]

I guess you're right. I lived at Tinker and they brought in the C-5s there. I've never seen the C-17 next to the C-5, but we were told by military personnel that flew the the 17s that they were "slightly larger in capacity"....

Thus an assumption on my part.

However, the AN-225 is BIGGER than the C-5.


Antonov or AN-225 is the world’s heaviest and largest jet ever built with the landing gear system of 32 wheels and a wing span of 291 feet. It was designed for the Soviet space program in 1988 and able to airlift the Energia rocket’s boosters, Buran space shuttle or ultra-heavy and oversize freight, up to 250,000 kg (550,000 lb) internally or 200,000 kg (440,000 lb) on the upper fuselage. Cargo on the upper fuselage can be 70 m long.
Some pictures and the video after the jump.



Below C-5, C-17, and C-130:


So, you're right C-17 is SMALLER than the C-5

[American Patriot]

[Ryan Ruck]

Awesome comparison photo!

[American Patriot]

think that is computer generated. Not sure though

[Ryan Ruck]

Might be MS Flight Sim. I didn't pull up the full size to see all the detail.

ETA: On doing so, I suspect you're right.

[American Patriot]

I looked for some actual comparisons but couldn't locate them. What I did find says that while the Russia plane is a hell of a lot bigger than the C-5, it can't fly as far as a fully loaded C-5 can.

[Ryan Ruck]

Yeah, that An-224 is a big bastard! No surprise on the fuel efficiency/range. That's always been a Russian aircraft problem.