| On July 29, 2010 Boeing news shows that A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III airlifter crashed on the evening of July 28 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska at about 6:15 pm (0215 Thursday UTC), killing all four crew members. The plane was practicing for the 2010 Arctic Thunder air show. Four crewmembers are reported to have been killed in the crash. The Boeing Company released the following statement: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the four crewmembers who were lost aboard the Pacific Air Forces C-17 that crashed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, last night. Boeing stands ready to provide technical assistance to the U.S. Air Force with the investigation into this tragedy.”Also The Air Force has identified the four men killed in July 28th, 2010, Wednesday’s C-17 crash.Majors Michael Freyholtz and Aaron Malone, Capt. Jeffrey Hill and Master Sgt. Thomas Cicardo were killed when the plane went down while practicing for this weekend’s air show Wednesday night.Freyholtz and Malone were pilots assigned to the Alaska Air National Guard’s 249th Airlift Squadron. Hill was a pilot assigned to Elmendorf’s 517th Airlift Squadron, and Cicardo was a loadmaster with the 249th Airlift Squadron.”We come to work with immense sorrow after four of our fellow airmen lost their lives,” said Brig. Gen. Charles E “Chuck” Foster, the commander of the 176th Wing of the Alaska Air National Guard, in a statement. “They were more than valued Airmen: They were our teammates, friends, family members and fellow Alaskans.” |
At this weekend’s Arctic Thunder air show there will be a memorial C-17 on the flight line next to the static C-17 for the air show. There will be pictures of the crew and people are invited to leave flowers, said Bob Hall, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson public affairs officer.
Maj. Michael Freyholtz, 34, originally from Hines, Minn., joined the Air Force in May 1998. He was selected to fly the C-17 “Globemaster III” aircraft. In 2007 he left active duty to move to Alaska and join the Alaska Air National Guard. He was the first outside pilot hired for the new 249th Air Squadron. Freyholtz was the unit’s first C-17 Flight Examiner Pilot and Air Show Demonstration Pilot. Freyholtz received the Air Medal for his service in Afghanistan and Iraq, where he flew 608 combat hours.
Maj. Aaron “Zippy” Malone, 36, served for more than 12 years in the Air National Guard, first in Iowa and then Montana. While with the Montana Guard, he flew air sovereignty missions in the 9/11 aftermath and deployed to the Korean Peninsula. He transferred to the Alaska Air National Guard to come back to his home state in 2008. He was an instructor pilot in the C-17 and routinely flew combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Capt. Jeffrey Hill, 31, of the 517th Airlift Squadron was a C-17A Instructor Pilot and an Operations Flight Commander at Elmendorf Air Force Base. Hill was assigned to stand up the new C-17 squadron in Alaska, where he was able to indulge in his love of the outdoors. A release from the Alaska Air National Guard says Hill “was an amazing flight commander,” and that “Jeff’s trademark was a positive attitude. His happiness and smile were infectious.” Hill was originally from York, Pa.
Master Sgt. Thomas Cicardo, 47, spent more than 28 years in the U.S. Armed Forces. Before joining the Alaska Air National Guard, Cicardo served in the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and the Air Force Reserve. He joined the Alaska Air National Guard in 1997 and spent his first 11 years in the 210th and 211th Rescue Squadrons, where he flew the HC-130. During his time in the rescue squadrons, Cicardo was credited with saving 66 lives and assisting 13 others to safety. He deployed multiple times to Afghanistan, flying combat search and rescue missions there and personnel recovery missions in the Horn of Africa.
Cicardo was posthumously promoted to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant on Friday after Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Katkus, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, determined that he met all the eligibility requirements for the next-higher rank prior to death.
These facts were confirmed by Air Force Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins, Commander of Alaskan Command NORAD, in an impromptu press conference later in the evening. Col. Jack McMullen, commander of the 3rd Wing (under whose authority the plane belonged), announced the four deaths on Thursday).
According to the Newstribune reported that TAKEOFF, THEN A CRASH:
This appears to be the first fatal crash involving a C-17, which Boeing bills as the most advanced air cargo plane in the world.
Brig. Gen. Chuck Foster, commander of the Guard’s 176th Wing, said he knew of no other. Elmendorf officials were trying to confirm that.
The four-engine jet crashed in what witnesses described as a huge ball of flame. One said it looked like a nuclear explosion.
Emergency crews worked all night Wednesday to secure the crash site and preserve evidence for the Air Force investigation, said Col. Jack McMullen, 3rd Wing commander, at a briefing outside Elmendorf’s Boniface Parkway gate on Thursday.
“We’ve got an interim safety team that’s standing up, that’s going to be out there to secure data, to secure information, to secure the site,” McMullen said. “We’ve got another safety team that’s going to come in … which will start an official safety investigation to try to determine the cause of the accident.”
At the briefing, McMullen and Foster provided little information about the flight itself. The Air Force says its records show that the crash happened about 6:14 p.m.
“About a minute after takeoff is when I got the call that we had a mishap,” McMullen said. “I did not see it. I do not know. But it happened very quickly after takeoff, is what I do know.”
More information about the crash will come after the safety team reconstructs what happened, he said.
The plane had flown earlier Wednesday with a different crew, McMullen said.
The Air Force hasn’t said if the C-17’s flight data recorder has been recovered or if it has any audio of the flight crew’s last moments.
Boeing said it would help with the investigation if needed.
The Elmendorf base is near Anchorage, Alaska, and the fireball and plume were visible from that city’s downtown. “It was a big, gray plume of smoke and I saw a fireball go up in it,” said Anchorage Fire Dept. Captain Bryan Grella in an interview with the Associated Press.
The Alaska Air Show Association is deeply saddened by this tragic accident.
“Our thoughts & prayers go out to the families of these men. We urge everyone to join us in keeping the families and servicemen affected by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers.
As of this posting we are awaiting a decision on whether or not the Arctic Thunder air show will go forward as planned
Elmendorf Air Force Base’s hosted air show and open house — Arctic Thunder — returns to the skies over Anchorage July 31-Aug. 1, 2010, featuring performances by the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron Blue Angels and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds Demonstration Team.
The C-17 is operated by the US Air Force, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, NATO, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates has placed 6 orders in January 6th, 2009. During the summer 2008 it was reported that the South Korea had allocated funds for the purchase of three or four C-17-class airplanes for use in supporting expeditionary deployments.
It is recalling that the India has had its first National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in place for over a year. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released the plan in June 2008; it outlines existing and future policies and programs for climate mitigation. The plan revolves around eight “national missions” and requires ministries to work with the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change to implement the plans.
On January 7th, 2009, The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] announced that the U.S. government has received a Letter of Request from India’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Indian Air Force regarding the potential acquisition of 10 C-17 Globemaster III advanced airlifters.
C17 is great for for preparation of desaster. You never can prepare enough for the emergency preparation to saving lives and keep our world safe.
The ultimate measure of airlift effectiveness is the ability to rapidly project and sustain an effective combat force close to a potential battle area. Threats to U.S. interests have changed in recent years, and the size and weight of U.S.-mechanized firepower and equipment have grown in response to improved capabilities of potential adversaries.
The Boeing C-17 is the newest, most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force. The C-17 is capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in the deployment area.
