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Comments
7/25/2012 7:17:17 AM ET Straight down the coastline and made a sharp left at the city lights. Can't miss it. Navigation 101.
Dan, Florida
7/25/2012 5:44:30 AM ET I'd put the blame on ATC. I am sure that ATC didn't really know where the Aircraft was and told them to land. Now had that been a Weapons Director from the 71 EACS. That would be a different story.
WD, Overseas
7/24/2012 10:41:43 PM ET I feel for the crew how do you mistake a small field for the base Anyway can't imagin how they feel. They will NEVER hear the end of it...
Stuart Singer, San Mateo Ca
7/24/2012 9:20:16 PM ET RetiredOH- My guess is you just finished watching top gun before your post. In my pilot training class 5 of the top 8 graduates went to Air Mobility Command. The fact is is this appears to be human error...of which you are in no position to judge I'm thankful the plane stopped in such a short distance and no-one was injured. Take a deep breath...you simply weren't there
Fred Galax, Northern Virginia
7/24/2012 5:44:22 PM ET Seems like the topic has changed from a C-17 landing in the wrong airfield to a mob attacking retiredOhio So in an unrelated topichow long does an investigation take why not just be like Hey pilot why did you land here
Some Airman, AZ
7/24/2012 1:53:27 PM ET RetiredOH. You don't have any air sense, which leads me to believe you are probably a retired fighter crew chief and not a fighter pilot. I don't apologize for C-17s, they are having some obvious problems - is the gear down - and probably need more training. As far as fight pilots... ever see number 4 of a 4 ship try to refuel If that is the best of pilot training we are in trouble. Want to talk about the best of the best? How about a Thunderbird over Idaho. Every 18--year-old boom knows the difference between AGL and MSL.
135Boom, CA
7/24/2012 12:23:22 PM ET I wonder what the visibility time was when they landed and the fatigue factor of the crew . I would think they would be flying an ILS approach . Being that the KTPF runway is aligned like it was to KMCF I could see a GA pilot making that mistake but a C17 crew Oops .
Skink, KBCT
7/24/2012 12:14:49 PM ET @RetiredOH get over yourself Crap happens even in fighters. If you have never been in a C17 then backdown It flies like a fighter. Gotta give the AC a 10 for an awesome short field landing not so much for airfield ID.This was NOT an airevac msn and it was NOT a trainer. Nuff said. Finally pretty hard for the AF to not fess up on this when so many people had it on their iPhones and youtube
halfpint, McGuire AFB
7/24/2012 10:51:29 AM ET Doesn't inspire confidence the next time I fly on a AMC flight. That could have been a huge tragedy for those 42 souls on board as well as people on the ground had something been on the runway such as another plane or ground crew performing runway maintenance. I do have to give PA credit for airing its dirty laundry.
TS, CONUS
7/24/2012 10:08:44 AM ET Ouch retired-OH you don't hold back, I bet your debriefs used to be a blast. Rijko, this was probably a medevac mission. RC, the 3,500-foot strip probably looked a lot like their 3,500-foot training runway. My shortest landing roll in a C-17 was 800 feet, that's right, less than a thousand. I still can't fathom how they mistook a GA airport for a sprawling AFB.
Load, ww
7/24/2012 9:55:32 AM ET My vote for callsigns is Magellan and Vespucci. Both of the foward facing crew need to take credit for this SNAFU. I thought heavies had to fly the ILS despite VFR conditions which begs the question of why would you fly below GS?
Pilot, CO
7/24/2012 9:08:14 AM ET Aircraft landing at MacDill have lined-up on Peter O' Knight's runway before but I can't ever remember one actually landing. I think a new callsign is in order for the pilot in charge maybePOK that is if they continue to fly. I wonder what a 3500 foot runway looks like on short final...when the one you're supposed to be landing on is 11400.
RC, MS
7/24/2012 7:10:58 AM ET This why the best pilots get to fly fighters. They put the mediocre pilots into cargo planes and hope that two mediocre pilots together will equal one good pilot. Total fail in this case.
Retired, Ohio
7/24/2012 6:32:03 AM ET What was this plane doing that it needed a crew of 19?
Rijko, UK
7/23/2012 6:53:18 PM ET Proof positive that men do not ask for directions
RG III, Pentagon
7/23/2012 11:07:47 AM ET Bad news, we lost our way. Good news, we're ahead of schedule.
