Subject: C-130 a lesson in communication
Here's what happens when you don't properly "NOTAM" (notice to airmen)
an airfield under construction. A lack of communication over in Iraq.
Last week, one C-23 Sherpa flew into a U.S. operated airfield in Iraq
during the day and saw there was construction equipment on the runway.
Yet there was no NOTAM. A trench was being dug in the runway, and it
was not marked. It's a long runway and they just landed beyond the
construction. They filed a safety hazard report that was immediately
forwarded to our higher headquarters and to the Air Force wing based
here.
Well, it seems the construction continued and still was not marked or
NOTAM'ed or anything. A C-130 landed on the runway the night of the
29th and didn't see the construction. It wound up going through what is
now a large pit on the runway. A few pictures are attached. The C-130
was totaled.
There were several injuries to the crew and the few passengers that were
on board but luckily nobody was killed. Quite the set of failures
somewhere in the system regarding this improper construction and no
notifications about it.
