The Air Force is investigating what caused the landing gear of an Air Force Reserve Command C-5M Super Galaxy to fail on Thursday.
The failure caused the C-5 to land on its nose, skidding about three-quarters of the way down the 11,500-foot runway at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, before coming to a stop, according to Maj. Timothy Wade, a spokesman for the 433rd Airlift Wing.
There were 11 personnel on board, but no injuries were reported.
“Any damage to the aircraft or the runway will not be known until it is thoroughly investigated and assessed by the investigation board,” Wade told Air Force Times via email.
The cause of the nose landing gear failure is under investigation, he said.
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“The Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland first responders did an amazing job in assisting the aircrew and securing the immediate area,” Wade said.
The 433rd Airlift Wing began receiving the C-5Ms in June 2016, he said. Before that, the Reserve wing flew the C-5A Galaxy model.
This incident is the first of its kind within the wing, Wade said.
In July, the head of Air Mobility Command ordered a fleet-wide maintenance assessment of its C-5 aircraft after two landing gear malfunctions occurred.
Gen. Carlton Everhart temporarily halted flying operations for the 18 C-5s stationed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after the nose landing gear malfunctioned on two of the base’s C-5s in a 60-day period. Both malfunctions occurred when the planes were at Naval Station Rota, Spain.
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The next day, Everhart ordered an assessment of the command’s 56 C-5s.
During the assessment, maintainers found that the ball-screw drive assembly was causing issues with the extension and retraction of the nose landing gear.
They replaced the ball-screw assembly for all C-5s in the fleet, including the aircraft involved in Thursday’s incident, according to AMC spokesman Col. Chris Karns.
Initial information suggests this incident is an isolated event, Karns told Air Force Times.
The Fourth Air Force is leading the investigation, with AMC providing assistance as required, he said.
Charlsy is a Reporter and Engagement Manager for Military Times. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.
