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The tail cone of a Boeing C-17 Globemaster fell from the sky over the South Carolina Lowcountry – landing in the parking lot of a Catholic school in Hanahan.
No injuries were reported in connection with the incident. Nor was any property damage reported.
The massive metal cone was found in the parking lot of the Divine Redeemer School at approximately 4:00 p.m. EDT. The school is located just two miles away from Joint Base Charleston, home of the 437th Airlift Wing of the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) and the 315th Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC).
Both units operate C-17 Globemasters, military transport aircraft which were originally designed by McDonnell Douglas – the company which merged with Boeing in the late 1990s. Nearly 300 of the aircraft were manufactured between 1991-2015.
News of the incident was first reported by Trooper Bob Beres of WCIV TV-4 (ABC – Charleston).
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Hanahan, South Carolina-
— Trooper Bob (@TrooperBob_SC) September 12, 2024
WOW! A viewer tells me her dad took these pictures. This fell out of the sky and onto the parking lot of Divine Redeemer School in Hanahan around 4pm today.
?: H. Nguyen @ABCNews4
Update: A military pilot tells me that’s a rear tail cone off a C-17.… pic.twitter.com/o2J8eewbRp
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“The military is aware that this flew off of a plane,” Beres wrote in a follow-up message on X.
According to reporter Marissa Lute of WCSC TV-5 (CBS – Charleston, S.C.), officials at Joint Base Charleston “confirmed a piece of a C-17 fell off during a flight and landed in a church parking lot.”
The aircraft experienced “a malfunction” during flight but was able to land safely without its tail cone. An investigation is underway in an effort to determine what caused the cone to fall off the plane.
It’s been an absolute disaster of a year for Boeing, which has seen serious issues with both its commercial jets – many of which are manufactured in Charleston, S.C. – and its spacecraft program.
While the vast majority of media outlets in South Carolina have been cheerleaders for the crony capitalist aerospace giant, this website has consistently called them out. We’ve also consistently called out the “Republican” politicians who gave the company more than $1 billion in taxpayer-funded incentives to locate in North Charleston, S.C. back in 2009.
In case you missed it, check out this in-depth treatment of Boeing’s corporate culture by our director of research, Jenn Wood.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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5 comments
Dude, give it a rest. Military aircraft are maintained by Airmen and flown by pilots who are all, on average under 28. They’re over utilized, under maintained and age much faster than commercial craft because of the usage that puts them on the edge of their envelope all the time. Crap falls off or out of them from time to time – back in the 50s 3 nukes fell out here – one across the street from Francis Marion University and two off the coast of Savannah.
Oh, most of the USAF’s C-17s were built by McDonnell Douglas.
Exactly! I’m sure the manufacturer’s warranty had expired on this one. Maybe the Air Force purchased an extended warranty from a telemarketer, but Boeing is probably off the hook here.
If you superglue it back in place, my executive bonus will be $1,000 higher this year!
I wonder if there’s a good synonym for “embattled” that y’all could use. A search of that word on the FITS site gives 101 PAGES of results dating back to 2012. Maybe there’s a douchey Latin phrase that could replace it.