Incredible Vid: Plane Engulfed in Flames After Crash at Calif. Navy Base
- Posted on May 19, 2011 at 8:57am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Three crew members aboard a Boeing 707 tanker loaded with jet fuel escaped with only minor injuries when the aircraft skidded off the runway and exploded into flames at a Southern California Navy base, officials said.
The plane crashed as it was taking off from Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu at about 5:25 p.m. Wednesday. It slid to a halt within a few hundred feet of the Pacific and burst into flames, with thick black smoke pouring out the shattered wreck.
The plane was operated by Alexandria, Va.-based Omega Aerial Refueling Services, Inc., which contracts with the Navy to provide fleet operations support and fuel transport services, air station spokeswoman Teri Reid said.
All three crew on board were civilian employees. Reid did not have any details on how they were able to escape the inferno.
Omega president W. Stewart Orr declined to comment when reached by phone.
Though a helicopter dumped multiple loads of water on the plane, the wreckage continued to burn for more than three hours.
Firefighters on the ground appeared to be letting the fire burn but were dousing the area around the tanker.
It was not known where the tanker was headed at the time of the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating the cause of the crash.
The Naval base is about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
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magedogtag
Posted on May 20, 2011 at 5:45pmthe crew were able to get out and survive because the cockpit was not destroyed and airplanes take off into the wind which, as you see in the video, blew the smoke and fire away from them.
Report Post »David
Posted on May 20, 2011 at 11:02amWe had high winds that day which may have been a factor. Our local paper is reporting an engine caught fire. http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/may/19/new-details-released-about-point-mugu-tanker/
Report Post »Yakdriver
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 3:27pmWe need to immediately ground all air born tankers until we can determine who and what is responsible! Maybe we can get Brazil to fly all of our in flight refueling needs?
Report Post »pohknee
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 3:19pmA KC-135 with approx 5 times the standard JP4 fuel load aboard crashes and burns but the frame of the aircraft doesn’t melt into a pool of liquid metal! Makes ya wonder if reinforced steel melts faster than aluminum. The plane also didn’t disappear into a 30×30 ft hole in the ground without any remnants. Must have been defective steel in the twin towers. Whaddya think?
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 12:57pmMmm, why put water on a fuel fire? Foam or dry chem, preferably foam. Unless somebody decided to just let it burn itself out.
Report Post »pork eating crusader
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 11:47amthis video is anything but incredible, it’s boring.
glad the crew is safe.
Report Post »Calamity Jane
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 11:41amNot what I would call “incredible video” either…..After spending nearly 3 decades as a cameraman for one of the big 3 networks, I know of what I speak. Now, if the video were of the actual crash landing and the crew escaping a catastrophic explosion, then we’d have some vid worth calling incredible. What we have here is simply aftermath.
And Blaze…..BTW…..Those slide-in headline windows are really annoying. My pop-up blocker on 2 different browsers is activated and these banners slide in on the lower right whether I’m logged in or not. Most people like me, will read the content here without being bombarded with the “fancy stuff”. Please avoid turning this site into an advertisement and pop-up plagued media outlet.
Report Post »Vickie Dhaene
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 11:07amI must be cynical. It looked and sounded like a set up. Why would they put water on it? Glad everyone is ok but , Boeing???
Report Post »thecrow
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 10:06amDid the black boxes survive?
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/black-box/
Report Post »Valley Forge
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:41amKLIPHYR, A KC-135 Tanker is a modified Boeing 707 to refuel military aircraft (typically US Air Force…Navy and Marine aircraft use probe/drouge, not air refueling recepticles like USAF) …Boeing 707s have been a great all-purpose platform and have been modified for a number of missions.
Report Post »dnovak
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:40amThank God they are all safe.
Report Post »SLR Cameras
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:38amI’m glad everyone is okay. That must have been scary.
Report Post »Kinnison
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:26amIf Boeing hadn’t screwed the pooch and initially tried to steal the new tanker contract and gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar the Services would have had new tanker aircraft by now. Getting caught cost Boeing the initial contract and a number of Boeing execs went to jail and the whole contract process had to be restarted. We should have had new tankers years ago. The KC-135′s are old and worn-out. Boeing won the second round of contract negotiations fairly, but It will still be years until they are replaced.
Report Post »BIGJAYINPA
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:39amThe new tanker contract wouldn’t have helped the Navy all that much. The navy doesn’t fly that many heavy tankers. The bulk of their tanker fleet is KA-6′s because of the need to be Carrier based. They have some KC-130′s assigned to the Marines. It is actually more cost effective for the Navy to contract it’s heavy tanker requirements rather than maintain their own fleet of heavy tankers. When in joint ops with the USAF They use USAF heavy tankers that can refuel aircraft of both services, Belive it or not USAF and Navy aircraft use different refueling equipment.
Report Post »gunslingerpatriot
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:44amKA-6′s (or S-3′s for that matter) haven‘t been in the Navy’s inventory since the last VA Intruder squadron was decommissioned over 10 years ago to handle midair refueling.
Report Post »BlackAce41
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 10:01amThe new “F/A-18F Super Hornet”is doing the refueling for the US Navy now on board the Carrier fleet.
Report Post »“S-3 Vikings“ and ”KA-6 Intruders”,are retired though their are some still flying from Navy land bases. Around the world. The navy does not operate large re-fuelers The Airforce is the only ones that run that show..
KliphyR
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:19amIs a Boeing 707 ANYTHING like a KC-135?
Report Post »BIGJAYINPA
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:33amThe KC-135 was built on a Boeing 707 airframe. It’s kinda like building a monster truck on a Ford F-150 platform. The aircraft body is a B 707 with modifications to turn it into a flying gas station. Basic airframe is really old but the modifications can make it a very young airplane.
Report Post »travlman77
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:10amNot really what I would call “Incredible”
Report Post »starman70
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:21amIt’s incredible that they escaped with only minor injuries. Thank GOD they did.
Report Post »travlman77
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:25amAgreed
Report Post »Fly Old Glory 24/7 365
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:55ama great example of The Blaze acting like every other news organazation with the word INCREDIBLE…. I was really hoping The Blaze would not go the direction of the MSM but I guess they just cant resist it…very sad…
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 10:25amThe good news is no one got hurt .
Report Post »flsnipe
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:09amMe too
Report Post »OhSuzieQ
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:47amMe three…:-)
Report Post »nomercy63
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:06amI am glad the crew is safe!!!!
Report Post »Gold Coin & Economic News
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:39amThe crew is very fortunate this didn’t turn out much worse. Thank God everyone got out alive.
Report Post »chirodoc007
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:46amGet ready for the regime to point to this as the reason that oil prices are again on the rise. It’s not the devaluation of the dollar, it‘s the military and greedy Americans in SUV’s hogging the world’s oil supply.
Report Post »MontanaRob
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 9:54amnomercy63
Report Post »Posted: I am glad the crew is safe!!!!
—————————————————–
My thoughts exactly, they were really lucky. That said, where exactly was the “INCREDIBLE VIDEO”? I’ve seen more spectacular footage of paint drying.
Showtime
Posted on May 19, 2011 at 11:02amThe cause of the crash is either global warming or something Bush did.
I am amazed that the three people got out alive. The fire was not in the cockpit, however. Could have been a LOT worse!
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