The C-5 that crashed last spring—from crew error, per USAF—just shy of the airfield at Dover AFB, Del., had its wings removed last week by Ohio-based contractor InterGroup Intl. And, the rest of it gets dismantled this week. The contractor, which used “giant mobile shears,” according to an Air Force release, to clip the wings, plans to cut up, melt, and recycle what’s left of the giant airlifter. The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center already claimed the cockpit, which they put to use as a C-5 avionics test bed.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
