A Texas B-1B Munition Sparked Range Fire: A training munition released by a B-1B bomber on the Melrose Bombing Range near Cannon AFB, N.M., on November 30, 2005, started a fire that eventually burned 26,000 acres of grazing and farmland, according to an Air Combat Command accident report released Tuesday. The bomber was on a training mission from Dyess AFB, Tex., when it released a dummy bomb with a spotting charge that sparked the fire. The report indicated that Cannon officials failed to recognize the level of fire danger at the time and implement reasonable safety measures.
Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said the service must improve its readiness in his first public remarks as Air Force Chief of Staff, made during a ceremony marking his ascension to the service’s top job Nov. 18.
