A C-17 was involved in a mishap Jan. 30 while landing at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. Air Forces Central said in a Jan. 30 release that the incident took place at about 10:20 p.m. local time. Initial reports indicated that the aircraft landed “with its gear not fully extended,” causing a small fire, according to a separate release that same day from US Forces Afghanistan. There were no injuries to the aircrew, but the airfield was closed “until further notice,” USFOR-A said. A safety board will be convened to investigate the incident. Afghanistan was the site of another C-17 accident back in December when one of the Boeing-built transports made a hard landing at Kandahar Air Field, sustaining damage. (For more, read Stars and Stripes Feb. 1 report.)
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
