News / Military

US military ‘accidentally’ drops bombs on Michigan

Thursday, 03 November 2016 6:26 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 03 November 2016 7:20 PM ]

This file photo shows military aircraft parked on the tarmac at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, suburban Detroit. (Photo by US Air Force)

A US military aircraft has “accidentally” dropped a number of training bombs and missiles over the state of Michigan, officials say.

The incident happened on October 25, when the unidentified aircraft, belonging to the Air National Guard, took off from Selfridge Base near Detroit, Michigan, and lost the bombs on its way to Camp Grayling training center, the website Military.com reported Wednesday.

The munitions, including six bombs and a missile, were later found in a wooded area near Luzerne. Nobody was injured, according to officials.

Military officials blamed the incident on a mechanical failure. No more details were disclosed in this regard.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Trumble, director of the Camp Grayling Air Gunnery Range, downplayed the incident, saying such mishaps were “rare.”

According to the Michigan Air National Guard, the missile was non-explosive and did not pose any threats.

It was not clear if the bombs were operational. The force only said that it was able to locate them by activating a smoke mechanism that allows pilots to track the bombs when they fall.

Air tanker loses boom during training

In another accident involving military aircraft, a US Air Force KC-10 Extender air tanker lost its refueling boom during an exercise over the state of Idaho on Tuesday.

A Boeing KC-10 Extender air tanker stretches its boom to refuel an F-22 Raptor fighter jet.

The aircraft, which belonged to the 60th Air Mobility Wing based at Travis Air Force Base, California, made an emergency landing after the mishap. Nobody was injured in that incident either.

The Extender can carry more than 356,000 pounds [178 tons] of fuel in its six tanks and is capable of delivering fuel at a maximum rate of 1,100 gallons [4163 liters] per minute.

The US military has lost billions of dollars in an unusually high number of aircraft accidents over the past few months.

Between October 2014 and April 2016, the US Navy sustained a total loss of over $1 billion in damage caused by fighter jet accidents, according to data by the Naval Safety Center.

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