NORTH -- A U.S. Air Force jet of the type that carries the vice president and first lady was involved in a "landing incident" at North Auxiliary Field early Thursday.

Two of 10 persons aboard were shaken up but suffered no serious injuries, according to a U.S. Air Force spokeswoman dispatched from Charleston to North as part of a team investigating what observers in North say appears to have been some kind of emergency landing.

"It's obvious the nose was down and it probably crash landed,'' T&D North Correspondent Billy Robinson said. The plane, which is off the runway, is visible from outside the base.

"It's definitely an unusual sight -- the sight of a solid white plane,'' Robinson said of the craft that bears U.S. Air Force markings rather than the "United States of America" logo that would grace the same model used to fly government leaders.

Speaking by telephone from the North base, Sgt. Melanie Streeter, spokeswoman for 437th Airlift Wing, said the C-32A was flown by the 486th Flight Test Squadron from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

The C-32A is the military version of Boeing's 757-200. It is the aircraft that makes up the fleet that carries the vice president, the first lady, cabinet secretaries and other high-ranking U.S. officials. The two-engine jet measures just over 155 feet in length with a 124-foot wingspan. It can carry 45 passengers and a crew of 16.

The plane that came down in North had a 10-member crew, Streeter said. After the 3 a.m. "landing incident,'' two people were examined for injuries. Neither was seriously hurt.

Streeter would not say whether the plane was scheduled to land at North or what caused the incident. She declined even to call it an emergency landing.

"Command policy is that no information be released until a full investigation is complete,'' she said.

Speaking later from Charleston, Maj. Linda Pepin said the plane was on a "test mission.'' The C-32A from Elgin is "used for systems flight testing,'' she said.

Along with the inquiry by an interim safety board is extra security at the North field, Streeter said.

That security was visible to Robinson and others in North on Thursday. Armed guards are manning the base's main gate off Slab Landing Road. A big truck blocks the Highway 178 entrance to the facility, which is used by the Charleston Air Force Base as a testing and training site.

"There's definitely something going on,'' Robinson said. "The guards at the gate and the truck in obvious position to stop something from crossing and getting inside'' are not customary.

"You've really got to look to see the plane out there,'' Robinson said. But from the highway, armed personnel riding around the base are visible.

"The people in North get so used to hearing the planes at night, we don't think anything about it. And then you hear unusual noises up to explosions and machine gun fire, you don't think much about it because it's fairly common to have something going on. In the back of your mind, you think, 'Is there something going on out there?'''

This time there is.

T&D Editor Lee Harter can be reached at lharter@timesanddemocrat.com and 803-533-5520.

You must be logged in to comment.