Air Force searching for plane part
Published 11:17 pm Monday, May 23, 2011
In this Air Force submitted photo, a helicopter prepares to refuel in midflight, connecting to a C-130. On May 10, a part of a tanker’s refueling apparetus broke away from the plane, falling somewhere, the Air Force believes, in Lowndes County. -- Air Force
Officials with the U.S. Air Force are asking Black Belt residents for their help in finding a piece of a refueling system that fell to earth May 10.
In a release late last week, officials with Eglin Air Force Base in Florida reported an air refueling drogue broke apart from an Air Force C-130 that was on a routine refueling mission. The drogue and a portion of the 4-inch hose it was attached to fell to the ground reportedly in Lowndes County.
The drogue is a fitting resembling a “windsock or shuttlecock” and is connected to approximately 40 feet of flexible refueling hose, the Air Force said. The drogue is the part of the refueling system that helicopters connect to as part of mid-air refueling.
Once the system broke, the Air Force said a crewmember aboard the C-130 logged the coordinates as N 32 10.22, W 086 54.81.
The release said the area, where the parts are believed to be is near Pleasant Hills, which is near Selma. But the coordinates listed put the area to the south and east of Hayneville.
If anyone thinks they have found the object, they are asked to call Eglin’s Safety Office at (850) 882-7384.
