In this article, we will share Photos and Videos of all C-5 Galaxy Nose Gear Up / Belly landing
1986 C-5A nose gear up landing at Rhein-Main Air Base
The first is a video that dates back to August 1986, when a C-5A performed a nose gear up landing at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany. According to the available details, the aircraft was flown to Marietta for repairs and, while there, was selected to become the first C-5A to be converted to the C-5C configuration.
Related Link: Analysis and video of C-5 Galaxy crash at Dover Air Force Base
2001 C-5 nose gear landing at Rogers Dry Lak
The second incident occurred in May 2001 (we already posted a short story about it here), when a C-5 from Travis Air Force Base diverted to Rogers Dry Lake to perform a successful landing after the nose gear failed. No injuries were sustained by the eight crew members and nine passengers aboard. One Air Force official called it a “picture-perfect landing.”
Related Link: Video of Diego Garcia Stall and Fall: C-5 Galaxy nearly crashed while Landing
2017 C-5M Galaxy landing at Rota air base in Spain
More recently, a U.S. Air Force C-5M Galaxy, registration 86-0020, performed a nose gear up landing at the Spanish airbase after experiencing an unknown failure that made it unable to extend its nose landing gear.
The crew members tried these procedures in holding for over an hour where they finally had to turn back for Rota as they had reached the bingo fuel. The aircrew attempted to normally cycle the gear numerous times and they eventually got the landing gear to extend roughly 6 inches.
On the way in they ran the “wheels up, crash landing” checklist which included the nose gear up provisions. The provisions have the crew keep the gear up and the doors closed to minimize damage (as seen by the other times this procedure has been run). However, with the gear stuck partially extended, this became impossible. But with luck the wheels were far enough out that the Galaxy actually only experienced visual damage equal to what a wheel on a car looks like after it scraps a curb. After the plane came to a complete stop, the aircrew evacuated the flight deck and then assisted the evacuation of the 21 passengers in the troop compartment.
C-5A Galaxy After It Performed A Gear Up Landing At Travis AFB in 1983
The above photo was taken by Tyll Parker, at Travis Air Force Base, California, in July 1983.
Parker was a Lieutenant with the 1901st Comm Group at the time and the shot after he saw the C-5A 68-0216 just sitting there at the end of the runway, after a successful gear up landing.
“It was unusual to be there and I noticed one wing was low. So I drove along the perimeter road and took some pictures. I had heard a little about the landing from an ATC guy. (Air traffic control was under The 1901st) This was close to the 60 MAW ORI/MEI that year. Did nothing to help the CO…,” says Tyll in an email to The Aviationist.
The accident occurred as the Galaxy was performing touch-and-goes: during the final approach of the day, the crew did not lower the landing gear resulting in a belly landing and significant damage to the lower fuselage and main landing gear pods. Based on some articles published by the newspaper at the time of the event, the crew had silenced the warning horns for the landing gear warning system by pulling the circuit breakers during the pattern work and forgot to reset the breakers on final approach.
Your missing at least one nose gear up landing on a foamed runway in ramstein in around 1979..I have a photo ,my father was a flight engineer on that flight