A piece of a military aircraft broke off mid-flight and landed in the parking lot of a Catholic school in South Carolina last week, officials with Joint Base Charleston confirmed to Live 5 News.
A C-17 Globemaster III landed safely on Thursday (September 12), despite experiencing an issue that caused it to lose a piece of its tail cone, which was later recovered from the parking lot of Divine Redeemer Catholic School and Church in Hanahan. No injuries or property damage were reported in relation to the incident, Joint Base Charleston confirmed.
“Luckily, there were no students in the area at the time. The military arrived and removed it. The sergeants were apologetic and concerned about the school and our community’s welfare,” military officials said via Live 5 News.
SimpleFlying.com also obtained a statement from Joint Base Charleston in relation to the incident.
“A Joint Base Charleston C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 437th Airlift Wing landed safely after a malfunction in flight," the statement reads. "The crew of the C-17 notified Joint Base Charleston and returned to base after a piece of the tail cone fell off during flight. A team recovered the piece of the aircraft, and no injuries or property damage were reported. The incident is under investigation.”
No additional details were released and the incident remains under investigation.