Diego Garcia is an atoll located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, some 1,000 miles south of India's southern coast. Diego Garcia is the largest atoll by land area of the Chagos Archipelago, and is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Since the depopulation of Diego Garcia in the years leading up to 1973, it has been used as a military base jointly by the United States and Britain. The base serves as a naval refuelling and support station. It has an Airbase that supports the largest of modern aircraft. Heavy bombers were deployed from Diego Garcia on missions to Iraq during the 1990 Gulf War, to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, and to Iraq again during the 2003 invasion. High-tech portable shelters to support the B-2 Bomber were built on the Island before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and a fleet of B-52s, B-1s and B-2s from Diego Garcia also led the "shock and awe" attacks on Baghdad on March 22, 2003.

Well, Spanky (Remember him?.... Finally, Decent Weather, or, "Spanky" Freezes His "Balls", or how about Destination: "Spanky's Reach"!) sent me some fine photos of an incident that happened at Diego Garcia this past May.
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At about 10 p.m. local time on May 8, 2006, a 7th Bomb Wing B-1B Lancer based at Dyess AFB, Texas, made a wheels-up belly landing on runway 31 at Diego Garcia, skidding 7,500 feet down the runway. The aircraft was landing at the end of an 11 hour ferry mission that started at Andersen AFB, Guam. During the landing, the B-1B caught fire and emergency crews extinguished the flames. The four-person aircrew escaped from the plane through the overhead escape hatch. The aircraft was finally removed from the runway 4 days later. The USAF estimated the damage to the B-1B at $7.9 million, and the damage to the runway at $14,025. Those old SEABEES made one tough runway, that's for sure! Check out the landing "aftermath"!

"Wounded girl"!

The "hangar boys" get to work!

Get out the "airbags"!

Major "road rash"!

Up on "jacks"!

The "Grove" at work!

"Inflation"!

"Blowing" the nose gear!

Back on "her feet"!

"Embarassed", but she will "fly again"!
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"Amazing"! Whether "human error" (no such thing as "pilot error", realize it, and quit stating it), or mechanical malfunction, you can't keep a "good girl down"!

Thanks, Spanky, great pics! By the way, Spanky is a fantastic pilot, and is "stunning" when wearing an apron! He makes a "Quiche Lorraine" like none other! (Ha, Ha, got you again, "Spanky"!) Till next time, "Adios"!