An Air Force C-17 Globemaster cargo plane carrying 23 passengers and19 crew made an unscheduled landing at Tampa's general aviation airfield, Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands just south of downtown.
Video of the landing courtesy of Ryan Gucwa can be seen on the website Aviation News in the Raw.
The runway at Peter O. Knight is much shorter than most military landing strips, at only 3,400 feet, and used mostly by small private aircraft and helicopters. The runway at MacDill AFB is 14,000 feet long by comparison.
The military aircraft's planned destination was MacDill Air Force Base, about four miles south at the end of Tampa's peninsula.
A press release from the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Wing Command at Scott Air Base in Illinois states:
The aircraft, flying in support of U.S. Central Command, was apparently undamaged and there were no injuries. There appears to be no damage to the airfield.
The civilian airfield officials and the Air Force are working together to move the C-17 Globemaster so that Peter O. Knight airport to re-open.
The Air Mobility Win Command is investigating the incident.
