Check for Low Flying Aircraft!

Saturday afternoon we got a call asking if we had any HESCO barriers (earth filled wire baskets). The pilot of this airplane was not quick enough with his decision to abort the take off and you can't stop a plane very quickly on a gravel runway. The sign was appropriate on this day, this one was flying really low.This is what the plane looked like after it was recovered from the HESCOs, it won't be flying again any time soon. Needs new engines, new landing gear, new props and probably some other things. Luckily, no one was hurt, the two pilots and 6 passengers all walked away. The pilot decided at the last second he did not have enough speed to get off the ground, so he decided to lock up the wheels. We have a fencing project going on right off the end of the runway to install a new fence over the top of the HESCOs. You can see the new fence posts that were just installed in this picture. The pilot only hit three posts.

I think we have successfully tested a new aircraft arresting system. The HESCOs did a good job of stopping the airplane before it dropped over the edge. I think it will be a better arresting system when we get the fence installed.

The fence post are bent over by design, so that we don't snag any other low flying aircraft. You can see the concertina wire on the top of the HESCO barriers. We're told that about a year ago a C-130 was taking off and did not gain altitude fast enough and hooked the concertina wire with the landing gear and ended up taking it with them to Bagram. So with that history and this incident, I don't expect a very long life for this fence.
This is where the airplane was headed if our new arresting system had failed. This is pretty much a straight drop of about 40-50 feet. And, I put my life at risk to take this picture, I stepped out on the outside of the HESCOs and while taking the picture, one of the little rascals across the way decided to throw a rock at me. I was so wrapped up in getting my pictures, I didn't see the first rock that sailed over my head and hit the earthmoving equipment behind me. As my attention was drawn to the guys around me stepping back, I saw the second incoming rock as it landed at my feet. I need to get this kid's name, he'd make a heck of a baseball player with that arm.

Had quite the crowd gathered in the neighboring village to watch us pull the airplane back on to the base. This was only about half of the spectators. We also had several KPF (Khost Provincial Forces - Afghan Army) on site below, in case any of the locals decided to get rowdy.
Once we got the airplane removed, the equipment guys, Mohammadullah and crew, cleared out the old destroyed HESCOs and set the new ones in place and filled them with dirt. While they were working on the HESCOs, they set their bolt cutters down on top of the barrier. They turned away for a second and when they looked back the bolt cutters had sprouted legs and were running off towards the village. One of the kids, a future track star, snuck up and stole the bolt cutters. They hollered at him that they would send the KPF into the village and the bolt cutters decided to come back.