Airport Alleges Unauthorized C-17 Damaged Runway (Updated)

Authorities at a regional airport in Oklahoma say an Air Force C-17 that dropped in unannounced last weekend may have caused serious damage to its runway. Stillwater Regional Airport issued a statement saying the C-17, which was dropping off a women's college basketball team for a game at nearby Oklahoma State University, was heavier than its runway can handle and that the Air Force ignored its prior permission requirements for charters. "In this case, this prior approval was neither requested nor granted by airport administration," a claim the Air Force disputes.

“Internal Air Force reports indicate that the aircraft was within weight limits of triple-tandem landing gear and that the flight was coordinated with airport officials prior to landing,” Marjorie Schurr, chief of public affairs for the Air Force’s 911th Airlift Wing wrote to The Associated Press. The runway's published weight limit for "dual tandem landing gear" is 310,000 pounds and the C-17 would likely have been heavier than that (C-17 empty weight is 285,000 pounds) when it touched down and allegedly busted some concrete.

The surface has been fixed, but the airport is worried that the damage "can be feet beneath the surface and not be evident at the surface for years. To assess that potential, tools like ground-penetrating radar may need to be deployed to gain a better understanding of what lies beneath the surface." The airport authority said that last fall it denied a request by the Air Force to bring its men's baseball team to the area. The airport remains open.