Tech. Sgt. Erick Chrostowski said that there is more to it than people thinking to open a box and has a bomb inside that will eventually be loaded in an aircraft. There are steps to follow first such as identifying, obtaining and storing the assets essential to construct the variations of bombs needed to support different mission requirements. When a particular bomb is requested, the assets are transferred from storage to the munitions assembly conveyer pad, where individual pieces collectively become a bomb. The basic elements of the guided bomb unit-38s are the mark-82 500-pound bomb body, commonly known as the warhead, the fuzes, fins and front ends.

Senior Airman Collin Dillingham explained that there are different types of front ends for (various) bombs: there are bombs that penetrate the ground before blowing up, there are bombs that hit the ground and blow up and there are bombs that blow up above the ground. Just as there are different front ends for different objectives, there are different fins with different purposes.

The Airmen putting up together a GBU-38s are given a safety briefing before dividing into teams. The final statement gets the Airmen’s attention as intended. They go to work, swiftly, yet vigilantly building the bombs.

The first team loads the body onto a trolley system where assembly begins. One team places the front end on while another installs the fuzes. Once this phase is complete, the bomb slides down the rail system to the team building and installing the fins and guidance control system. The last stage before loading the bombs on a trailer to deliver to the flightline is a complete inspection performed by Sergeant Chrostowski.

There is job satisfaction when we watch weapon systems video and see our bombs do what they were supposed to, whether it is assisting troops-in-combat or hitting a high-value target,” Sergeant Chrostowski said.

The munitions built by the 455th EMXS Airmen include 20 mm and 30 mm cannon ammunition, anti-threat countermeasures, laser-guided bombs, and joint direct attack munitions, which are global positioning systme-aided weapons.

The munitions will be employed by F-15E Strike Eagles and A-10 Thunderbolt IIs.

A 1977 Piper PA-32R-300 had to make an emergency landing on a highway after the pilot lost power, surprising motorists on I-70 just east of the Greenfield exit.

At around 3 pm on Sunday, just 15 minutes after leaving Eagle Creek Airpark, pilot Babar Suleman lost power at about 7,000 feet. He went through all the checklists and did all the tests, but when that didn’t work, he called authorities to tell them he needed to land quickly.

“They asked me what my options were, and I saw I-70,” Suleman said. “I stayed slightly ahead of the cars a little bit just to give the driver an idea I was about to touch down. The guy in front of me, he kept looking at me. The moment he saw me touch down, he went and took off.”

When the Sheriff’s Department arrived, the single-engine plane had safely glided on a straight stretch of road near a highway rest stop. Eastbound traffic slowed as the plane underwent repairs by Indy Aero, a local airplane maintenance company. Police eventually opened one lane for motorists.

Deputy Scott Chapman, who responded to the scene, joked that the aircraft stopped next to a no-parking sign and that police had put an “abandoned” sticker on the plane as they do for disabled cars. But he also acknowledged the situation could have been worse.

“There was no damage, no injuries or anything. We were lucky,” Chapman said. “All of the cars just sort of gave way and let the plane do its thing.”

After the plane was fixed, and cleared by the FAA, it took off at 5:15 pm, returning to Eagle Creek Airpark.

Washington, February 25, 2008 - The U.S. Air Force’s B-2 flight operations remain suspended in the United States and Guam following the crash of a batwing stealth aircraft in Guam. 

The Air Force will review safety procedures while the aircraft is in the state of temporary break.  However, B-2 fleet will remain ready for flight if necessary. 

On Saturday, a B-2 went down shortly after take-off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, though the pilots ejected safely.  Guam is a U.S. territory 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii. 

Officials noted that it was the first time a B-2 had crashed and each aircraft costs more than a billion dollars. 

The planes remain on a safety pause while safety reviews are conducted into the accident.  By early Monday, flight operations could resume but it wasn’t clear what preventive measures and actions would be taken before the planes would be able to fly again. 

Air Force procedures shall be considering a “safety pause”.  A “stand-down” or “grounding” will be implemented only if it will be ordered by senior Air Force commanders from the Air Combat Command.   

Two F-15C Eagles crashed into the Gulf of Mexico during a training mission. The Air Force reported that the pilots were ejected and later rescued. Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Shirley Pigott said that the pilots were rescued after their single-seat F-15C Eagles disappeared Wednesday afternoon off the Florida Panhandle, about 35 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base. The Air Force has not determined if the planes collided because the weather in the area was clear.

A Coast Guard rescue jet located one pilot and radioed the location to a fishing vessel, which picked him up. A Coast Guard helicopter then hoisted the pilot off the vessel. That pilot told rescuers he saw the other pilot also eject, but lost him in the clouds”, Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless reported.

“He told them the approximate location for the second pilot, who was found by a Coast Guard helicopter”, Harless added.