Plane stupid! US Air Force crew is disciplined for landing their Hercules aircraft on Martha’s Vineyard to pick up a vintage BMW MOTORBIKE owned by one of its members
- Members of the 403rd Wing of the Hurricane Hunters in Mississippi have been punished for ‘abusing government assets’
- Crew made an unscheduled stop when they landed their Hercules aircraft at Martha’s Vineyard Airport on March 25 to pick up a motorcycle
- The 1970 BMW R75/5 motorcycle was owned by one of the crew members and loaded into the large cargo plane during a 15-minute pitstop
- Crew flew from Mississippi to Rhode Island on March 24 before taking the pitstop which shocked locals
- The entire wing had their credentials downgraded and were grounded in California until another team had to pick them up and fly the aircraft back
An Air Force crew has been disciplined for landing a Hercules aircraft at Martha’s Vineyard to pick up a vintage BMW motorcycle one of them owned.
The crew from the 403rd Wing of the Hurricane Hunters in Mississippi have been punished for ‘abusing government assets’ after they were seen loading up the vintage bike onto their aircraft on March 25.
The five-person team was reportedly downgraded after Air Force leadership found out about the excursion on March 27, according to CNN Politics, meaning each member lost ratings or credentials that they will have to earn back and could potentially push them under their required number of flight hours to be able to fly.
The military also grounded the men, forcing another crew to pick up the members and the aircraft, according to KFOR 4 News.
‘We hold our reservists to the highest standards of conduct and these actions are not tolerated,’ Colonel Stuart Rubio, the commander of the 403rd Wing, said in a statement, viewed by CNN Politics.
The 403rd Wing of the Hurricane Hunters from Mississippi fly their Hercules (pictured) into Martha’s Vineyard’s Airport on March 25 to pick up a vintage BMW motorcycle owned by one of the crew members
The crew reportedly left Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi and traveled to Quonset Air National Guard Base in Rhode land on March 24. A day later, they made an unscheduled, 15-minute stop at Martha’s Vineyard on March 25 before continuing onto their scheduled stop in Mather, California
The crew reportedly left Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, where their wing is based, and traveled to Quonset Air National Guard Base in Rhode land on March 24.
A day later, they made an unscheduled, 15-minute stop at Martha’s Vineyard on March 25 to pick up their loot.
The crew continued on their scheduled route to Mather, California, where they picked up equipment for an atmospheric river mission.
‘While performing an off-station training mission, a US Air Force Reserve crew with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, 403rd Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, made an unplanned stop at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, Massachusetts, March 24,’ Lieutenant Colonel Marnee Losurdo told the Martha’s Vineyard Times in March.
While at the famous vineyard, the crew was seen by witnesses loading up a 1970 BMW R75/5 motorcycle that belonged to one of the crew members, CNN Politics reported. The bike reportedly remains in California, the Sun Herald reported.
The crew reportedly picked up a 1970 BMW R75/5 motorcycle (example pictured) which one of the crew owned and is now in California, where the plane was grounded and had to be picked up by another crew to return to base
Witnesses, who were dining at the Plane View Restaurant, were astonished to see a massive Hercules aircraft touching down briefly on the runway.
Doug Ulwick, described the plane as ‘freaking huge’ and he watched the crew dropped the cargo ramp and collect the motorcycle before quickly taking off agan.
‘We heard the noise before we saw the plane. [You] don’t see that everyday,’ he posted on his social media, according to the Martha’s Vineyard Times.
Tristan Israel, a county commissioner, told the Martha’s Vineyard Times: ‘I saw a vintage BMW motorcycle. I used to own old vintage BMW motorcycles, so that’s how I know.
The crew landed the large aircraft at the small airport, which only has two runways, on March 25 for a quick pitstop to pick up the vintage bike
The airport is located in the center of the vineyard and is only a 700 acres big
‘I was eating next to the window. We looked out and we saw the plane. We saw people walking a vintage motorcycle up to the plane.’
The airport can support all kinds of jet, but is mainly used by private, small aircrafts. Although, major airlines like Delta, American, and Jet Blue do fly into the airport seasonally. The almost 700-acre airfield has two runways. For reference, a large airport, like JFK, sits on almost 5,000 acres.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Air Force for comment.
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