ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland — A U.S. military transport plane with 30 people on board was on a flight to Massachusetts from Europe when it landed in St. John’s for fuel.
The plane resumed its journey and was in the air for about 20 minutes when the pilot radioed he had an emergency and needed to return to St. John’s to land after an engine sent a piece of the aircraft crashing into a neighborhood, airport officials said.
A piece of engine cowling from the C-130 Hercules struck a parked car, then glanced off the front steps of a home in nearby Mount Pearl.
“We’ve confirmed it’s a piece off the cowling of the aircraft. It weighed maybe 10 or 15 pounds,” said Rex Ledrew, chief executive officer and president of St. John’s International Airport. The cowling is a removable metal engine cover.
Ledrew said the Hercules’ No. 3 engine was smoking badly when the aircraft landed, but no flames could be seen.
The pilot shut down the engine, circled back to St. John’s airport, and landed the plane with the three remaining engines.
The Hercules was transporting military personnel and equipment back to the United States following a 100-day summer rotation in Europe.
