NORFOLK -- One of the military's largest transports was stuck on a runway atop the I-564 overpass for more than 16 hours today, unable to turn around at the west end of Chambers Field at the Norfolk Naval Station.
The incident, starting about 1 a.m., forced the closing of the field for most of the day to all but helicopter traffic and made for a dramatic sight to hundreds of motorists passing beneath it during the morning rush hour.
"It's quite a sight," base spokeswoman Terri Davis said. ""People have been coming in saying, 'That is so awesome!' "
The Air Force C-5 Galaxy, considered the largest airplane in the free world, is almost as long as a football field and as high as a six-story building. At 420 tons with a full load, it uses a system of 28 wheels to distribute its weight.
The aircraft spent most of the day waiting for a specially made tow bar to be trucked to the base from Dover, Del., according to Davis.
"We didn't have one and neither did Langley," Davis said.
The tow bar arrived about noon and was used to hook the C-5 to a tractor so the aircraft could be turned around. The plane was moved off the runway by 4:30 p.m., Davis said. No one was hurt, and the plane was not damaged.
One of the flights disrupted by the incident was a military aircraft carrying Air Force Gen. John W. Handy, commander of the U.S. Transportation Command, who had to divert to Norfolk International Airport.
Handy, who also commands the Air Mobility Command, to which the C-5s are assigned, was flying from his St. Louis office to Norfolk to deliver a speech.
After arriving in Norfolk, where he addressed the Joint Forces Staff College, Handy said in an interview that the aircraft's crew was unable to see the end of the runway where it was supposed to turn around.
The pilot properly stopped the aircraft and prevented it from running off the pavement into the mud, he said.
"They complained there are not enough lights there, they couldn't see where they were going and stopped," Handy said. "Then it was too tight of a turn for them, so they are bringing them a tow bar to turn them around.
"That thing's like a big building running around here."
