US Air Force cargo plane crashes in Delaware

NEW YORK, Apr 3 (Reuters) A US Air Force C-5 Galaxy transport plane crashed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware with 17 people on board today, and their condition was unknown, a Air Force spokeswoman said.

Emergency crews were on the scene. No further information was available, First Lt. Marnee Losurdo said. Television images showed the plane on the ground with the cockpit and tail sections separated from the fuselage.

CNN television reported that the plane's pilot had declared an emergency in flight and tried to land, and some people after the accident were taken to the hospital with injuries.

The C-5, made by Lockheed Martin, is one of the largest aircraft in the world and is used for large shipments of cargo around the globe. It normally flies with a crew of seven.

The Dover base has the US military's largest and busiest air-freight terminal and the service flies missions to more than 100 countries, according to the base Web site.

The weather at the base was reported as partly cloudy with winds of 7 mph.

REUTERS OM RAI1904