Eastern Railroad Discussion > For those who use rail-trails: watch for falling bombs!

Notes: The trail is the Soney Creek Valley rail-trail, an ex-Reading branch, that goes 24 miles from Dauphin, PA (north of Harrisburg) to the Schuylkill County Reservior. It passes through three counties (Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill), behind the Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation and crosses the Appalachian Trail.


Military Probes Why Errant Bomb Fell On Hiking Trail In Pennsylvania

Published on 10/24/2004
http://www.theday.com

Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa. — Military officials are investigating why a jet fighter accidentally dropped a 25-pound practice bomb on a hiking trail a mile from its intended target in southeastern Pennsylvania.

No one was injured when the grapefruit-sized, cast-iron bomb fell on the trail Oct. 13 during a training mission for a pair of A-10 Thunderbolts. The bomb created a crater about 6 inches wide in the trail along an abandoned rail line in Schuylkill County.

At least one hiker was close enough to hear the thud. “It took a while for me to realize what had occurred,” the hiker said in an e-mail to the state Game Commission. “Couldn't believe it! Retraced my steps. Still couldn't believe it!”

The plane that dropped the bomb was assigned to the 111th Fighter Wing at Willow Grove Naval Air Station, said Col. Chris Cleaver, spokesman for Fort Indiantown Gap, an 18,000-acre military training site managed by the Pennsylvania National Guard. Investigators have ruled out pilot error as the cause, Cleaver said.

Boy...somebody could have gotten seriously wounded or worse, if that had ended up hitting somebody...Dave W.

It happens more than you think.

Al Barnes

Back in the early 90's, we had some boy scouts wonder onto the tank gunnery range during our live firing.(Ft. Indiantown Gap) Sent some brass down range to shoo them away. I guess today they would be apprehended and questioned as terrorists.

R.Geiter Wrote:
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> Back in the early 90's, we had some boy scouts
> wonder onto the tank gunnery range during our live
> firing.(Ft. Indiantown Gap) Sent some brass down
> range to shoo them away. I guess today they would
> be apprehended and questioned as terrorists.


As a former Army Brat I and my friends used to wonder into places like that. We even took 50 caliber bullets (live) home with us until we were caught. Fortunately for me, I wasn't involved into the incursion to "Viet Cong Village" used for training purposes that my friends did one day. They had some Vietnamese working at that location that included punjy sticks etc--noa t place for young boys. Well, some of my friends were pretty tough and gutsy but after the Viets scared the hell out of them and told them never to come back, they had them balling. It was a lesson well taught. ;0

When I said, "We sent some brass down range to shoo them away", I was refering to Officers, not bullets. I just wanted to make that clear. I just re-read what I posted last night and it didn't sound right.

R.Geiter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When I said, "We sent some brass down range to
> shoo them away", I was refering to Officers, not
> bullets. I just wanted to make that clear. I
> just re-read what I posted last night and it
> didn't sound right.


I don't think any of us took it wrong. In railroad lingo "brass" means the higher ranked officials.