BONO, Arkansas — An Arkansas highway turned into a runway for one of the military's biggest planes over the weekend as the Arkansas National Guard performed a historic exercise.
Airlift Wing 189 landed a C-130H Hercules cargo aircraft on Highway 63 in Bono as part of an Air Force training exercise known as Operation Emerald Warrior.
If you aren't familiar with the area, this particular stretch of highway is a straight shot for miles in northeast Arkansas near the outskirts of Jonesboro.
With the green light from the Arkansas Department of Transportation, a three-mile portion of Highway 63 was closed to accommodate these massive planes, which stretch over 90 feet in length.
The closed section of the five-lane highway provided at least 5,000 feet of space to use as a suitable landing strip.
Military C-130 practice emergency landing on Arkansas highway
The U.S. Air Force and the Arkansas Air National Guard each had a chance to do different exercises tailored to their specialties to ensure they're capable of landing in diverse environments to provide aid in natural disasters or emergencies.
“This exercise validated our proof of concept as a capability,” said Col. Jay Geaney, Arkansas Air National Guard director of staff and a C-130H pilot. “It’s been simulated effective into execution for years in many tabletop and actual exercises. I’m proud of our team that planned, coordinated, and executed this training with all our partners in the Air Force, ARDOT, Arkansas State Police, and local law enforcement. We’re also appreciative of those who live in and around Bono, because we certainly interrupted their normal routines on Sunday, but it was for a good cause.”
Along with spectators, emergency crews like police and fire were all present for safety precautions.
The exercise required the assistance and coordination of several military and state agencies including Little Rock Air Force Base’s 19th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department and LRAFB’s 34th Combat Training Squadron; the 189th Airlift Wing’s Safety Flight, the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Arkansas State Police, Craighead County Sheriff’s office, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s office.