The next day's Daily Oklahoman told of the crash, the first since the C-5 entered service.

The airplane departed Altus AFB that night to take part in air refueling training.  That training was cut short, though, when an overheated brake ignited hydraulic fluid in the left aft landing gear well.  The fire ignited tires and other components before burning through the keel beam and continuing into the right aft well.   Rather than return to Altus, the crew elected to divert to the much closer Clinton-Sherman airfield (a former Air Force Base with a 13,500 feet runway length).  However, the crew sighted the lights of the Clinton Municipal Airport and set up an approach.  The runway at the MAP is only 4400 feet; the C-5 departed the south end of Runway 17, crossed an embankment, a road, and another embankment before sliding another 1000 feet into a field.  The airplane shed its landing gear during the slide, and broke into three major sections.  All nine crew escaped, with only a minor injury reported to one.  A fire fed by an open shut-off valve broke out 20 minutes after the crash, consuming the forward portion of the airplane.

A photo from the official crash report, looking north across the crash site.  Clinton MAP's runway 17/35 is at the top.

 

Looking SW.....the aircraft broke into three main parts after impact: the tail, the aft fuselage, and wings/forward fuselage.  The post-impact fire destroyed the forward section.

The major pieces may be gone, but the crash site today is still a significant debris field.  The road the airplane crossed has been relocated, and now runs right through the crash site.  In the center of this photo is where the aft fuselage section came to rest.  Photo looks west.

Significant debris can be found throughout the site.

Jennifer examining a piece of the wreckage.

A selector switch.  I'll have to ask my C-5 crew chief friend what this belongs to.

Here was a surprise.  The plowed field at the southern end of the crash site still contained quite a bit of debris!  This is where the wing section and forward fuselage came to rest.