The US Air Force A-10 accidentally fires a rocket at Arizona



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Lt. Col. Brian Burger, pilot of the aircraft A-10 Thunderbolt II and commander of the 188th Fighter Wing Operations Group, the Fort Smith Air National Guard, fires a flare while firing into a position High angle shooting during a training exercise on the Razorback Range located at Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center. An A-10 Thunderbolt II fires a flare while tilting in a high-angle firing position during a workout.Photo of the Air Force by the Sgt master. Benjamin Bloker

  • An A-10 Thunderbolt from the US Air Force accidentally dropped ammunition over Arizona on Thursday, according to an air force statement.
  • The attack aircraft fired an M-156 rocket, which landed in an area outside the designated firing range.
  • This is the second time this year that an A-10 accidentally releases ammunition, after an incident in July when an A-10 dropped three dummy bombs while it was training at above Florida.
  • Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.

A US Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II inadvertently fired a rocket outside the designated Arizona firing range on Thursday.

The attack aircraft, assigned to 354 Squadron of 355 Wing, "unintentionally" launched an M-156 rocket while on a training mission, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base said in a statement .

According to CBS News, the M-156 is a white phosphorus projectile used to mark targets. The rocket landed in the Jackal military operations area, located about 100 kilometers northeast of Tucson, Arizona.

The Air Force says that no injury, damage or fire has been reported.

Read more: An A-10 from the US Air Force accidentally dropped dummy bombs on Florida after hitting a bird

Thursday's incident, which is currently under investigation, is the second time in just over two months that an A-10 accidentally opened fire in an area where it was not supposed to make.

In early July, an Air Force A-10 from Moody Air Force Base in Georgia accidentally dropped three training bombs over Florida after hitting a bird. The three BDU-33s, non-explosive devices designed to simulate M1a-82 bombs, fell somewhere off Route 129 near Suwannee Springs, in northern Florida.

The dummy bombs were inert, but they contained a pyrotechnic charge that could be dangerous if misused.

A bird strike, a problem that has cost the Air Force millions of dollars over the years, has been identified as the cause of the accidental release of weapons in July. At present, it is unclear what caused the incident on Thursday.

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