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Planes grounded for 6th day after eruption

Air Force planes at bases in Germany and Italy remained on the ground Tuesday because of a plume of volcanic ash even though commercial jets resumed limited schedules out of the countries.

Officials with 3rd Air Force, which oversees U.S. Air Forces in Europe operations north of the Alps, do not have a timetable for when military flights will restart out of the Air Force’s two bases in Germany, Ramstein and Spangdahlem, or Aviano Air Force Base, Italy, said Maj. Olivia Nelson, a 3rd Air Force spokeswoman.

“None of the wings are flying, yet but they are leaning forward,” she said.

In England, military aircraft at Royal Air Force Lakenheath and Royal Air Force Mildenhall remain grounded under orders from the United Kingdom National Air Traffic Services, which controls airspace over the country.

The plume contains minute particles of rock, sand and glass that can severely damage aircraft engines, said Col. Don Bacon, 3rd Air Force’s deputy commander. Ash particles have traveled across Europe on the high winds as high as 20,000 and 35,000 feet.

A senior Western diplomat told The Associated Press that NATO F-16s had flown through the ash cloud and sustained significant engine damage from the glasslike deposits.

For nearly a week, the Air Force has diverted all cargo and passenger flights to and from Afghanistan away from Ramstein and its other European bases. Wounded servicemen requiring urgent or advanced care ordinarily would have been flown to Ramstein for treatment at nearby Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

Joint Base Balad, Iraq, has serving as the main hub for aeromedical evacuations since Ramstein suspended flights April 16. The planes have flown the wounded troops nonstop from Afghanistan or stopped to refuel at the Air Force’s two bases in Spain, Rota and Moron, before heading to the U.S., Bacon said.

“Critical wartime missions are continuing, just with more work and more expense,” Bacon said.

Flights carrying supplies and military equipment to Afghanistan also have stopped at Rota and Moron to refuel before continuing to Afghanistan. Maintainers and medical personnel from other European bases have traveled to Rota and Moron to help keep up with the increased operations.

“The facilities and infrastructure was the right fit, but we had to beef up the personnel down there to take the additional load,” Bacon said.

More than 230 training missions, including flights for the NATO exercises Brilliant Ardent and Frisian Flag, have been canceled across Europe since April 15, Bacon said Monday. The airfields, however, have remained open.

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