An Air Force crew has been disciplined for landing a Hercules aircraft at Martha’s Vineyard to pick up a vintage BMW motorcycle one of them owned.
The crew from the 403rd Wing of the Hurricane Hunters in Mississippi have been punished for ‘abusing government assets’ after they were seen loading up the vintage bike onto their aircraft on March 25.
The five-person team was reportedly downgraded after Air Force leadership found out about the excursion on March 27, according to CNN Politics, meaning each member lost ratings or credentials that they will have to earn back and could potentially push them under their required number of flight hours to be able to fly.
The military also grounded the men, forcing another crew to pick up the members and the aircraft, according to KFOR 4 News.
‘We hold our reservists to the highest standards of conduct and these actions are not tolerated,’ Colonel Stuart Rubio, the commander of the 403rd Wing, said in a statement, viewed by CNN Politics.
The crew reportedly left Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, where their wing is based, and traveled to Quonset Air National Guard Base in Rhode land on March 24.
A day later, they made an unscheduled, 15-minute stop at Martha’s Vineyard on March 25 to pick up their loot.
The crew continued on their scheduled route to Mather, California, where they picked up equipment for an atmospheric river mission.
‘While performing an off-station training mission, a US Air Force Reserve crew with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, 403rd Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, made an unplanned stop at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, Massachusetts, March 24,’ Lieutenant Colonel Marnee Losurdo told the Martha’s Vineyard Times in March.
While at the famous vineyard, the crew was seen by witnesses loading up a 1970 BMW R75/5 motorcycle that belonged to one of the crew members, CNN Politics reported. The bike reportedly remains in California, the Sun Herald reported.
The crew reportedly left Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, where their wing is based, and traveled to Quonset Air National Guard Base in Rhode land on March 24.
A day later, they made an unscheduled, 15-minute stop at Martha’s Vineyard on March 25 to pick up their loot.
The crew continued on their scheduled route to Mather, California, where they picked up equipment for an atmospheric river mission.
‘While performing an off-station training mission, a US Air Force Reserve crew with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, 403rd Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, made an unplanned stop at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, Massachusetts, March 24,’ Lieutenant Colonel Marnee Losurdo told the Martha’s Vineyard Times in March.
While at the famous vineyard, the crew was seen by witnesses loading up a 1970 BMW R75/5 motorcycle that belonged to one of the crew members, CNN Politics reported. The bike reportedly remains in California, the Sun Herald reported.
We heard the noise before we saw the plane. [You] don’t see that everyday,’ he posted on his social media, according to the Martha’s Vineyard Times.
Tristan Israel, a county commissioner, told the Martha’s Vineyard Times: ‘I saw a vintage BMW motorcycle. I used to own old vintage BMW motorcycles, so that’s how I know.
‘I was eating next to the window. We looked out and we saw the plane. We saw people walking a vintage motorcycle up to the plane.’
The airport can support all kinds of jet, but is mainly used by private, small aircrafts. Although, major airlines like Delta, American, and Jet Blue do fly into the airport seasonally. The almost 700-acre airfield has two runways. For reference, a large airport, like JFK, sits on almost 5,000 acres.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Air Force for comment.