Ireland's Shannon Airport is a regular stopover and refueling location for United States Air Force aircraft making their way around the world, like, say, from the eastern United States to the Middle East. On Saturday, one such plane, a C-130 Hercules cargo plane, was parked on the tarmac, bothering no one, when a reported hatchet-wielding man somehow managed to breach the airport's perimeter, climb onto the C-130, and start hacking away.
A maniac reportedly attacked a US war plane with a hatchet at a major civilian airport in Ireland Saturday, causing extensive damage at a controversial stopover site for American military.
He snuck into restricted space at Shannon Airport in County Clare, where the US Air Force’s $75 million C130 Hercules military transport aircraft was parked, local outlet The Journal reported.
The lunatic — in his 40s but yet to be identified — climbed onto the wing of the plane and started hacking away at the wing and the fuselage, causing extensive damage, according to GB News.
The damage was, as noted, said to be extensive, and that's not terribly surprising. A strong man (or a man fueled by lunatic rage) could do a lot of damage to an aircraft's aluminum skin, and if he was able to bring his hatchet to bear on one of the engines or propellers, he may have even rendered the aircraft unusable. Fuselage damage may well have compromised the plane's pressurization. There is, as yet, no word as to precisely what sort of damage the Hercules suffered.
The lunatic, though, is now having his bangers and mash served to him in the hoosegow.
The shocking attack caused the airport to close for just under 30 minutes, before police from the Garda Síochána arrested the man.
The C-130 Hercules is a transport aircraft that is used in a wide range of military situations.
One of the models was shot down in Iran and crashed in Kuwait on April 5 during a rescue mission for the pilots of the downed F-15E.
As of this writing, we don't know yet what this guy's motivation may have been.
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This could provide a clue, though:
Shannon Airport has been the site of regularly held demonstrations demanding the Irish government inspect US military planes for weapons destined for Israel, the outlet reported
It's not clear what is meant by "regularly held," of course. Also, one would want to know, is this a new thing, since the start of Operation Epic Fury/Roaring Lion, when Israel, like the United States, has been expending a lot of munitions? Much of Israel's weapons and ammunition comes from the United States, after all.
In the end, though, this particular Irish nut's efforts will come to nothing except his own troubles with the law. The C-130 will be repaired and back in the air, probably within a matter of days, at most; maybe within hours. The United States will continue using Shannon as a layover and refueling stop. And, if the mullahs don't make a deal, we will continue to pound them back into the Stone Age.
It takes more than a nut with a hatchet to stop the United States of America.
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