A pilot flew a Hercules C130 Sherpa flew into a US operated airfield in Iraq during the day and saw there was construction equipment on the runway!!! Yet there was NO NOTAM (NOtice To AirMen) issued to pilots using the airport. He complained, but nothing was updated.
A repair trench was being dug in the runway to fix a large surface crack, and it was not NOTAMEd. But work continued….. And no one switched off the runway landing lights that night either……
It seems the construction continued into the night, and it still was not marked or NOTAMed. The next C-130 arrived that night and the pilot lined up to land on the runway and didn't see or know about the construction works. It wound up going through what is now a large deep pit on the runway.
The 4 engine C-130 was totaled / trashed. There were several injuries to the crew and the few passengers that were on board, but luckily no one was killed. Quite the set of major failures somewhere in the system regarding this improper construction and no notifications regarding it.
Pilots, remember to check for NOTAM messages before landing.