09/05/2008

Associated Press

Charleston Air Force Base evacuated 11 C-17 transport planes to bases in Ohio and Missouri as Tropical Storm Hanna heads toward the U.S. coast.

Air Force officials say departures of the $200 million aircraft and their three-man crews began Thursday morning and continued until midafternoon.

Six of the planes known as Globemasters went to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, and five were relocated at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

Air Force officials say there has been no mandatory evacuation order given for military personnel at the base or their families.