C-17 fire at Joint Base Charleston under investigation, Air Force says 2 days ago An Air Force C-17 Globemaster III sits on the flightline at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., in 2018. (Staff Sgt. Ryan Callaghan/Air Force) Air Force investigators are looking into why a C-17 Globemaster III airlift plane caught fire at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., last week. The plane had returned from a mission and was parked on the flight line ramp April 9 when a fire spread on the aircraft’s left side, base spokesman 2nd Lt. Victor Reyes said in an email Tuesday. None of the eight people aboard the plane at the time of the incident, including seven crew members and one passenger, were seriously injured, Reyes said.