C-17 military transport plane last one to leave Long Beach Boeing facility

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The last C-17 Globemaster III military transport plane made at Boeing's Long Beach assembly plant departed Sunday afternoon.

A big crowd gathered to watch the cargo jet takeoff from Long Beach Airport, which is next to the soon-to-be-closed production facility. The ceremony included a commemorative fly over of the plant.

Two years ago, Boeing announced that it did not have enough orders to keep the 25-acre plant open. It produced more than 250 planes and provided more than 2,000 jobs. The facility is expected to close by the end of the year.

The plane will be housed in San Antonio until it can be delivered to Qatar, according to Boeing.

City New Service contributed to this report.