Coastiejoe,
It really does not matter if the chain broke or the anchor failed.
Airplanes are routinely required to detailed inspected for stress cracks in critical parts, and I would think that cargo anchors and chains are critically important on a cargo plane...just as important as the engines, air frame and controls..
If any piece of cargo is heavy enough to overload a chain or anchor point, then the cargo needs to be secured to additional anchor points with more chains. That would spread the load and reduce stress on each chain and anchor and reduce the possibility of failure. Also, if any of the anchors or chains fail the remaining anchors and chains could easily handle the load.
If I flew on military aircraft where the cargo did not appear to be secured properly, and you were on a military aircraft where the load broke loose, it sounds like the military is ignoring the safety issues when loading cargo on aircraft. I know that most military aircraft have a crew member designated as a "Cargo Master, or Load Master" who's job it is to ensure the cargo gets loaded and is properly secured.
I know that adding more tie-downs and chains to insure the load remains secure requires more labor, but safety should always take priority. I hope the military has learned a valuable lesson from this crash.
...Rich
