When we first started flying there was a statement that
was going around the force-- " Flying is hours and hours of boredom,
occasionally interrupted by brief moments of STARK
TERROR."
Well this certainly turned out to be true for this
KC-135 flight crew on a
mission during Desert Storm. Read below and realize just
how lucky this crew
was.
Only pilot who landed a KC-135 after two engines ripped
off in combat writes his story.
Lt. Colonel (Ret) Kevin Sweeney is the only person to
have ever landed a KC-135, the military version of the Boeing 707 after the
two engines on his left wing were ripped off in flight during a night combat
mission in Desert Storm.
General Charles Horner, top commander of Allied Air
Forces during the Gulf War, recently honored Lt. Col. Sweeney on the
20th anniversary of the eventful date and said “I consider that the finest
piece of airmanship to have occurred during the entire Gulf War.”
By Kevin Sweeney
We were scheduled to do a double turn on night combat
missions in Desert Storm with the first take off time at dusk, 17:24 local
time. All was going as planned on the KC135 aircraft with me as Captain and my
3 crew members. As we were flying up to the scheduled refueling area we
hit a little turbulence which was no cause for concern. But a split
second later our aircraft went from a smooth, stable flight to totally out of
control. The nose of the airplane gyrated from 15 degrees nose up to 15
degrees nose down. We were violently rolling wing tip to wing tip in a Dutch
roll, which is a vicious unplanned rocking maneuver rolling wing tip to wing
tip at over 90 degrees of bank with roll rates in excess of 85 degrees per
second.
We were dropping out of the sky like a rock – a heavy
rock, we were crashing! We were in severe oscillations and rolls and I
remember thinking, “I can’t let this airplane roll inverted since the airplane
might be unrecoverable if we roll inverted.”
The maximum roll rate for a KC-135 airplane is 45
degrees per second and we were exceeding that by at least a factor of
two. I remembered my emergency procedures simulator training – I grabbed
the speed lever brake and pulled it full up.
It worked!
As we were beginning to regain control of the aircraft the fire
warning lights lit up in the cockpit for both engines on the left
wing. I could feel in the stick she was too heavy to fly. I
lowered the nose over to try and gain airspeed while at the same time asking
the other pilot to begin dumping fuel. I used the interphone to ask
Steve Stucky, the Boom Operator, to scan the left wings to
see how bad the fires were. Very quickly he radios back six
words I will never forget, “They aren’t on fire, they’re
gone!” Our 4-engine aircraft was reduced to 2
engines
We were at maximum weight, barely under control, over hostile territory, at night and two engines were gone. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” my navigator began to squawk electronically on the transponder. One of my crewmembers soon asked me, “Are we were going to have to bail out?” To which I responded to the most important question of my life, ‘No stick with me, we’ll be fine.’
After a harrowing hour and fifteen minute flight back to the nearest acceptable landing field we started to get into position to make a landing attempt. One of the primary requirements was to get the landing gear down and because of our lack of hydraulic pressure the landing gear would have to be lowered manually.
I asked my Boom Operator, Steve Stucky, how long it would take to manually lower the landing gear which was his job. Steve said, “7 minutes.”
I said, ‘Steve we don’t have 7 minutes, we only have three or four minutes, can you do it?’
My hero, Steve Stucky, said, “Yes Sir, I will get them down,” and Steve got them down.
Impeccable execution under such extreme circumstances enabled our crew to land the mortally injured aircraft. It is a compelling story illustrating how you and your team can overcome any obstacle.
Then came the best thing I ever accomplished in my Air Force career. Upon a successful landing the Air Force wanted to award the three officer members of the aircrew the renowned Distinguished Flying Cross and to the Boom Operator, the non-officer, Steve Stucky, an Air Medal – a wonderful medal, but not the legendary Distinguished Flying Cross.
In unison, without hesitation and unbeknownst to the lowest ranking member of the aircrew the three officers refused the Distinguished Flying Cross. We put together a 35 page document and personally met with a four star General. It took a year, but on the same day, on the same stage and at the same time all four members of the team the aircrew received the medal they earned and deserved, the United States Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross.
One of our engines after it landed in the desert in Saudi Arabia. I think it was beyond repair. I have a couple of pieces of it as a personal memento.
We were at maximum weight, barely under control, over hostile territory, at night and two engines were gone. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” my navigator began to squawk electronically on the transponder. One of my crewmembers soon asked me, “Are we were going to have to bail out?” To which I responded to the most important question of my life, ‘No stick with me, we’ll be fine.’
After a harrowing hour and fifteen minute flight back to the nearest acceptable landing field we started to get into position to make a landing attempt. One of the primary requirements was to get the landing gear down and because of our lack of hydraulic pressure the landing gear would have to be lowered manually.
I asked my Boom Operator, Steve Stucky, how long it would take to manually lower the landing gear which was his job. Steve said, “7 minutes.”
I said, ‘Steve we don’t have 7 minutes, we only have three or four minutes, can you do it?’
My hero, Steve Stucky, said, “Yes Sir, I will get them down,” and Steve got them down.
Impeccable execution under such extreme circumstances enabled our crew to land the mortally injured aircraft. It is a compelling story illustrating how you and your team can overcome any obstacle.
Then came the best thing I ever accomplished in my Air Force career. Upon a successful landing the Air Force wanted to award the three officer members of the aircrew the renowned Distinguished Flying Cross and to the Boom Operator, the non-officer, Steve Stucky, an Air Medal – a wonderful medal, but not the legendary Distinguished Flying Cross.
In unison, without hesitation and unbeknownst to the lowest ranking member of the aircrew the three officers refused the Distinguished Flying Cross. We put together a 35 page document and personally met with a four star General. It took a year, but on the same day, on the same stage and at the same time all four members of the team the aircrew received the medal they earned and deserved, the United States Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross.
One of our engines after it landed in the desert in Saudi Arabia. I think it was beyond repair. I have a couple of pieces of it as a personal memento.
This flight inspired me to write my first book,
Pressure Cooker Confidence: How to Lead When the Heat is
On.
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