Tower crew averts aircraft disaster

Published March 12, 2009
By Howdy Stout
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- Experience and alertness prevented a dangerous situation from turning deadly with the landing of a multi-million dollar RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft at Tinker Air Force Base on Feb. 13.

At the end of a 24-hour flight from overseas deployment, the aircraft diverted from its snow-bound home base with minimal fuel and -- as it turned out -- a hydraulic leak that could have sparked a fire.

"It could have been ugly," said Master Sgt. Steve Brown, assistant chief controller of the 72nd Operations Support Squadron. "I don't know if it would have been an incident, but we certainly averted one."

Although aircraft diverting to Tinker is not unusual, in this case the aircraft itself was. Valued at more than $220 million, the equipment-packed aircraft is festooned with protruding antennas. Dubbed the "Cable Bird" because of the numerous antennas, the RC-135 is a rare sight outside of its home at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

"If you haven't seen that airplane, it's a big bird," explained watch supervisor Tony Kaczka, a retired master sergeant with 25 years of air traffic control experience. Mr. Kaczka, who has worked at numerous air bases around the world, said he is familiar with the aircraft and its operational limitation.

Flight operations at Tinker were busy despite the strong, gusting winds. That day, aircraft were using Runway 30, the shorter of Tinker's two runways.

"We had a 35 mile-an-hour wind," said Senior Airman Jonathan Chickletts, working local control for the afternoon shift. "It was gusty that day."

With winds that strong, Airman Chickletts said he could feel the tower swaying. That's when the air traffic controllers noticed a problem. Unaware to the crew, the low-hanging antennas on the RC-135 posed a hazard.

Runway 30 has a system of cable barriers similar to arresting cables on an aircraft carrier for use by landing aircraft. The cables stretch over either end of the runway and are raised six inches above the tarmac. The landing RC-135's antennas would hit those cables, damaging both airplane and the barriers.

"I knew," said Mr. Kaczka. "I knew from past experience that he couldn't land there." The RC-135 could either accept a severe crosswind landing on Runway 35 or wait up to 30 minutes for the barrier to be removed. But fuel -- and time -- were short.

"He didn't have the gas to wait for us to remove the barriers," Mr. Kaczka said.

The controllers cleared the aircraft for Runway 35, but with the strong crosswind, the crew decided to reject the landing far down the runway and bouncing hard. Most aircraft have a maximum crosswind limit for landing and strong crosswinds pose a serious challenge.

"He was cleared to land, but landed long and had to go around," said Airman Chickletts. "He hit hard on the right side on the first one."

All eyes were on the aircraft as it came around for the second attempt.

"It was an unusual airplane and we were all looking," said Tech. Sgt. David Kopec, ground controller for that shift.

Everyone expected and saw smoke puff from the undercarriage as the tires met the tarmac. But the smoke kept coming.

"I advised him that he had smoke coming from his back gear," said Airman Chickletts. Sergeant Kopec hit the crash alarm, sending emergency vehicles and crews to meet the aircraft as it cleared the runway at taxiway Bravo and came to a halt. With smoke continuing to pour from the undercarriage, the crew safely exited the aircraft. Hydraulic fluid was leaking on to the hot brakes, causing the smoke. It could have caused a fire.

"It was a dangerous situation," Mr. Kaczka said.

"The quick actions of the tower personnel potentially saved lives," said Lt. Col. Frank Souza, a safety officer from the 552nd Air Control Wing, who was in the tower and witnessed the event. His eyewitness report resulted in awards for those on duty at the time.

Mr. Kaczka, Airman Chickletts, Sergeant Kopec, Airman 1st Class Brian Lemire and Senior Airman Justin Hackbarth all received coins from Col. Allen Jamerson, commander of the 72nd Air Base Wing.

Sergeant Brown said experience and teamwork saved the day. He especially credits the benefit of having six civilian controllers at Tinker, lending continuity to operations and sharing local knowledge as their uniformed counterparts are frequently deployed. "In the end, it's a combined team effort," he said. "It's nice to have that level of experience."