Knowledge of procedures serves pilot well during one-engine landing

  • Published
  • By Maj. David Kurle
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Wilbur Wright, who, along with his brother Orville, invented the modern-day airplane, once said, "It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill."

In military flying, skill, and especially knowledge, are coveted attributes and both enable pilots to react properly when things don't go as planned.

Air Force Reserve A-10 pilot, Lt. Col. Dave Closen, 442nd Operations Group deputy commander, was leading a four-ship formation of A-10s on departure from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., Jan. 16, when something out of the ordinary happened.

Pilots from the 442nd Fighter Wing's 303rd Fighter Squadron had been at MacDill for a week, training with special operations units on the ground using the squadron's new smart-color-multi-function display and data-link - learning how to effectively integrate the new system in their close air support role.

"We were flying a four-ship and I was the lead," Colonel Closen said. "We were meeting a tanker (for aerial re-fueling), so we had a hard take-off time."

The departure from MacDill called for an arc to the east, then north so the flight would avoid the airspace from nearby Tampa International Airport.

"We had pretty much done the end-around Tampa and were cleared to climb from 4,000 feet to 10,000 feet," the lieutenant colonel said. "As I went through 6,000 feet, at 200 knots, it felt like I had cracked the speed brakes - it was an immediate deceleration and it got a little bit quieter."

The sudden quiet was actually disquieting for Colonel Closen as he realized his number-two, or right-side, engine was not functioning. The deceleration was the loss of 50-percent of the A-10's two-engine power plant.

"I started to decrease my climb, came inside the cockpit and determined the right engine had failed," he said. "All indications were that it was engine failure or a flame out."

Subsequent investigation pointed to a gear-box failure, which means the fuel pump, providing fuel to the right engine, no longer functioned, starving the engine of gas.

Colonel Closen determined he was not experiencing a compressor stall or an engine fire, and, after leveling off, he radioed Tampa Approach control about his situation.

After consulting his checklist and completely turning off the bad engine, Colonel Closen called his number-two, Capt. Brian Leiter, another 303rd pilot, to follow him in a chase position back to MacDill.

Captain Leiter's job was to make sure Colonel Closen maintained airspeed and altitude, as well as help him run checklists and look out for other aircraft.

"There're three major airports right there," Captain Leiter said. "So helping him clear for other (air) traffic was important."

"(Tampa Approach Control) basically said I had all the airspace I needed to get back," Colonel Closen said. "Then I prepared for a heavy-weight landing."

The Lieutenant Colonel's A-10 had a full load of fuel, in addition to a portion of the 30-milimeter ammunition from the week's training, making his plane heavier than normal - and a heavier airplane means more power is required to maintain speed, and provide lift.

Because the A-10's "Dash-One" (the manual the Air Force uses to fly the A-10) recommends that pilots turn in the direction of the good engine when one is not functioning, Colonel Closen made left turns toward MacDill.

"The whole time I was thinking I would have hot brakes when I landed," Colonel Closen said. When brakes on an airplane get too hot, they can heat the air in the tires causing a blow-out or even catch the tires on fire, which could spread to the rest of the aircraft.

While his still-functioning number-one engine powered the hydraulic pumps for flaps, landing gear, brakes and the brakes' anti-skid system, the non-functioning number-two engine ran the pumps for the speed brakes - flat sheets of metal, like aluminum parachutes, that unfold from the wings to slow the airplane.

He knew he wouldn't have the use of speed brakes once he landed, but would have to rely on wheel-brakes to slow down and, hopefully, come to a complete stop.

Approaching MacDill from the south, Colonel Closen chose to make right-hand turns - toward the bad engine - to line the crippled A-10 up for its final approach.

"I elected a right-downwind (approach) to runway four," he said. "I didn't want to over-fly Tampa or any populated areas with a bad airplane."

Colonel Closen touched down - hard - after a four-mile final approach.

"I knew I wouldn't have speed brakes," he said. "So, I decided to land firmly because that dissipates a lot of your kinetic energy.

"So, now I'm rolling pretty fast and not slowing down much," the lieutenant colonel said. "I had 9,000 feet of runway, so I didn't jam on the brakes - and just let the plane slow down as much as I could on its own, which wasn't much."

He did need to use his wheel-brakes, but by the time he rolled out with 1,000 to 2,000 feet of runway left, the A-10 was at a normal taxi speed.

The MacDill Fire Department met the A-10 at the end of the runway in anticipation of hot brakes and everything looked fine until one of the tires on the main landing gear started to smoke.

"Hot brakes don't reach their highest temperatures until five or 10 minutes after use," Colonel Closen said. "But then the right tire started smoking and I egressed the airplane."

Lucky for Colonel Closen that Tech. Sgt. Kellie Askew, a crew chief with the 442nd Maintenance Group, was on hand to help him exit the now-smoking A-10.

"It was nice that he was still there, because he had helped launch me earlier," Colonel Closen said. "He helped me egress."

He credits his rote memorization of emergency procedures and the constant training pilots in the 442nd receive in his handling of the situation. He also said the experience will be a valuable lesson for the wing's younger pilots.

"I'm fortunate to be an evaluator," Colonel Closen said. "Not only do I have to stay qualified in emergency procedures, but I can pass this on to others as well.

"Any time you can tell a war story, it adds relevance to the training," he said.