KC-10 Can Tow An Aircraft To Safety If Necessary

Choppy waters, surging waves and hundreds of miles from land; this was the grim reality for an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot as his single engine aircraft showed signs of malfunction Jan 17.

The pilot decided to climb in altitude to conserve fuel and maximize his glide performance should the aircraft experience complete engine failure. It became a matter of simply improving his chances of survival - staring down the notion of possibly egressing into the frigid Alaskan waters or seeking calmer, warmer conditions further South.

The fighter wasn't alone in the skies that day. A dozen of them flew in two separate packages, each led by a Travis Air Force Base KC-10 Extender en route to Hawaii from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.

It was three hours into the projected six-and-a-half hour sortie that Maj. Scott Doyer, the aircraft commander onboard the lead KC-10, received a call over his high frequency radio that one of the fighters was experiencing problems with their engine.

"They needed to climb in altitude to increase their chances should the situation deteriorate," Doyer said. "The waters and conditions weren't favorable. There was basically nothing between us and Hawaii. For these single engine aircraft any type of engine malfunction is deemed extremely serious."

Doyer started relaying messages to air traffic control; alerting them that two fighters were changing altitude and stating the intentions of both formations. However communicating via HF radios became a trying ordeal.

Each time the KC-10 would have to halt air refueling to communicate over the radio, putting the pilots and controllers in a game of "telephone" since the F-16 doesn't possess that form of radio communication.

"While I coordinated with ATC, our other pilot was talking to the Falcon's flight lead, relaying information about the current position and altitude the emergency formation was flying at, as well as obtaining more information about the distressed aircraft," Doyer said.

Doyer noted a sense of uneasiness from air traffic controllers. The emergency formation was invisible on radar due to their position and couldn't be communicated with directly. "We continued to coordinate with the fighter lead, relaying the time the formation crossed certain points so air traffic control could get an idea of where they were," Doyer said.

Amidst the cross flow of information, a third member of Doyer's crew was in communication with the operations group commander at Eielson; letting them know what was happening and the status of their aircraft.

Information filtered back and forth about the exact malfunction of the engine and what measures, if any, the pilot could apply to quell the concern. "The flight lead addressed the severity of the problem several times to us," Doyer said, "I could hear the stress in his voice."

With a fairly large crew of about a dozen individuals, the KC-10 aircrew formulated a bold strategy to avert a possible bailout by the fighter pilot over open waters. Having completed the final air-to-air refuel with the fighters assigned to his aircraft, Doyer's KC-10 circled back to meet up with the emergency aircraft - Jest 94 - and his wingman - Jest 95. "It's not very well known or even publicized, but we do have an emergency checklist in the KC-10 where we can actually tow an aircraft," Doyer said. "As far as pilots go we don't practice it and our boom operators do it about once a year in the simulator. But its intent is to physically connect to them and pull them through the air like a tow truck would.

"In essence, we would be able to pull them to a position where a safe landing could be made, savings both the aircraft and pilot."

After discussing the idea with his crew, the F-16 flight lead, emergency aircraft and ATC, the green light was given to proceed with the "game plan." Nevertheless, the scenario merely represented a final fail safe in the event of complete engine failure. "They flew off our wing one to two miles away and about 2,000 feet above us," Doyer said. "The idea was to fly close enough to each other that we could rendezvous very quickly and get him into a contact position, but also not to be so close that we would be a threat should he have any flight control issues or had to immediately get out of the aircraft."

For roughly an hour, the tag-team formation of Jest 94 and 95 flew off the side of the Travis KC-10. Ultimately the aircrew received a call from the Alaskan fighter stating that they had the field made - meaning even with complete engine failure they could still land in Hawaii.

Although the strategy Doyer and his crew innovatively formulated never came to fruition, the concept of seamlessly executing their cockpit resource management, better known as CRM, was "notable and exceptional on this particular flight," according to Doyer. "We are taught this concept on day one," he said. "It's basically a procedure and training system in situations where human error can have devastating effects. CRM focuses on situational awareness, task management, communication and risk management and decision making in the cockpit to efficiently manage available resources to maximize operational effectiveness.

"Thankfully we never had to execute this plan, but I think it serves as a great example of how CRM can be employed. By using the wealth of resources and experiences onboard my aircraft, we were able to develop a sound plan to save this pilot from possibly going down in frigid, choppy water."

(Images from file)

FMI: www.af.mil