AF pilots guide civilian to safe landing

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Erin Tindell
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho (ACCNS) --  What was to be a routine training mission for two pilots here turned into a rescue mission helping a civilian pilot in trouble find his way safely to the Boise International Airport.

The pilots -- Lt. Col. Evan Roelofs, 366th Operations Support Squadron commander, and Capt. Marco Parzych, 389th Fighter Squadron flight commander -- were flying an operational readiness exercise mission March 24 when they were asked to come to the aid of a small civilian aircraft that was experiencing engine trouble and needed help getting through weather in the area to Boise.

The civilian pilot, flying a small twin-engine plane, reported an in-flight emergency to the Salt Lake (City) Center air traffic control about 1 p.m., said Lt. Col. Robert Henderson, 266th Range Squadron director of operations. One of the plane’s engines had malfunctioned, and the pilot needed help finding a safe landing area.

Due to heavy cloud coverage, “visibility was poor and the pilot needed help finding a break in the clouds to descend through,” Colonel Roelofs said.

Salt Lake Center called Mountain Home to request assistance in guiding the pilot through the weather. Base controllers solicited help from one of the jets taking off on the exercise mission, Colonel Henderson said.

Colonel Roelofs, flying an F-15C, ended up breaking off from the exercise to go find the troubled pilot. When he found the civilian aircraft, he raced circles around it in order to maintain the lowest speed possible, which was still faster than the smaller plane could go.

“The maximum forward speed of the civilian aircraft was still below our minimum controllable airspeed,” Colonel Roelofs said. “I had to maintain awareness on where he was while searching for a place that he could descend safely through the weather.”

The pilots couldn’t communicate with each other directly because of differences in the radios. Colonel Roelofs had to rely on a radio relay between himself, Mountain Home and Salt Lake Center.

“I stayed on the phone with the SLC and (Radar Approach Control) the whole time,” said Tech Sgt. Gary Branch, 266th RANS mission crew technician. He constantly relayed information from both pilots via the SLC.

Colonel Roelofs was able to fly ahead and find a break in the weather for the plane to descend through. Minutes later, the small plane was able to locate the opening for descent and Colonel Roelofs was able to rejoin his exercise formation.

Meanwhile, Captain Parzych, flying his F-16, broke off from the exercise and took over in assisting the civilian pilot, escorting him into the airport. Unlike Colonel Roelofs, Captain Parzych’s radio was able to allow him to talk directly to the civilian pilot.

“The pilot informed me that he would like to follow my aircraft to the Boise airport and also let me know that he did not have many hours of experience,” Captain Parzych said. “However, he seemed very calm throughout the approach.”

Captain Parzych said once they were about 10 miles south of the airport, he “talked the other pilot’s eyes” onto the runway area. The other pilot then identified the airport runway and landed safely.