Spotlight Award: Petro 91 Crew

  • Published
  • By Ms. Rita Hess
  • Story originally ran in The Mobility Forum Magazine

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In 1942, United States forces attacked Japan in the Doolittle Raid – a retaliation for Pearl Harbor that demanded flexibility among crews and detailed coordination among multiple Department of Defense agencies.

A more recent complex joint mission was not an act of war, but was nonetheless dramatic. It demanded superior professionalism, leadership and courage from a quick-thinking KC-10 Extender crew in challenging conditions.

During the first-ever United States Marine Corps F-35B overseas deployment in response to North Korean threats in the Pacific Air Force region, 10 aircraft were being moved to Japan. After days of severe weather delays in Alaska, the crew of a KC-10 from the 60th Operations Group at Travis Air Force Base, California, departed in formation, but suddenly experienced total failure of the horizontal stabilizer, which precluded any ability to trim the aircraft.

While Capt. James Leli struggled to maintain aircraft control, Capt. Robert Hyatt and the remaining crew began troubleshooting the other aircraft and began dumping fuel to lighten the load for landing.

Gradually, the craft descended to a lower altitude to conduct precautionary checks with the aircraft configured for landing. At landing speed, the increased control pressure required the pilot flying to use full strength to maintain aircraft control. This quickly resulted in fatigue, so the pilots alternated every three minutes.

Despite the serious failure, the pilots used extraordinary skill, fighting their exhaustion to coordinate a successful precision approach and landing on a snow-covered runway at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. The crew then used superior skill, judgment and airmanship to recover their crippled KC-10 to a safe landing.

Everyone on board performed meritoriously. They maintained composure, calmly managing emergency checklists. They communicated with each other, with others in the formation and with those on the ground to ensure this potentially life-threatening scenario concluded safely. Their actions, which exemplify crew resource management at its finest, saved lives and an $88 million asset. Please join us in congratulating the following crew from the 60th OG: Capt. Robert Hyatt, Capt. James Leli, 1st Lt. Joel Stark, Tech. Sgt. Chrisrobertson Sy, Senior Airman Patrick Moore, Senior Airman Zachariah Ploeger.