Quick thinking saves plane, crew

A 1988 McCook High School graduate's quick thinking saved the lives of all nine crewmen aboard when part of the controls failed on the U.S. Air Force plane he was flying at the time.

Capt. Nathan A. Allerheiligen, who has since been promoted to major, and the other eight members of his C-130E crew received the "AMC Excellence in Airmanship Award" as a result of their actions in the March 19, 2002, incident.

He is the son of Dr. David and Judy Allerheiligen of Casper, Wyo., formerly of McCook.

The following article is reprinted from the military publication, The Mobility Forum:

On March 19, 2002, Reach 2294 experienced a total aileron lockup moments after takeoff, which induced a 45-degree roll while less than 50 feet above ground level (AGL). This situation required extraordinary actions by the crew to regain level flight, climb to a safe altitude, circle and configure for an emergency landing.

During a mission to move a wind-damaged C-130E, crew members experienced the dangerous situation that brought out the best in the well-trained crew and earned them the coveted "AMCE Excellence in Airmanship Award" and submission for the "Aviation Well Done Award."

The situation began after temporary repairs of the C-130E were completed at Gander International Airport in Canada. The mission was to move the C-130E to Robins Air Force Base in Georgia for final depot-level repairs.

Due to the nature and extent of the previous damage sustained to the tail section, leadership insisted that only the most qualified would fly the aircraft to depot. This insistence factored prominently in the crew selection and the pilot and flight engineer were the best the squadron had to offer, both of them high-time/functional check flight qualified.

High surface winds hindered departure tasks. Pre-flight and loading became a two-day endeavor. On the day of departure, the weather was cold with light snow and crosswinds gusting to 25 knots. The runway was icy and visibility was below 2.5 miles with a 1,500' ceiling that occasionally dipped down to 700' AGL-marginal flying conditions. The crew preflighted the aircraft with specific attention paid to the flight controls.

The start-up and taxi out proceeded normally. The command pilot, Capt. Allerheiligen, gave a detailed briefing, which addressed the icy runway, near-max takeoff weight; two-engine ops would require jettisoning the 28,000 pounds of fuel. Line-up/takeoff roll were uneventful. At 121 knots, the copilot, 1st Lt. Jewett, called "GO" an d the pilot rotated normally.

The trouble began at 25' AGL when the aircraft began to drift right. Capt. Allerheiligen attempted to apply left aileron to return to centerline with no aircraft response. The ailerons were locked and the aircraft continued to roll right. By 50', the aircraft was approaching 45 degrees of bank and continued to drift right.

Capt. Allerheiligen reacted instinctively and applied full left rudder, full asymmetrical engine power. Engines 1-2 were set to flight idle while engines 3-4 went to max power to counter the roll.

The wings began to level as the crew continued to struggle to maintain altitude and then climb. Partial control returned slowly as the magnitude of the emergency was assessed.

The copilot helped level the wings while the pilot ordered fuel to be dumped. The flight engineer, SMSgt. Joslin, began dumping fuel immediately. The 15-minute IFR pattern was tense as binding continued; 28,000 pounds of fuel had to dumped.

Weather prevented visual navigation, several checklists needed completion, radio calls were made and aileron options were explored. Crew attention was focused as they prioritized tasks to eliminate the binding and prepared the aircraft for an emergency landing at Gander.

On short final, under 300' AGL, high crosswinds pushed the aircraft right as the ailerons bound again. Full pilot/copilot aileron effort and full asymmetrical power halted the right roll, but they could not land.

After aborting the landing, Capt. Allerheiligen climbed to clear weather. Knowing fuel reserves were low, the navigator, 1st Lt. Stephens, scrutinized nearby airfields for suitable winds. The best choice was Halifax, Nova Scotia, 30 miles west.

Capt. Allerheiligen directed the maintenance crew to find the malfunction. Intensely analyzing the aileron system, they found the viscous damper had broken free and was blocking the control valve. The loadmaster, SrA Schultz, conferred with the aircrew on the malfunction.

Navigator 1st Lt. Stephens established a Conference HOTEL radio patch with the C-130 engineers to corroborate the safety of removing the failed part. Engineers verified that flight safety was not affected and the decision was made. Maintenance must remove the part.

Relaying the decision, the loadmaster, SrA Schultz, notified the maintenance crew to pull the part. The loadmaster kept. Capt. Allerheiligen advised once they reached into the booster pack, preventing them from being crushed by the flight control movement. Once the failed part was removed, the flight engineer requested a controllability check. The aileron operation was verified, free and clear.

Descent and landing at Halifax were uneventful, but the crew remained vigilant for flight control anomalies.

The crew's extraordinary effort saved nine lives and prevented the loss of an aircraft. Phenomenal CRM!

Crew members who worked together to avoid disaster and who later received the "AMC Excellence in Airmanship Award" are as follows: Capt. nathan A. Allerheiligen, Command Pilot; 1st Lt. Christopher E. Jewett, Copilot; 1st Lt. Matthew K. Stephens, Navigator; SMSgt. David W. Joslin, Flight Engineer; SrA Colin Schultz, Loadmaster; TSgt. Timothy Tackett, Crew Chief; TSgt Dale A. Newman, Crew Chief; an SrA Ryan T. Freund, Crew Chief.