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Reservists help fly damaged B-1B bomber to repair site

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Dan Lanphear
  • Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  When a B-1B bomber caught fire over Afghanistan, it took a joint effort between Air Force Reserve and active-duty Airmen to get the plane to a repair site in England.

While returning to its temporary base in a forward operating location, a fire warning light alerted the bomber crew of a problem in the No. 4 engine. Although the crew shut down the engine and followed emergency procedures, the warning light still glowed.

After successfully landing the $283 million plane, ground personnel told the crew about the flames from the engine. The crew shut down the aircraft and followed emergency-exit procedures while firefighters extinguished the fire.

Although a safety investigation was still underway, the immediate concern was deciding how to get the crippled bomber safely out of the "hot" zone and into a repair facility.

The Air Force tapped four Air Force squadrons to solve the problem, including the 10th Flight Test Squadron. The Air Force Reserve Command unit from Tinker AFB, Okla., conducts functional check flights on B-1s and has operational risk management experts.

Regular Air Force squadrons with expertise in other factors of the mission included the 555th Aircraft Sustainment Squadron and 654th Combat Logistics Support Squadron from Tinker AFB, and the 419th FLTS from Edwards AFB, Calif.

With approved plans to begin work, maintenance crews removed the engine, capped and plugged the loose connections, and prepped the bomber for flight with three uncharred engines.

Meanwhile, reservists from the 10th FLTS practiced a variety of three-engine flying scenarios in a B-1 flight simulator at Dyess AFB, Texas. Aircraft commander Maj. Shane Peterson, co-pilot Lt. Col. Steve Adams and weapons system operators Capt. James Couch and Lt. Col. Jeff Wagner ran through reduced-thrust capabilities, abnormal weight ratios created by the absence of one engine, and aerial refueling maneuvers.

By Oct. 2, a combined aircrew of reservists from the 10th FLTS and Air Combat Command B-1 crew members began a two-leg flight to move the plane from its forward location to Royal Air Force Fairford, Gloucestershire, England.

"Under normal circumstances involving the B-1, the entire aircrew would have been from the 10th FLTS, since responsibility for all depot flying converted to Air Force Reserve Command units," said Bob Wood, chief of flight operations and standardization and evaluation at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command. "However, since the departure point occurred in a hostile zone and operational aircrews already were in theater, a joint aircrew made sense in case tactical maneuvers were required on takeoff."

The crew landed at another base in Southwest Asia, where Airmen with expertise in aircraft battle-damage repair from Tinker's 654th CLSS inspected the plane to determine if it could make it safely to England from there.

"We had to invent the wheel," said Lt. Col. Peter Jones, 10th FLTS commander. "We're the only unit in the world that does this for the B-1. We're one of a kind.

"They (the reservists) had to integrate with the deployed forces to make this happen," he said. "They had to interact with a lot of political and diplomatic agencies we don't normally interact with."

Cleared for flight, the 10th FLTS reservists flew the second leg to RAF Fairford Oct. 6. They refueled the bomber twice during their eight-hour flight to England.

Engineers at RAF Fairford continue to assess the B-1 to determine if it can be fully repaired on site. Officials hope to return the bomber to service within six months.

"World events make it imperative that we provide our warfighting commands with operationally ready weapon systems as quickly as possible," said Gen. Bruce Carlson, AFMC commander. "The combined efforts over the past two months to get this B-1 to a location where AFMC can fix it highlight the importance of this goal." (Air Force Reserve Command News Service from an AFMC news release)