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From the Air Force Times

April 08, 2003

Two A-10s hit in recent action; pilots safe

By Gordon Trowbridge
Times staff writer

FROM A FORWARD AIR BASE, Persian Gulf region – An Air Force fighter pilot ejected safely behind friendly lines on Tuesday after his A-10 Thunderbolt was brought down by ground fire while supporting ground troops fighting in Baghdad.

It was not immediately clear what type of ground fire brought the jet down.

It was the second consecutive day that A-10s, designed for the low-altitude job of protecting ground forces, suffered serious damage over Baghdad. On Monday, another A-10 pilot based here managed to steer her crippled jet back to base in a dramatic feat of piloting. Other jets based here also suffered battle damage over Baghdad on Tuesday. Airmen said an A-10 had lost one of its two engines and landed safely at a U.S.-held airfield in southern Iraq.

The downed pilot, whose name and unit have not been released pending notification of family, was hit over western Baghdad, said Col. Tom Jones, commander of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, the Air Force unit at this desert air base. The U.S. military has granted journalists access to the base on condition they not name it or its host nation.

Jones said the pilot was able to steer his jet about 20 miles south of where he was hit before his A-10 became uncontrollable. He ejected from the plane and was soon recovered by U.S. ground troops in the area, and later flown by helicopter back to this base, uninjured.

The pilot asked not to speak to reporters on Tuesday, but Jones described him when he arrived here as “overjoyed. His squadron mates were overjoyed. It was an emotional scene, as you can expect.”

Later Tuesday, relieved A-10 pilots gathered near their operations building to smoke cigars and celebrate the safe return of fellow pilots after two days of close calls.

Jones said planners here are examining their tactics over Baghdad, where the crowded urban environment makes close support of ground troops a complicated, dangerous job.

“We have reviewed how we’re conducting operations in the area of Baghdad, as we always do,” Jones said. “It’s a new kind of fight … dramatically different from what we’ve done in the past. Most of the close-air support we’ve done in previous weeks has been in relatively open terrain.”

The A-10, known officially as the Thunderbolt II but invariably to pilots as the Warthog, is designed for close-air support of ground troops and built to withstand severe damage. It carries a devastating seven-barrel Gatling gun and Maverick anti-tank missiles, and its pilot is encased in a titanium shell that protects against ground fire.

When supporting troops in urban areas, pilots must take extra care to separate Iraqi forces from friendly troops and civilians. That often means flying lower and slower or making multiple passes over a target, making them more vulnerable to ground fire.

That danger was vividly on display on Monday, when Capt. KC, an A-10 pilot who asked to be identified only by her rank and radio call sign, piloted her badly damaged fighter in a difficult, dramatic hour-long flight back from Baghdad.

KC, assigned to the 23rd Fighter Group at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., was in a two-plane flight orbiting the city when ground troops called for assistance. As the A-10s were leaving the area following successful attacks on ground targets, KC said she felt a sharp jolt and warning lights began flashing on cockpit panels.

“The plane rolled left and pointed at the ground, which is not a comforting feeling over Baghdad,” she said. “The jet wasn’t responding to any of my control inputs.”

That meant total loss of both the plane’s hydraulic systems, which operate flight controls, brakes, landing gear and other key systems. As a final backup, the A-10 has a manual flight-control system, which works control of rudders, flaps and other control surfaces with mechanical cables and links.

What followed was an hour of worry, both in the air and on the ground.

KC said she and her flight leader ran through a series of checks, and she quickly decided that rather than eject over U.S.-held territory, she would fly the jet back home.

“There was no way I wanted to eject over Baghdad,” she said. Even over friendly territory, she said, there was no doubt she wanted to bring the plane home.

On the ground, dozens of Pope maintenance troops and base officials gathered near the approach end of the base’s runways, searching the gray morning sky for the distinctive silhouette. Apprehension mounted as the two-plane flight came into site miles off – followed by intense relief and enthusiastic applause as KC brought her plane to a near-perfect landing.

The rear section of her jet resembled a cheese grater, pockmarked with holes punched by Iraqi shrapnel. A one-foot chunk had been ripped from the leading edge of the plane’s right horizontal stabilizer, revealing jagged edges of honeycombed outer skin. An hour after landing, with the A-10 towed from the end of the runway to a shelter, hydraulic fluid continued its slow drip into pans laid on the concrete. Amazed maintenance troops gawked, took photos, clapped KC on the shoulder and marveled at the plane’s survival.

“That was a gutsy call to land that airplane,” said Chief Master Sgt. Robert Blackburn, chief of maintenance for the Pope A-10 squadron. Such extensive damage might have been ample justification to eject from the jet, he said — especially because the manual controls are mush stiffer and less responsive than the hydraulic systems, requiring great strength and concentration.

“Of all the big old burly pilots here, that’s as petite a pilot as we’ve got,” Blackburn said. “I can’t say enough good things about her.”

Despite two harrowing days, KC said she and fellow A-10 pilots will continue to take on their dangerous mission.

“Our mission has remained unchanged, and that’s to support the troops on the ground,” she said. “If they’re taking fire, yes, there are risks. But that’s our jobs.”