It was roughly 8 p.m. when Airmen in MacDill's
air traffic control tower received a message from Tampa International Airport
that a B-2 was inbound with an in-flight emergency. The B-2 was having avionics
and communications issues, which prevented it from continuing its flight
causing the need for an emergency landing at MacDill.
Shortly after receiving the call, air traffic
controllers were able to patch and establish a line of communication with the
pilot of the B-2. The pilot was able to tell controllers that the aircraft's
systems weren't showing if the plane's landing gear was down properly or if it
was stuck in the up position. He requested a low, slow pass over the airfield
which would allow the air traffic controllers and the crash fire station to confirm
the position of the landing gear.
When the B-2 passed over MacDill's airspace,
they were able to confirm that the landing gear was in the down position and
that the plane would be able to land safely.
There are weather and runway considerations that
air traffic controllers are responsible for communicating to all incoming
pilots. Staff Sgt. Charles Hildreth, 6th Operations Support
Squadron air traffic controller, and his team
of controllers informed the B-2 pilot that MacDill has an aircraft arresting
system - a runway condition not mandatory to tell incoming pilots of - on the
runway to slow down incoming fighter jets when they land.
A B-2 Spirit rests in an aircraft hangar on
MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., April 24, 2015. The B-2 had an emergency landing
on MacDill due to issues with the aircraft’s avionics and communications
systems. MacDill’s crash fire station and air traffic control tower assisted in
the safe landing of this more than $2 billion aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo
by Tech. Sgt. Brandon Shapiro/Released)
"The pilot informed us that the B-2
couldn't land on a runway with that kind of system; that it could cause damage
to the aircraft," said Hildreth.
The air traffic control tower contacted the
crash fire station and requested the arresting system be removed. According to
Hildreth, the firefighters removed the arresting system in just 10 minutes, a
process normally taking upwards of 40 minutes to complete.
"My team went out there and executed the
mission flawlessly from beginning to end," said Senior Master Sgt. Jim
Thompson, 6th Civil Engineer Squadron deputy fire chief. "We train for
emergency situations, and we went out there and got the job done right. I
couldn't ask for a better team."
With the arresting system removed, the B-2 was
able to land safely on MacDill thanks to the firefighters and air traffic
controllers who made it possible.
Once on the ground, security forces personnel
formed a high priority security area for approximately 20 hours around the B-2
until it could be brought to a hangar for repairs.
Over a two-week period, maintainers from
Whiteman AFB and technicians from Northrop Grumman worked tirelessly to prepare
the jet for flight. The 6th Operations Group, 6th Maintenance Group and 6th
Mission Support Group at MacDill provided support in many ways, ranging from
security measures at the hangar housing the aircraft and living accommodations
for the team repairing the jet.
"From a pilot's perspective, this
emergency and recovery was challenging," said Lt. Col. Timothy Hale, 509th
Bomb Wing Operations Group deputy commander and one of the two pilots of the
aircraft. "However, the real success story is how team MacDill worked
together across operations, maintenance and mission support groups to support
our maintainers and return a national asset to a combat mission ready
status."
By Senior Airman Ned T. Johnston
6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs