{"id":34533,"date":"2016-02-15T00:30:42","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T03:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/?p=34533"},"modified":"2016-11-24T22:13:33","modified_gmt":"2016-11-25T01:13:33","slug":"report-awesome-kc-135-tanker-crew-saves-helpless-fighter-pilot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/15\/report-awesome-kc-135-tanker-crew-saves-helpless-fighter-pilot\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Awesome KC-135 Tanker Crew Saves Helpless Fighter Pilot"},"content":{"rendered":"

A news release<\/a> from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing spiraled into infamy as it\u00a0highlighted how a KC-135 Stratotanker<\/em> crew “saved” an F-16 pilot:<\/p>\n

“The lead F-16 came up first and then had a pressure disconnect after about 500 pounds of fuel. We were expecting to offload about 2,500 pounds.”<\/p>\n

After the F-16 disconnected a second time, the pilot went through his checklists and told the crew he had a fuel system emergency. Over 80 percent of his total fuel capability was trapped and unusable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Since the F-16 could take some gas, he stayed with the tanker and flew back to his base along side the tanker, taking gas every 15 minutes or so.<\/p>\n

Then he landed. And the tanker went back to his orbit. And life went on.<\/p>\n

There are a variety of things that could go wrong to make a fighter experience “trapped fuel” or a similar fuel system malfunction. The standard thing to do when that happens is land — or, if unable to land, find a tanker, and then top-off with the tanker every few minutes on the way home.\u00a0 That’s what they did.<\/p>\n

The crew’s squadron commander put an interesting spin on it, though:\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Lt. Col. Eric Hallberg, 384th Air Refueling Squadron commander [said] “Knowing the risks to their own safety, they put the life of the F-16 pilot first…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With all due respect, there were no risks to the KC-135’s safety, at least not any more so than flying over Dallas or Peoria. By contrast, tankers did “cross the line” during Operations Desert Storm<\/em> and\u00a0Iraqi Freedom<\/em> to meet up with fighters that were low on fuel and unable to reach the refueling track. In those cases, the Iraqis were still believed to have a viable air defense system, so there was<\/em> a threat to the otherwise defenseless KC-135. In this case, not so much.<\/p>\n

If you asked the F-16 pilot, he’d probably tell you he was appreciative that the tanker had listened to him<\/em> when he<\/em> told them<\/em> to fly to his home base and drop him off.<\/p>\n

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Both the fighter pilot and his tanker were probably “quick-thinking<\/a>,” and the integration of their professional decision-making and flight conduct “saved<\/a>” the F-16 and its pilot. The tanker crew is to be commended for their adaptability, and the fighter pilot — assuming he didn’t bring the malfunction on himself, which sometimes happens — likewise should be commended.<\/p>\n

Still, a near-viral story on the national news that a tanker crew “saves” a fighter pilot in a front-page headlining “daring rescue”? There should be no end of grief given.<\/p>\n

\"kc135fox\"<\/p>\n

Photo: Senior Airman Jonathan Nigl, 384th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, Maj. Robert Bradley and Capt. Nathanial Beer, 384th ARS pilots, pose for a photo in front of their aircraft.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"kc135save\"Also at the Air Force Times<\/a> and Military.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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