Belly up in Corpus

Approach,  March-April, 2006  by Christopher J. Huebner

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As I drove onto Naval Air Station Corpus Christi on a warm August morning, I knew I was about to have a one-of-a-kind aviation experience. You see, I was about to embark on my airnav solo with a fellow flight student. I was relaxed and at ease that the rigors of Review Stage finally were over, and that I successfully had completed every graded event in the advanced-maritime syllabus at VT-31.

I was ready to sign for a multi-million-dollar aircraft and gain the invaluable experiences and confidence from navigating the airways without an instructor. Little did I know the confidence gained from this flight would have nothing to do with navigating airways or operating at altitude: I only would make it as high as 2,500 feet and as far as 2.1 miles from NAS Corpus Christi.

I met with the command duty officer (CDO) to discuss which approved airport to go to with my copilot, 1stLt. Jeff Noble, USAF. Based on weather restrictions and traffic at other airports, we settled on Laredo, Texas. Jeff and I went to base ops to flight plan, get a weather brief, and file our flight plan to Laredo. We then went to aircraft issue in our hangar to print out NOTAMs and to review the aircraft-discrepancy book (ADB) for our aircraft. We met with the CDO one final time before he released us for the solo. He discussed the importance of crew-resource management. He also reemphasized using every available resource, inside as well as outside the cockpit, stressing the radios. Not knowing it at the time, his words would prove very important in the next hour.

We completed our preflight and were ready to start engines at 10:50 a.m. We had an uneventful preflight, taxi and run-up. All our checklists were complete, and everything seemed to be going according to plan. Tower cleared us for takeoff at 11:15 on runway 13L, and we were well on our way to Laredo for lunch, or so we thought.

The takeoff roll was normal, and Jeff called rotate at 91 knots. As I applied backpressure on the yoke, our T-44 Pegasus flew off the deck. The plane felt out of trim right after takeoff, so I took a few extra seconds to apply a little rudder trim before verifying our two positive rates of climb. I then called for the landing gear to be retracted. Jeff flipped the gear handle on his side, and we had three-up-and-locked indications. He then began to make his off-the-deck call to Montana base.

While Jeff was toggled to VHF, I thought I heard our call sign, Navy1G466, over UHF from tower, clearing us for a left downwind. I thought they must have confused their call signs. When Jeff was done with his off report, I asked if he had heard the call from tower. Before he could answer, tower again called and cleared us for an immediate left downwind but did not give an explanation for the call. Jeff responded by saying something to the effect of, "That's a negative for Navy1G466 solo; we are on the Arrow 3 departure going IFR to Laredo."

By now, we were well above pattern altitude. Solo students always are briefed that, if tower tries to clear you for something you are not expecting, or think you shouldn't be doing, simply remind them that you are a solo. Fortunately, what we thought was an error by tower ultimately would save our lives.

Tower came back on UHF and said we were cleared for an immediate left downwind because our port wheel had departed the aircraft. I initiated my left turn as Jeff told me we had to go back and land because a plane had lost a wheel. That's when I told Jeff I thought tower had said it was our wheel that was gone. Jeff called tower and asked them to verify the tail number of the plane with the missing wheel. Reality hit me when I heard, "Navy1G466 solo--your plane has lost a wheel."

I knew a left downwind was not what we needed. So I had Jeff request a delta pattern for us at 2,500 feet overhead the field. Once tower cleared us for the delta pattern, Jeff called Montana base and told the CDO of our situation. The CDO remained calm on the radio and told us to standby. We then entered a left-hand delta over runway 13L. It eventually would be a 45-minute delta pattern over 13L before a plan was put into place. We were in constant communication with base, which helped put us at ease. If there was any silver lining in having an emergency on a solo flight, it's that it was gear-related. Knowing it was a deferred emergency, we could get things set up in advance.

Circling for nearly an hour gives you a lot of time to think. Ironically, all of the things Jeff and I had discussed now pertained to us. I say this was ironic because, about an hour later, base told us we would have to do a belly landing. Because we already had raised the gear, there was no way we would cycle it for a gear inspection and run the risk of strut problems and worsen our situation. The plane was in a stabilized condition, and we were comfortable with what we had. We reviewed the NATOPS procedures and knew our only time constraint was fuel; we had lots of gas to burn.