For Keeping A Cool Head Under The Circumstances

Air Safety Week,  August 29, 2005  

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Two cockpit crews who exhibited superior airmanship when confronted with potentially disastrous developments in the air were recently recognized by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA):

* A Superior Airmanship Award went to an American Eagle crew, Capt. Barry Gottshall and First Officer Wesley Greene. On a Jan. 19, 2004 flight from Bangor, Maine to Boston, immediately after takeoff, the rudder controls of their Embraei 135 aircraft jammed, causing an uncontrolled yaw and roll to the right. As the crew struggled to maintain level flight in the severely cross-controlled jet, they declared an emergency and began a return to the Bangor airport. Deteriorating visibility meant that they had to keep to the narrow path projected by the ILS (instrument landing system), a difficult task when holding the aircraft in 15-20 degrees of bank just to maintain course. The crew completed a successful landing, after which full rudder control was mysteriously restored. Inspection revealed that both aft rudder control rods were broken. The reason for the rod breakage is still under investigation.

* The second Superior Airmanship Award went to Capt. Brian Witcher and First Officers Donald Arlotta and Ross Windom, a United Airlines B767 crew that encountered massive electrical failures on an April 13, 2004 flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Miami. At about 11:10 p.m., while cruising at 31,000 feet over the jungles of southern Colombia, the crew was jolted by the autopilot warning horn, an uncommanded switchover to standby lighting, and a blank first officer's display screen. As the crew struggled to diagnose the problem, and with the Andes Mountains lurking somewhere out in the dark, the situation deteriorated dramatically. Soon, the captain's instruments began to fail, and all their radios failed before they were able to contact Bogota air traffic control. Efforts to restore power and radio contact produced only limited, intermittent results. Running only on battery power and still 200 miles from the Bogota airport, options were running out. The crew reduced electrical consumption to an absolute minimum, even eliminating the outside warning lights. Miraculously, they were able to nurse 41 minutes of power from a battery certified to last for only 30 minutes, and landed safely. Investigation later revealed that corrosion on a bracket had short-circuited the electrical system.

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