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DFC awarded after four decades of service
Believed to be the first time in the four-decade history of the A-10 that a pilot has landed with no canopy and landing gear up, the Air Force said Maj. Brett DeVries, an A-10 pilot with the Michigan Air National Guard, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on Friday for an "extraordinary" emergency landing. During a routine training flight, a gun failure caused an explosion that blew away the cockpit canopy, stripped the plane of several panels, and damaged the landing gear.… (news.yahoo.com) Daha Fazlası...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Hey folks, this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Harry Kieling here in Alaska had a weapon malfunction, that damaged the nose wheel landing gear, and had to make a belly landing in 1991. Didn't lose his canopy though... The malfunction and landing was recorded. Here you go! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIUtP08Zijg
Great find and they caught when the malfunction happened as well. I would venture that the actions taken by the pilot of this squawk did what he did due to the previous one.
I thought the story had to do with Delayed Flight Compensation. Took me two years to collect one from Iberia, but it seemed like a decade. Half went to the British company that took them to court.
Rule #1: Fly the airplane.
The main gear are designed to help in controlling gear-up landings. From Wikipedia: "The wheels of the main landing gear partially protrude from their nacelles when retracted, making gear-up belly landings easier to control and less damaging."
Not to detract in any way from the amazing feat of landing this aircraft with minimal damage and no loss of life, but give some credit to the A-10 as well. Engine placement high near the tail definitely helped this landing to have a better outcome. Engines hanging below the wings could have made this a whole different story. Add this story to the history of a great fighting plane.