AIR FORCE HONORS STRIKE EAGLE PILOT WHO LANDED CRIPPLED JET Published Aug. 4, 2011 By Staff Sgt. Richard A. Williams Jr. Air Force Public Affairs Agency WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- A pilot who landed a crippled F-15E Strike Eagle after taking off from Kunsan Air Base, Korea, received the Air Force's most prestigious flight safety award here June 29. Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley presented Capt. Hans Buckwalter, of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, with the 2010 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy for outstanding achievement in airmanship and flying proficiency. On April 8, 2010, Buckwalter successfully landed his jet using only the nose and right main landing gear. Shortly after takeoff, his aircraft experienced a mechanical failure that wedged the left main landing gear in the fuselage. The captain also experienced a similar failure in the right wing landing gear, which he was able to correct. After nearly two hours of unsuccessful attempts to correct the left landing gear problem, Buckwalter, who has logged more than 1,200 flying hours, calmly touched down on the right main landing gear, lowered the nose, and held the left wing tip off the ground until his aircraft engaged the arresting cable. He then lowered the left wing and maintained directional control for nearly 1,000 feet until his F-15E came to a stop and egress procedures were performed. "There is no way I could have done this without the support of my wingman in the air, who constantly updated me on the status of my aircraft, and the assistance of my team on the ground that did everything possible to help me," said Buckwalter, who is now the chief of standardization and evaluations for the 391st Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home. Had his wingman not noticed the issue with his aircraft, he added, he would not have known there was a problem with his landing gear until he attempted to land, and the outcome could have been very different. "A huge part of the outstanding airmanship Captain Buckwalter demonstrated was his effective use of all available resources to minimize the seriousness of the landing gear malfunction," said George Chappel, Air Education and Training Command flight safety manager. "He used his wingman to provide updates on the status of his landing gear while at the same time troubleshooting the malfunction with experts on the ground. His exemplary CRM (crew resource management) enabled him to get his aircraft into the best possible landing configuration; and from there, Captain Buckwalter's exceptional piloting skills took over, and he was able to land his crippled F-15." The Kolligian Trophy, established in 1958, recognizes outstanding feats of airmanship by an aircrew member who, by extraordinary skill, exceptional alertness, ingenuity or proficiency, averts or minimizes the seriousness of an aircraft accident in terms of injury, loss of life, aircraft or property damage, Secretary Donley said. "His (Buckwalter's) actions truly reflect how Airmen rise to the occasion no matter how difficult the circumstances," the secretary added.