BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Airmen from the 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aborted an F-15E Strike Eagle mission minutes before takeoff March 12 here when a crew chief noticed an oddity with the flight controls of an aircraft.

Staff Sgt. Justin Wilson, a 494th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief, was watching two taxiing F-15Es at about 11:30 p.m. local time and saw something peculiar as the second aircraft proceeded to the end of runway area to complete preflight preparations.

"We were watching them taxi, and I noticed when the second jet made its turn the left rudder was fully deflected to the right and the right rudder was perfectly straight after
it made the turn," said Wilson, who is deployed from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. "I knew that the pilots were not actually making this happen, and something must be wrong."

Wilson, a native of Malone, N.Y., explained the rudders on the tail fins of the F-15E work in a simultaneous motion when the pilot depresses the pedal to adjust for in-flight stabilization. For them to not move in this manner could cause issues during takeoff and in flight.

After seeing the potential broken jet at the end of runway area receiving final preparations for takeoff, Wilson ran to the area to inform the crew of the problem and advise them to send the jet back to its parking area.

"As crew chiefs we are constantly looking for these malfunctions when we are going through our preflight inspections," Wilson said. "When we launch aircraft, we perform a built-in test with the aircraft's internal computer check to make sure everything is working as it should, and the crew completed that test."

Wilson explained after the jet was launched from its parking spot, the internal controls broke. The malfunction in this case did not occur until the aircraft made a turn on the ground.

"This incident could have definitely caused some problems for the aircraft and crew," said Master Sgt. Jason Bruder, the 494th section chief. "This just shows that our guys are out there to get the mission accomplished. Sergeant Wilson wasn't a part of that launch, (but) was paying attention and ... took action."

In doing so, the crew chief's vigilance potentially saved the lives of the pilots and millions of dollars in equipment.