- 2 -
Flight 7002 originated at Kelly AFB at 1403[1] and proceeded without incident to Dyess AFB where it landed at 1515. There 980 pounds of cargo were off-loaded and 370 pounds, destined for other bases were on-loaded. No maintenance was performed on the aircraft and no fueling was required.
At 1611 Trip 7002 departed Dyess for Carswell AFB, the next scheduled stop. The flight plan specified that the flight would take about 45 minutes and would be made direct in accordance with visual flight rules. The weather conditions were: Scattered clouds at 4,000 and 15,000 feet with visibility of more than 15 miles. Computations indicated that at departure the gross takeoff weight of the aircraft was 44,128 pounds, well under the maximum allowable of 48,000 pounds. Investigation showed the load was properly secured and distributed within the center of gravity limitations of the aircraft.
At 1631 Trip 7002 contacted the Abilene, Texas, Municipal Tower. The pilot stated he was about 30 miles east of Abilene, declaring an emergency, and returning to Dyess. He reported that he had lost elevator control and was on autopilot. The Abilene controller passed this information to the Dyess Tower and requested the flight to contact Dyess. Dyess promptly alerted the Base emergency facilities.
About 1638 the flight contacted Dyess Tower. The pilot reported the flight was on emergency because of the loss of elevator control and would attempt to land at Dyess. He then requested ground-controlled approach (GCA) assistance[2] and the tower controller immediately gave him the GCA frequency and advised him to switch to that facility. The controller advised local traffic of the emergency and gave Trip 7002 complete latitude of action.
Radio communication was established between the flight and GCA and, about 1645, GCA had positive radar contact. Captain Bagus[3] requested a straight-in approach to runway 16 which is 13,500 feet in length. To this end he transmitted, ". . . vector me for a turn now to get lined up for approach for 16. Am going to try dropping my gear pretty soon to see if I can maintain tail trim." Shortly thereafter he transmitted, "Four zero bravo, right, I'm coming straight-in. Have to make a pass or two to try and get my trim and power figured out on this thing. This autopilot is not too easy to operate in this manner, so I'll come directly into one six."
- ↑ All times herein are central standard based on the 24-hour clock.
- ↑ Weather was no factor in this request. GCA assistance would help Captain Bagus in his visual judgment of alignment, distance, and elevation during the approach.
- ↑ From voice identification of the recorded radio transmission between the flight and GCA it was learned that Captain Bagus made nearly all transmissions from N 5140B and made them in an extremely calm manner.
