Tonight’s “Buzz’s Bedtime Stories"! This is a flying story from days of yore, and it’s a good one. Let's call it "Sneaking Around the World." Tuck in. Pour a cup of tea, spark up the fireplace, and turn it up.
During my years flying in the Air Force, I was involved in several “extracurricular” missions: special operations working with the SEALs and Delta Force and CIA/DEA missions around the world, to name a few. We flew C-141s into places we weren’t supposed to be, and filed our flight plans surreptitiously. We wore jeans, or shorts, and sport shirts. No uniforms, no American flags. We were as “sanitized” as possible. And we kept a very low profile. At least as low as a heavy jet can keep.
All I knew, as the aircraft commander, is that I had a mission directive, I had some very special passengers and cargo, and I had a letter signed by the President of the United States that said I could go wherever I and my crew needed to go. [In case you missed my last column, you can find that here!]
It was a fun mission and a nice departure from our normal operations. There were only a few crews chosen to fly those, and I really enjoyed being off-the-radar a little. We’d go to places well off the beaten path like, for example, India, Thailand, and Malaysia. We’d also frequented most of the countries in the Middle East. The region’s always been a wild card and we were involved.
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On one particular mission, we were tasked to fly multiple places in, and around, the Middle East. On this particular run, we transited Sicily, Egypt, Turkey, Cypress, Pakistan, and Israel. Again, we stayed off the grid as much as we possibly could.
On one particular leg, we were tasked to fly to Islamabad, Pakistan, and offload people and “cargo.” We were supposed to be there for roughly 30 minutes and then beat feet. In and out was the plan. Quickly and quietly.
We landed in Islamabad and taxied to a remote ramp away from the terminal and potential eyes. It was frikking hot and humid. We offloaded quickly and prepped to fly out. Our next stop was Rome and some much needed crew rest. Some showers, some good food, and a beer or two. The guys were excited.
The American Embassy guys who met the jet were leaning over us and emphasizing how we needed to get out of there before the sunset. The sun was setting and it was getting close. As we fired up the engines (there are 4 on the C-141), we couldn’t get number 2 started. The engine was getting gas, but the starter valve wouldn’t turn. The U.S. Embassy rep was freaking out. “You can’t stay here, tonight! It’s too dangerous!” I turned to one of my favorite flight engineers with the three engines running and asked, “What can we do?”
The crews selected for these classified missions were the best of the best. I knew I could trust these guys implicitly. “I’ll malletize it, sir!” he said and jumped out of his seat headed down to the engine. Meaning he was going to hammer the starter on number 2 until it fired. Not an approved technique but one with which I’d worked with before. Like a charm, it worked and we got out of there. We headed out for the long flight to Rome to spend the night before we headed home to Washington, D.C., the next day.
At about midnight, directly over Cairo, Egypt, the number 2 engine decided it’d had enough. The engine shelled out. Gone. A husk. We ran checklists and shut it down. Thankfully, no fire.
Now, my decision is to find a divert location on three engines with highly sensitive passengers and cargo. The crew, of course, wanted to continue on to Rome, but there was no USAF maintenance there and we knew our American footprint with a large broken jet at the Rome International Airport wasn’t ideal. I got on the radios with Air Mobility Command headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, IL, and we discussed our options. I chose NAS Sigonella, on the island of Sicily. It was a secure US Naval Base, they had C-141 maintenance, and we had the fuel to make it.
The boys groused a little, but they understood. Ultimately, we had to fly a 3-engine approach in marginal weather at Sig at 2 AM local time. I flew the approach in fog and low ceilings. We broke out and landed. It seemed like the entire base was there to meet us! Cops, fire trucks, special operations personnel, the works.
