7th Engineer Battalion assists Boeing, Air Force in moving damaged C-17 in Afghanistan

By Staff Sgt. Juan Delgado, Task Force Red Devils JournalistApril 26, 2012

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(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Soldiers assigned to 7th Engineer Battalion assisted Boeing and U.S. Air Force personnel with moving a damaged airplane April 16 at Forward Operating Base Shank. Moving the aircraft involved many different organizations working together. The project took several steps that involved engineers, logisticians and civilians from Boeing.

On Jan. 23, a C-17 airplane overshot the runway, and the ensuing crash damaged the plane's front landing gear and underbelly. The airplane came to rest beyond the runway on the other side of a wadi. The final crash site put the airplane in a position where the Air Force and Boeing had to make an important decision: whether the $218 million plane would be salvaged for parts or recovered and repaired. The latter decision would save the Air Force a considerable amount of money.

"When we came to conclusion that we had to move this airplane, I approached the U.S Army Engineers for assistance, due to their knowledge and resources," said U.S Air Force Master Sgt. Roy Osman, aircraft maintenance supervisor, 446th Air Wing, McChord Air Force Base, Washington.

His first meeting was with Master Sgt. Samuel Ford, senior maintenance NCO, 661st Engineer Company, Illinois National Guard. He eventually partnered Osman with Sgt. 1st Class Pierre Dye, engineer project manager, 7th Engineer Battalion. Osman and Dye came together and drew up the initial plan.

Once the initial plan was complete, three Soldiers from 661st Engineer Company were first to put the plan into action by clearing, grubbing and leveling the initial crash site.

"The initial work was a little problematic due to the snow on the ground and lack of soil available to level the ground, but after six days, my team of Spc. Daniel Baker … and Spc. Jordan Hale … were able to get the ground ready to move the airplane 180 degrees toward the runway," said Staff Sgt. Brandon Mitchell, heavy equipment operator, 661st Engineers.

A recovery team from Boeing did everything possible to get the airplane ready for the move while the earthwork was under way.

"We cleaned out the front of the plane where a platform was made in order to be able to place the airplane on a 916 flatbed," said Michael Biggs, manager, Recovery and Modification Services, Boeing, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

The moment of truth occurred on March 9. It was time to move the airplane from its original place.

"We used this date as a benchmark to see whether the airplane was going to be able to handle the stress of a move, since this was the third time we had to recover an airplane of this size, but never in a situation like this," said Scott Henning, senior engineer, Boeing, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

A few lessons were learned during the five-hour move that helped with planning the next step.

"(Because) one of the landing gears was not fully operational, I offered the lead civilian engineer a suggestion," said Pfc. Jeffrey Browning, Forward Support Company, 7th Engineer Battalion. "If we anchor one side of the airframe's landing gear and pivot the steer by pulling on the opposite side landing gear with a separate recovery vehicle, it would allow the plane to make the necessary short radius turn."

It proved to be a successful strategy that was later implemented.

"My initial thought was the complexity of the move: using general engineering and maintenance equipment to move an aircraft of that size within the Engineer Battalion would require the right Soldiers with a good working knowledge of the equipment," Dye said.

"We selected Sgt. Andrew King, Spc. Kenneth Holley, Sgt. Christopher Welch and Pfc. Browning to be the drivers for the HEMTT (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck) wreckers, due to their technical knowledge and prior recovery experience," said Capt. Michael Carroll, FSC commander.

Once the airplane was turned around facing the runway, the team planned the next step.

"Since the airplane was located on the other side of a wadi, a bridge had to be created in order to get the plane back on the runway. The problem was that it required a significant amount of earthwork due to the size and potential flooding issues an earth bridge could create," said Sgt. 1st Class Steven Maki, S-3 operation NCO and senior horizontal construction engineer, 7th Engineer Battalion.

To identify the right amount of construction materials, the wadi and surrounding area needed to be surveyed.

"I brought two of my engineering assistants from off site to gather topographical information that was necessary for the design," said U.S Air Force Maj. Mel Ibarreta, 777 Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron officer in charge. "Two areas needed to be surveyed: the north end of the runway where the plane was going to cross the wadi and the south end where the runway and taxi way meet.

"Tech. Sgt. Ursula Rothweiler … and Senior Airman Matthew Ogden … were the right airmen for this project," Ibarreta continued. "Their contributions were essential in creating a plan that could be successfully executed."

While conducting the survey, a hydrologist was brought in to assess the area and what type of materials needed to be used to prevent flooding.

"The survey data was analyzed, and we came up with a plan that would allow the earth bridge to be built and also allow the proper drainage," Dye said.

"We had our operators set a base foundation of larger rock; then we placed geotextile over it, which would prevent the soil placed from eroding," Maki said.

"While the we awaited the rock delivery, we worked on the south end taxi-way, since it needed to be expanded and a culvert needed to be extended due to the size and the radius turn the plane required," said Sgt. Dennis Stout, senior equipment operator and NCOIC, 661st Engineer Company.

"The job required additional help, so the Air Force was able to provide three additional operators to allow with a timely completion of the project," said Spc. Richard O'Hearn, equipment operator, 661st Engineers.

Once the south taxi-way was complete, the main effort shifted to the bridge over the wadi.

"With the additional help from the Air Force, we were able to multitask many of the different pieces of equipment at the same time," Stout said. "Master Sgt. Ford was taking care of the equipment behind the scenes. As a piece of equipment would need service, he would ensure that the maintenance Soldiers back in the bays provided that service support, so the equipment stayed fully mission capable."

Once the earth bridge was formed over the wadi, AM-2 matting was placed over it to provide additional support for the airplane's weight as it crossed the bridge. "Soldiers, airmen and civilians who work throughout FOB Shank came together to ensure that the AM-2 matting was positioned in the right place," Dye said.

"During the construction pro-cess of both the south taxi-way and wadi, 2-82 Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, provided us with support by scheduling flights in and out of FOB Shank around our work schedule; without that, the project would have taken longer," Dye said. "The project would also (have) not been completed without the support of the FOB Shank Fire Department, who provided us with the water necessary to compact and complete the project."

The day before the plane was scheduled to move, a rehearsal was conducted where all the key players came together.

"We wanted to make sure that everyone involved in the movement of the plane knew their roles. We also wanted the sun and all the elements to be as close as possible for the move scheduled the next day," said Henning.

At 6:35 a.m. April 16, the plane made its initial move. After about six feet into the move, the plane shifted, causing a little concern among the leadership. After re-tightening the straps and chains, the team attempted a second movement. This time, the plane did not stop and continued to roll over the manmade bridge and onto the runway. Once on the runway, the plane continued to move until it was stopped to readjust the straps and chains before the next turn onto the taxi-way.

"Everyone was excited to see the plan come to completion, where the plane was in its resting place, which took a little under an hour," Maki said. "We planned the move to last at least four hours, but with the new tires placed on the aircraft and all the hard work by the operators, the move was a bigger success than planned," Dye said.

As the airplane came to rest at its temporary repair location, one could see the excitement in all the personnel involved in this historical move.

"It was very good learning experience to do something to help our sister branch in recovering a piece of equipment so valuable. The mission allowed outside elements to see the knowledge base, skill set and professionalism of the Soldiers in the unit and the pride they take in their work," Dye said. "This was a project that each person hopefully will look at and say they were a part of a team that helped move a C-17."

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