FORT RILEY, Kan. -- A small, private aircraft that malfunctioned and its pilot were assisted by a multi-agency effort including air traffic control specialists and range control staff from Fort Riley's Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, as well as Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center and Clay Center Volunteer Fire Department.
The incident began around 8:30 a.m. Jan. 31, and ended 10 minutes later when the pilot set his Cessna Centurion down with the landing gear up at Clay Center Municipal Airport, said David Heisler, ATC specialist, DPTMS. The pilot, who was flying alone, was not hurt, Heisler added.
"I was notified by Kansas City Center that an aircraft was having power issues," Heisler said.
At the time, Heisler said, the aircraft was about 10 miles west of Clay Center.
"I asked the pilot if he was declaring an emergency," Heisler said. "And he said 'yes.'"
At that point, ATC specialists are required to assess the situation and ask the pilot questions including how many people are onboard, amount of fuel remaining and the pilot's intentions.
Initially the pilot wanted to land at Manhattan Regional Airport. But complicating a direct route to Manhattan was a live-fire exercise being executed at Fort Riley; an event that posed a risk to the pilot and the plane.
"We did ask him (the pilot) if he could make it around the south (edge) of the Fort Riley ranges," said Joseph Bennett, an ATC specialist with DPTMS. "But he said he needed to get the aircraft down now."
At that point Emmily Smith, another ATC specialist for DPTMS, coordinated notification of Range Control in order to deconflict the airspace and allow the plane to fly directly to Manhattan Regional Airport.
"The effort resulted in a cease-fire in less than a minute," Bennett said.
Ultimately, however, the pilot decided he needed to get his aircraft out of the air, Heisler said, and decided to set it down at the Clay Center airfield.
Air Traffic Controller Keith Land, who was also assisting with the incident, contacted the Clay Center Volunteer Fire Department. Firefighters were there to assist the pilot within six to seven minutes, Land said.
"I asked him to notify me when he set it down, since that was an uncontrolled airfield," Heisler said, meaning that the airport does not have an operational air traffic control tower.
Routine training and experience on the part of all air traffic controllers with the Fort Riley Approach Control Services team made this type of assistance seem routine. And they are always in contact with, not only Marshall Army Airfield, but also emergency agencies and airfields at Clay Center, Manhattan and Junction City.
"They handled it just the way they should have," said Doug James, the controller-in-charge on duty during the emergency. "They made it easy for me."
According to tower chief George Mummert, the team involved "represented a blend of controllers from those senior to Marshall Army Airfield to new controllers, still in training. Their quick thinking and immediate action are a testament to the professionalism they have as individuals, as well as the high standards which our ATC Chief, Ralph Millard, holds us to, and instills in our work force every day."
Social Sharing