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Yesterday on my way out west I noticed center making repeated calls that appeared to be going unanswered. One-sided conversation are common up here due to the vast expanses of airspace and one controller working multiple sectors, but this one was clearly different. Moments later was a call to what appeared to be a military aircraft by the cool sounding call sign with a "request", again I was only getting 1/2 the conversation. The request was to divert to 10nm south of Soldotna and look for an aircraft in distress or down that had placed a call to center stating: "We have lost an engine and are unable to maintain altitude". Sounded like a twin having a bad day.
A few minutes later the controller called a Life Flight with the same request, but this time the last message was more urgent, apparently the pilots final transmission was: "We are not going to make it, we are going down".
What followed was a number of vectors and altitude changes for the aircraft as they approached the point the pilot had dropped of radar. Within a few minutes it was reported the wreckage had been located and all the occupants had survived.
It felt way more personal listening to unfold in real time and I hope if it's ever my turn there is somebody of this caliber on the other end. To often we hear of all that was done wrong, this guy did an absolutely outstanding job.
Jeff
Yesterday on my way out west I noticed center making repeated calls that appeared to be going unanswered. One-sided conversation are common up here due to the vast expanses of airspace and one controller working multiple sectors, but this one was clearly different. Moments later was a call to what appeared to be a military aircraft by the cool sounding call sign with a "request", again I was only getting 1/2 the conversation. The request was to divert to 10nm south of Soldotna and look for an aircraft in distress or down that had placed a call to center stating: "We have lost an engine and are unable to maintain altitude". Sounded like a twin having a bad day.
A few minutes later the controller called a Life Flight with the same request, but this time the last message was more urgent, apparently the pilots final transmission was: "We are not going to make it, we are going down".
What followed was a number of vectors and altitude changes for the aircraft as they approached the point the pilot had dropped of radar. Within a few minutes it was reported the wreckage had been located and all the occupants had survived.
It felt way more personal listening to unfold in real time and I hope if it's ever my turn there is somebody of this caliber on the other end. To often we hear of all that was done wrong, this guy did an absolutely outstanding job.
Jeff
