Lajes Field workers describe moments before Canadian airliner’s crash landing
By Scott Schonauer,
Rota bureau
Scott Johnson / Courtesy of the U.S.
Air Force
The landing gear after Air Transat Airbus A330 bound from Toronto to Lisbon crash-landed
at Lajes Field in the Portuguese Azores last Friday. |
NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain — Tech Sgt. Bruce Morrow sensed the fear in the
pilot’s voice. It was a desperate call over the radio that hits an air traffic
controller like a caffeine rush.
The Canadian airliner bound from Toronto to Lisbon was 25 minutes from Lajes Field with
only 10 minutes of fuel.
He knew pilot Robert Piche had two options: crash in the Atlantic Ocean or attempt to
glide the plane to the Air Force logistics base in the Portugal’s Azores islands.
Piche asked the more than 300 passengers on board to strap on their life vests.
"I really feel he didn’t think he was going to make it to the island,"
said Morrow, who was on duty that Friday morning. "He thought he was going to crash
into the ocean."
Many people thought Air Transat Airbus A330 was doomed. But what transpired moments
later passengers have called a miracle.
With almost no fuel, no engines and no brakes, Piche avoided tragedy and made an
emergency landing on Terceira Island, 900 miles off the coast of Portugal. Less than a
dozen passengers were injured.
Two Air Force personnel who witnessed the landing described the chain of events leading
up to the dramatic touchdown.
Against the odds
Scott Johnson / Courtesy of
the U.S. Air Force
Firefighters from the 65th Civil Engineer Squadron at Lajes Field in the Portuguese Azores
apply Speedy Dry around the landing gear of the aircraft to absorb the hydraulic fluid. |
Morrow never thought the plane would reach the island.
He was working with a Portuguese controller in the tower that morning when he first
heard about the in-flight emergency. Morrow and his counterpart would play an important
role in helping Piche find the island and the runway.
Although Morrow described the situation as extremely intense, he said it is important
for an air traffic controller in a situation like that to remain calm. Or, at least, give
the pilot the perception that you’re calm.
"You have to just talk easily to the guy," he said. "Don’t let any
nervousness in your voice bleed out."
That became difficult as the situation grew worse. Once the aircraft ran out of fuel,
Morrow was certain the big jetliner would drop like a rock. A successful landing
contradicted physics.
"I thought, ‘What a waste it would be for those people to crash into the
ocean,’" he said.
He immediately picked up the "red phone" to notify firefighters, hospital
workers and emergency personnel.
Little hope
As soon as Staff Sgt. Kendrick D. Melvin got the call around 6:15 a.m., he and 15 other
firefighters quickly slipped into their gear and rushed to their positions along the
runway. They got there in two minutes, he said.
"We wanted to get there as quickly as possible," he said.
The firefighters didn’t know how serious the situation had become until they saw
the plane approach the landing strip without lights. They also had their doubts.
"We knew it didn’t have any power," he said.
To land, Piche had to find the landing strip without his instruments. With the base
slightly covered in darkness and the sun just beginning to rise, he asked the tower to
flash the runway lights. He said it might help him see the runway.
Although controllers are never supposed to flash the lights because it could short
circuit the system, Morrow did it anyway.
"I’m sure the people on base noticed a power fluctuation," he said.
As the plane drifted toward the runway, flight attendants told the passengers to hold
on tight. It would be a hard landing.
On the ground, there was an eerie silence before impact, Melvin said.
As the plane smacked the pavement, the tires burst into flames and the pilot yelled
over the radio, "Fire at my wheels. Fire at my wheels."
Firefighters could feel the ground shake as the plane skidded, its wheels blazing and
leaving a trail of smoke.
"We knew what we had to do," Melvin said.
Safe exit
The first thing was to put out the flames. Then, he thought, "We might have to
climb into the burning aircraft and rescue some of the injured" — a dangerous
scenario.
As the plane screeched to a halt at the end of the runway, Melvin and the rest of the
firefighters dashed to the scene to douse the flames with water. Within minutes, they
extinguished the blaze and passengers began to slide down inflatable chutes to the ground.
"Passengers were coming out one by one," Melvin said. "Some had a look
of shock. Some were in tears."
Medical and security personnel joined the team moments later. Emergency personnel took
care of the injured. Most of the passengers were taken to the civilian air terminal, but a
few were taken to the base medical clinic.
Looking back, Melvin is relieved the incident wasn’t worse and proud of what his
firefighters and the rest of the personnel did. They made it seem routine. Just like they
practiced. In the chaos, everything was in control.
"The situation could have turned at any moment," he said.
Morrow said he also is surprised at how their diverse crew, which includes Americans
and Portuguese airmen, worked so well together.
"It really came together as a team," he said. "It’s unlike any
thing in the Air Force and they came together really well."
He credited the pilot for saving the plane, the crew and the passengers.
"The pilot really did a tremendous job. He’s the hero."
Others credit God.
One of the Portuguese controllers said the people on board were born again that day.
"I firmly believe in that," Morrow said.
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