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Show 26 May 10. 2001 Dry lake bed, crew's skill helps by 2nd Lt Dan Bernath Air Force Flight Test Center Public Affairs EDWARDS AFB, Calif. Skillful flying and a forgiving surface averted a potential disaster May 2 as the crew of a C-- 5 Galaxy brought its disabled air- craft to a safe landing on Rogers Dry Lake. After landing without the front landing gear, the aircraft's eight crew members and nine passengers walked away uninjured. While maintenance people are assessing the aircraft, the Galaxy seems to have sustained little damage. The massive cargo plane from Travis AFB, Calif., was traveling to Colorado Springs, Colo., on the first leg of a supply mission to Mildenhall Royal AFB, England. Shortly after its 2 a.m. takeoff, the crew of Air Force reservists and active duty members, all from Travis, discovered the nose landing gear door was stuck, preventing the landing gear from going down. "We realized immediately something was wrong," said Maj. Greg Lloyd, a reservist with the 301st Airlift Squadron at Travis, and aircraft commander. The crew made several attempts at landing at Travis before abandoning the idea. "We were just turning circles there," said Lloyd. as well as some "We tried every trick in the book that weren't - but it just wasn't going to work." However, Lloyd said he and fellow pilot Maj. Scott Paffenroth, also with the 301st AS, were thinking Edwards from the start. "The first thing out of our mouths at 2:30 a.m. was, 'if we've got to land this thing, let's go to that big beautiful lake bed at Edwards," he said. Among the largest aircraft in the world, the Galaxy demands long, sturdy runways in the best of flying June 14-1- 19-2- 6, 20051 3; 1 conditions. Without the landing gear, the momentum of the hulking airframe makes it very difficult to controL Lloyd said having the lake bed available was a huge confidence booster for the crew. "We had options," he said. "We could have landed at Beale (AFB, Calif.), but the downside is that their runway is concrete and asphalt You're talking about very little room for error there. With that lake bed (at Edwards), you can just let the momentum (of the aircraft) grind itself to a halt" For the nine passengers on board - all retired or active duty military members taking advantage of the Air Force's space available flight program - the experience was jarring. However, they said they never doubted their safe landing. The pilot was calm, cool - he knew his business," said Tony Abrazado from San Diego. "He said this was something he could handle, so we never worried." In fact, most of the passengers couldn't believe how smooth the landing actually was. To be honest, I didn't really believe we had actually landed without our landing gear - it was so soft -- at least, not until we got off the plane and saw it," said Edward Home, also from San Diego. Lloyd agreed the landing went as well as they could have expected. "It worked great" he said. The crew worked really well together to make this happen," he said. All the same, it's not an experience he wants to repeat. "It's definitely not something you look forward to," he said. "But it's an opportunity to do our job. This is what we train for." It's also what Edwards' response teams train for. The base's firefighters, hospital staff, aircrews, air field operations, safety officers and weather specialists all had a part in preparing for the emergency landing. "Our emergency response vehicles were out there immediately," said Col. Howard Lewis, 412th Test Wing vice commander. "Within two minutes, they had people getting off the aircraft According to Col. Robert Hood, Air Force Flight Test Center vice commander, this emergency landing was just the latest example of the immense value lake bed. of the "Edwards' lake beds have always been a godsend for our aircrews," he said. There's just no telling how many tragedies those lake beds have avoided." Hood speaks from experience. On Oct 4, 1989, he Lancer that used the lake bed flew chase to a after its nose landing gear got stuck, escorting the crippled aircraft to a safe landing. Then, as was the case May 2, all four of the Lancer's crew members walked away, and the bomber sustained minimal damage. Aviators have relied on the smooth, hard surface of Rogers - as well as its smaller neighbor,-RosamonDry Lake since the early '30s as ideal emergency landing sites. Since the dawn of the jet age in the mid '40s, the lake beds made Edwards a fantastic location for flight testing, and Hood credits the natural runways with saving hundreds of lives and millions of dollars worth of equipment He said having that safety net is part of the secret of Edwards' success as a flight test center. 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