Three react quickly, resolve FOD issue

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Siuta B. Ika
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Thanks to the quick actions of three Team Holloman members, a foreign object debris issue was handled before any Holloman asset was compromised.

Kieshawn Vaughus and Cory Gardner, both contracted electricians, and Arnold Adkins, a contracted equipment operator, noticed blown-out tire tread on the runway and acted swiftly to take care of the problem.

"I happened to look over and I saw what I first thought was coyote droppings," said Mr. Vaughus. "Arnold went closer to look and discovered it was rubber, so we went ahead and made the call to the tower."

Making the call to the tower would prove to be more difficult than the three would have thought, explained Mr. Gardner.

"There was a C-130 coming in to land on another runway so there was a lot of radio chatter," he said. "We all thought about what we should do and we kept trying to contact the tower but we couldn't get through. I tried to call the tower on the phone four or five times and finally Arnold got through to them on his hand-held set and told them there was a FOD issue."

"There was a lot of confusion on the radio about where the C-130 was going to park and how it was going to unload," said Mr. Adkins. "Cory and I both have radios because we work in close proximity to the runway, but we didn't really want to interrupt what they were trying to do with the C-130 so that's why he called them on his cell phone."

From there, ground control came to inspect the FOD, said Mr. Gardner.

"We work about 100 feet from the incident site and when Airfield Ops came, we told them a Tornado was the last plane that took off," he said. "We didn't actually see it come off the plane, but that's what we agreed it came from."

Ground Control was then able to relay the information to the appropriate agencies who communicated directly with the aircraft to have one of the wingmen inspect the tire in question, said 1st Lt. Wesley Crowder, 49th Operations Support Squadron operations officer.

"It is understood that the pilot was unaware that the tire tread had blown during takeoff," he said. "The quick action from these contractors most likely contributed directly to the aircraft landing safely on the ground."

Combined, the three have worked at Holloman for over 24 years, but their experience didn't play a role in dealing with the FOD issue.

"I had never seen anything like that on the runway," said Mr. Vaughus. "I was glad the pilot was safe, the plane landed safely and everything worked out."

The training they received for working on the flight line proved beneficial in their decision making, said Mr. Gardner and Mr. Adkins.

"We saw the FOD and we've been through briefings with our safety officer and he's always told us that if we see anything to report it, so that's what we did," Mr. Gardner said.

"We did what we were told in all of the airfield briefings -- to keep our eyes open and if we see anything, not be afraid to report it," said Mr. Adkins.

Although their actions saved Air Force assets and they were presented a letter of appreciation from Col. Kevin Huyck, 49th Wing vice commander, and Lt. Col. Joern Apelt, German Air Force Flying Training Center vice commander, the three remain humble.

"We were at the right place at the right time," said Mr. Vaughus. "Someone's life could've been at stake and possibly our own if it didn't get cleaned up. It could've gotten ugly, so we did what we were supposed to do."