Fitness

Crash pod flies again thanks to Shaw's can-do attitude

Story and photos by Senior Airman Lee Watts
Staff writer
All the king's men may have not have been able
to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but if
Humpty had been in the Air Force he might have
had a shot. When a Shaw jet had a mishap causing
damage to its electric countermeasures
pod, the experts said it was unsalvageable, but the
maintainers of the 20th Component Repair Squadron
refused to accept that answer.
Because of their dedication and skill, the ECM
pod is fully functional and is still flown today.
The mishap happened at Charleston Air Force
Base in February 200 I. The Shaw jet diverted to
Charleston AFB because of a mechanical problem.
Upon landing, the pilot had to use the arresting hook
to "catch the barrier."
Catching the barrier is a phrase used to describe
the process of an aircraft using its arresting hook to
catch a cable that helps to slow and stop the air-
Before: The crash pod
arrived in a condition some
believed was beyond repair.
:lamaging the ECM pod."
craft. This is the
way Navy jets
have to land on
carriers because
they have far less
runway space, but
this is not the norm
for Air Force
aircraft and is only
used in emergen-
cies.
According to
Tech. Sgt. David
Pursey, Electronic
Warfare Systems/
Sensors Flight
production superin-
tendent, "During
the landing, the
barrier cable
broke, wrapping
around the aircraft,
causing it to spin
around three times
and heavily
ECM pods are positioned on the bottom ofF-16s
Jetween the two main landing gear wheels. ECM
Jods are used to jam enemy radar and surface to air
nissiles. They provide a measure of defense for
>haw's jets as they perform the wing's mission of
;uppression of enemy air defenses.
After the mishap, Shaw dispatched a team to
1ssess the damage to the pod. Staff Sgt. Charles
W'eber, EWSS team leader was in charge of the
1ssessment. "When I first saw how damaged the
JOd was my first thought was, 'I hope I get to fix
t, "' said Weber.
Senior Airman Michael Sahlbom, also a member
Jf the assessment team, said, "I felt really proud
Nhen they selected me to go examine the pod.
W'hen I first saw it I thought, 'Wow! What in the
Norld happened?"'
After the initial assessment, the pod was sent to
he ECM pod depot at Robins AFB, Ga., for further
:xamination. Depot is a place where a specific
Jrogram (in this case, avionics) is managed and
During: Senior Airman Michael Sahlbom (left) and gtaff Sgt. charies Weber /right) spent months
the pod back together. Their efforts saved the wing more than a million dollars.
serves as a central repair facility for heavily dam-
aged items. A depot is a collection of experts in the
field of a system, including civilian engineers,
equipment specialists and item managers.
Pursey said the depot thought the pod was
beyond repair. "Since depot didn' t want it, we asked
if we could have it back to see if it could be rebuilt,"
he said. The depot sent the pod back and repairs
began.
During the course of repairs, an aircraft from
the 388th Fighter Squadron from Hill AFB, Utah,
also had a mishap. Since their pod was also consid-
ered beyond repair, Shaw asked for and received it,
too.
Taking parts from the two damaged pods, work
continued to make one good one. "We had to
rebuild, replace or manu facture virtually every part
of the pod. It was so badly damaged we had to
completely dismantle it and start from scratch," said
Weber.
With such a complex piece of equipment, even
the smallest detail can cause it to not function
properly.
"We put a lot of care into each detail and wire
twist," said Weber.
Sahlbom agreed, "The job took a lot of heart and
soul."
Part of that detailed work included Weber
spending two months using a magnifying glass to
rewire the small components in the pod. "I would
estimate we repaired I ,500 pins in the pod," said
Weber. Those "pins" carry messages like logic,
voltage, codes and other things the pod uses to
function.
Weber estimated more than 2,000 man-hours
went into rebuilding the pod.
Master Sgt. Bruce Hill, EWSS Section Superin-
tendent, said, "Even though there are three people
who did a great deal of it, the entire shop pulled
together to save the pod. It's the above and beyond
effort the flight put in that made this such an accom
1
-
plishment."
The three people he referrs to are Weber and
Sahlbom, who are still part of the 20th FW, and
Senior Airman Shane Glenn, who has since PCS'd -
to Korea.
With the work completed, the pod was painted
and tested.
"There was a lot of work and prayer being
tested on that first flight," said Weber.
Due to the dedication, can-do attitude and
technical expertise of the maintainers, the pod ran
perfectly on its first test and has since been retume
to service.
Pursey said, ''Taking the initiative to salvage the
pod saved the wing $ 1.3 million and contributed to
Shaw maintainers being named best in the Air Force
last year."
After: Members of the 20th Fighter Wing's Electronic Warfare Systems/Sensors Flight pose May 9 witl
the rebuilt, and now fully functional, electronic countermeasures pod.