The Last Flight of Four Papa Mike

by Peter Julier

Rockies typically brings strong gusting winds that change often. With clearance from ground control, Gary pushed in the throttle and taxied to the run-up area at the Charlie One taxiway.

  During his taxi out he checked his turn coordinator and his flight controls; it's amazing how easily they move without any wind load on them. At the run- up area with his feet firmly planted on the brakes, he advanced the throttle to 4000 rpm. After the magneto check, he turned on the carburetor heat and looked for an indication of an increase of outside air temperature telling him the engine was receiving hot air from the exhaust. With the engine back to idle power, he checked his seatbelt and ensured that the canopy was properly locked. He called the tower and was instructed to taxi to and hold short of Runway Three-Five Right.

  While waiting on the hold line for a Cessna Citation to land, he glanced over the instrument panel and checked his trim and flap setting one last time. Just think--in about two hours I'll be touching down probably on this very runway, unless the wind calms down and I can use Two Eight, shortening my taxi time he thought to himself. Just then, his thoughts were interrupted. "Gobosh Four Papa Mike clear for takeoff, fly runway heading until you reach the north shore of the reservoir then turn west, but remain east of I-25." Gary repeated the instructions and advanced the throttle to full power. The Gobosh sprinted forward and the airspeed came alive: 10, 20, 30 knots; the flight controls now had some resistance as he worked the rudder to correct for the P-factor and held some left aileron for the crosswind. As the airspeed needle approached 45 knots and the airplane was moments from galloping into the air, suddenly Gary heard a loud bang from below the floor and felt the airplane shudder. He knew better than to abort the takeoff at this speed, and seconds later the Gobosh was airborne.

  The first thing he noticed was a vibration and a whistling noise so loud it drowned out everything he heard over his headset. He turned the volume control up. His first thought was that the engine blew; he looked at his engine monitor display and none of the digital numbers were flashing, and all indications were normal. The Gobosh started to bank hard to the right. He moved the control stick to the left, but it felt very sluggish and gave very little aileron response. In a state of near-panic and confusion, he was about to make the distress call to the tower when he heard the conversation between the tower and the Cessna 172 that was number two for takeoff behind him call, "Centennial tower Cessna Three Four Victor, we just had to abort the takeoff because of debris on the runway." "Cessna Three Four Victor exit the runway when able, and tell me what kind of debris are you seeing." "It looks pieces of rubber, fiberglass and some metal." The mystery was solved: Gary had blown a tire on takeoff. The tower immediately called the next inbound for Runway Three-Five Right. "Katana Five Niner Foxtrot switch over to Runway Three-Five Left due to debris on Three-Five Right." The Katana acknowledged and Gary finally made his call. "Centennial tower Gobosh Four Papa Mike I need to return to the field with a mechanical emergency." "Gobosh Four Papa Mike make an immediate left crosswind turn for Runway Three-Five Left. How many souls on board sir?" "I'll try, but I have very limited aileron control and I'm the only one on board. I'm also a student pilot." Gary tried to coax the airplane into a very shallow left turn, but the control stick felt like it was in a bucket of wet cement. He couldn't get the airplane to bank to the left. He added more left rudder and then he was in a skid. He opened the left sliding vent in the canopy to try to overcome the feeling of nausea. Terrified doesn't even come close to describing how he felt at this moment; so helpless, afraid and alone. If he's going to turn it will have to be to the right, but turning into a damaged wing is the last thing he wanted to do. "Centennial tower Gobosh Four Papa Mike I'm unable to turn a left crosswind. Can I make a right pattern for Three-Five Left?" "Gobosh Four Papa Mike right hand pattern approved." "Right hand pattern for Runway Three-Five Left Gobosh Four Papa Mike." "Gobosh Four Papa Mike we had a report from another aircraft that departed after you. They saw a lot of debris on the runway. It appears you blew a tire on takeoff, and from what we can see from the tower it looks like it was the tire on the right side. We are diverting all inbound traffic until we get you on the ground, so you will be alone in the pattern. We have the emergency equipment rolling as well. You are cleared to land Runway Three-Five Left, winds are 310 at 14 gusting to 16." Gary eased the stick to the right; the airplane went into a steep 45-degree bank, and in a moment of sheer panic he yanked it back to the left. The Gobosh returned to level flight, but he unintentionally lost about 400 feet of altitude. The tower quickly noticed this sudden descent. "Gobosh Four Papa Mike are you able to maintain pattern altitude?" Gary slowly pushed in the throttle. "I'll do my best." He was so nervous he forgot to add his call sign. At this point, what does it matter? he thought to himself.

  Climbing at close to full power, the airplane was heading for a very populated area east of the airport; he needed to turn her to the south. In minute increments he brought the stick towards the neutral position, and the airplane began to bank to the right. That's it, hold her right there, a little more rudder--that's it! Finally the airplane was heading south on the downwind leg. He was a little too far to the left, but in this moment it was the best he could do.

  Gary looked down at the waiting runway below and saw the flashing lights on top of the airport operations vehicle parked on his departure runway. He then noticed the yellow fire trucks streaking across the ramp. The nose of the crippled Gobosh started to dip. He pulled back on the stick and was relieved to find that the elevator control was still functioning properly and smooth.

  The airplane was constantly trying to roll to the right, and persistent pressure was needed on the stick to try and keep the wings level. Just how far would she roll if I let her? Gary thought, but was too frightened to see what the Gobosh would do if he didn't hold the stick to the left. Judging by how hard it was to control the bank angle, and the strong vibration he could feel throughout the cockpit, the airplane must have sustained a serious amount of damage. The noise in the cockpit was adding to the unsettledness of the situation. He took a few moments to think of his family, and wondered if he'd ever see them again. Things like this just aren't supposed to happen, at least not to me he thought.

  It was time to start setting up for landing, but no ordinary landing--a crash landing. How was he going to land an airplane with a missing tire and God knows what else? Maybe a seasoned pilot could handle it, but for him, it would be nothing short of a miracle if he walks away from this landing. Where was his instructor John right now? Probably sitting at his desk in the flight center reading the current issue of Plane & Pilot while enjoying a cup of fresh coffee.

  The airplane was almost abeam the numbers for the runway, and Gary started to set up for landing. He reduced his airspeed and turned on the carb heat and fuel pump. He reached for the flap handle, then decided that with an unknown amount of damage to the right wing he better not risk it; the last thing he needs is to have his flaps out of symmetry. "Gobosh Four Papa Mike wind now 270 at 15, would you prefer Runway Two-Eight instead?" the tower asked. He took the question into careful consideration. Runway Two-Eight would be better for the wind, but it is shorter by a little over two thousand feet. The fact that he was just about to fly over Two-Eight was another problem; switching now would prolong his time fighting to control the Gobosh, and he didn't want to put off the inevitable much longer--he wanted to get on the ground ASAP. At this point he was willing to put her down in a soccer field. Judging by the vibration, there was no telling how much longer the crippled airplane would hold out. Not realizing how long he was taking to think it over, the tower asked, "Gobosh Four Papa Mike, did you copy?" Gary responded, "Yes, I copy. I'll stick with Three-Five Left Gobosh Four Papa Mike." "Roger Gobosh Four Papa Mike cleared to land Runway Three-Five Left."

  Gary momentarily removed one hand from the throttle so he could use both hands to push the stick to gently roll the airplane to the right. He gently eased the Gobosh into another right hand turn for the bas
e leg. "Come on sweetheart, one more turn after this and then it's straight to the numbers," Gary said aloud. Even though the outside temperature hadn't even reached the 60s, he could now feel the beads of sweat form on his forehead. His palms were sweaty from the tight grip he had on the stick.

  His rate of descent was more than he'd ever encountered in this airplane, as the severely injured aircraft was limping to the tarmac. Turning onto final, Gary thought to himself, How do I prepare for this? Should I dead stick it in for the final moments so I can shut off the fuel and master switch to prevent a fire? Oh, if only John was here. No, he would keep the engine running just in case he needed to do a go-around. Then he suddenly remembered to unlock the canopy: the most important step to assure he wouldn't get trapped inside a burning aircraft. As he unlocked the left side he realized the severity of the situation, then reached across and unlocked the right side.

  About a mile out he saw three fire engines spread out along the runway. The crosswind was starting to blow him off to the