Lajes Airmen support grounded Canadian P-3

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi
  • 65th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
LAJES FIELD, Azores --  Lajes Airmen gave a helping hand to a Canadian P-3 Orion after an in-flight emergency was declared by the aircraft commander, and the aircraft had to land at Lajes Field Aug. 23.

The P3 was on its way to Canada when the incident occurred.

The 65th Operations Support Squadron and the Portuguese airmen supported the Canadian crew during their stay at Lajes to fix the aircraft.

With six members and a crew commander, the Canadian air force brought five aircraft to refuel at Lajes Aug. 22, but after taking off, one of the aircraft could not continue with them due to oil leakage.

The Lajes air traffic control tower was notified. When Lajes received the call there was an in-flight emergency, Airmen began preparation for the P-3 return. All other supporting base agencies received a notification about the P-3.

The 65th OSS transient alert Airmen was one of the units which supported the grounded P-3.

"When the P-3 came back, we provided towing and 'follow-me' support," said Ronald Hague, F-16 crew chief with the 65th OSS transient alert team. "We took the aircraft where it needed to be so that the maintenance crew could have time to fix it."

In order to repair the damaged oil seals, the parts were flown from Canada to Lajes, which took a few days to accomplish. After the crew fixed the aircraft, they were able to depart Lajes Sept. 3 for their final destination.

According to Staff Joshua Bond, an incident or a mission like this is an opportunity for Airmen here to bolster bilateral relations between the U.S. Air Force and other nations' forces.

"We get to meet people from around the world," Bonds said. "And we get to share stories about our experiences; I think that is pretty cool." And this is just one day in the life of a Lajes Airman."