Crew Chief Safety Award Of Distinction - Brief Article

Senior Airman Guy W. Arndt, Jr., and Airman 1st Class William D. Timmons 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Wing Whiteman AFB, Mo.

Just after engine shutdown during recovery operations on a B-2A aircraft, Airman Timmons was retrieving equipment from the crew entry way when he noticed a bright blue flash from within the aircraft's crew compartment. He immediately proceeded up the ladder into the crew compartment. Airman Arndt was positioning an aircraft tow vehicle and simultaneously noticed the blue flash coming from inside the cockpit so he proceeded into the aircraft. Upon entry, the two airmen noticed sparks and smoke bellowing from a wire bundle located above the sustenance container. They notified the aircrew to immediately evacuate the aircraft while they remained on board to find the cause. Realizing it was an electrical problem, they battled through smoke to turn off the aircraft's power systems and pull all related circuit breakers. Despite these actions, the wire bundle once again re-ignited. With only seconds to react, Airman Arndt exited the aircraft and positioned the fire bottle while Airman Timmons grabbed the fire hose and returned to the crew compartment and extinguished the fire. The cause of the fire was later determined to be a chaffed wire bundle positioned only inches from the aircraft's oxygen generation and distribution system (OGADS). Ignition of the OGADS would have created a catastrophic explosion and probable loss of the aircraft. A one-time inspection was initiated on the entire B-2 fleet and the wire bundle was modified to eliminate the possibility of recurrence. The actions of Airmen Arndt and Timmons saved the lives of two aircrew members and a $2.2 billion weapons platform.

COPYRIGHT 2001 U.S. Department of the Air Force
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group