Mark Hennessey

I remember this day and event very well. I was a USAF Test Pilot School Instructor at that time, and just happened to be the Edwards AFB Supervisor of Flying (SOF) on that day. After hearing that a B-1B with a nose landing gear that was stuck in the up position was diverting to Edwards AFB to attempt a lakebed landing, I drove the SOF radio-equipped vehicle out by the Rogers Dry Lakebed and was on the radio with the B-1B aircrew once they were in radio range. That particular B-1B was from another base in a different state (it was not a test B-1 from Edwards AFB), and had been advised to divert to Edwards AFB, California. This brave aircrew were going to attempt to save this amazing bomber, and the Rogers Dry Lakebed was the safest place to attempt to land their B-1B while minimizing damage to both the aircrew and aircraft. Since depth perception is a different challenge on the dry lakebed surface, we have black oil strips that outline the runway and help pilots judge their altitude during their approach to landing. Experimental Test Pilots are used to it, because we use the dry lakebed runways for many types of emergency landings. The gypsum dust on the dry lakebed acts as a fire suppressant during the landing rollout (or skid). We sometimes also choose to land a perfectly good jet (like a T-38) on the dry lakebed just for practice. I had the aircrew practice low-level approaches and go arounds several times before they final approach. They had been on the radio for several hours already with design engineers from Rockwell, but none of the suggested workarounds attempts had been successful at gettng the nose gear to lower. This was their best option to save this expensive supersonic swing-wing bomber. An F-111 had been tasked to rejoin them inflight to act as a safety chase aircraft, as the flight envelope of the F-111 was very compatible with the B-1. F-111s and had also been used as chase planes during early B-1A prototype testing for the B-1B version. I coached them to hold the nose up using the elevator until they slowed down without braking and allow the spoilers on the main wings slow them down along with main gear wheel friction, and then to gently lower the nose until it softly touched down. The sun was setting soon, so I advised them to attempt the actual lakebed landing on the very next pass as doing it after dark without their nose gear landing lights would be almost impossible to accomplish safely. The next pattern showed that their practice low approaches had paid off as they were able to smoothly touch down on the main landing gear and hold off the nose until they got slow enough to gently lower the nose to skid out on the nose radome. Once the radome gently touched down, the entire aircraft was engulfed in a giant plume of gypsum dust from the lakebed. For a few moments, I feared the entire aircraft might have broken up! But, as they finally came to a stop and the dust cleared, everything was intact, no fire erupted and the aircraft and crew were saved. Cranes came out and gently lifted the nose up as the crew entry door is on the bottom behind the nose gear well. No one was injured, and the nose gear was extended manually by a ground maintenance crew. That B-1B was fully repaired and returned to full flight status, thanks to the Rogers Dry Lakebed's properties. It the world's largest Dry lakebed and the reason Muroc Airfield (now Edwards AFB) was established there in the first place. It has saved the lives of many test pilots over the years, and was the perfect place to save this brave aircrew and their B-1B on that day, too.