A Rare Contingency Perfectly Executed By LT John "Borat" Kazanjian, USN
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hings go wrong all the time in aircraft commander boards. Transmissions fail, ships sink, survivors are located near hostile forces, and all the while your copilot is just plain useless. More often than not, the board will end once the aircraft is on short final or after the landing. Ending the scenario in this manner is sufficient as far as a pilot-in-command is concerned. However, this conclusion prevents an in-depth discussion regarding the necessary follow-on action required to get the aircraft back in the air. For the HSM-37 Detachment Four “Savages” Maintenance Team, they were granted a rare opportunity to see, plan, and execute this follow-on action firsthand. HSM-37 Detachment Four "Savages" to include AD2 Jacob Moore, AD1 Jeffrey
The Emergency Luk, and AEC Dominick Strona prepare to replace the #1 engine for Easyrider Lieutenants Austin “Turkey” 36 in USS Michael Murphy's port hangar. Traylor and Daniel “Meat Sweats” Sullivan were conducting a search and rescue exercise flight The Plan in November 2021 when they received a #1 ENG OIL The first challenge at hand was getting the helicopter PRESS LO Caution (indicating that one of their engines was into the hangar so maintenance could begin replacing the losing oil) in their MH-60R helicopter. Knowing this could #1 engine. Moving the helicopter solely with the RSD was ultimately develop into an engine failure they stopped their out of the question, so it now had to be moved manually. current tasking, quickly returned to and coordinated with the The emergency procedures chapter of the Aircraft Operating ship, and performed a clear deck landing via single-engine Procedures for Air-Capable Ships NATOPS Manual states profile to USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112). The decision to that this procedure is “not routine” and “authorized in cases of use a single-engine profile was excellent, as their engine failed emergency or operational necessity.” when they were 70’ above the water and approaching the ship’s deck. The question then had to be asked, what happens A comprehensive brief was promptly prepared by the after an H60 helicopter lands on a destroyer with one engine? detachment’s maintenance leadership immediately after the landing. The brief contained the risks identified by the The Rapid Securing Device (RSD) is a large TV-sized, detachment, the controls put in place to mitigate the risks, ship-based system and is the primary method to move an and the projected movements of the aircraft based on its embarked helicopter into and out of the ship’s hangars. It current orientation. Then,-Detachment Maintenance Officer, does this by grasping and locking onto a probe that sticks Lieutenant Brett “Scotty” Nellis, recalls the ORM involved out of the underside of the helicopter. At the end of a in devising a successful manual move with the maintenance flight schedule, pilots will land the helicopter with enough team. “We took a full day and the helicopter sat on the deck precision so that this probe is inside the RSD. After the for the full day because we wanted to make sure we got it aircraft is shutdown, a Landing Signal Officer (LSO) can right.” From the extensive list of risks that were identified, then move the RSD around the deck with the help of a personnel injuries while moving the aircraft were undoubtedly hydromechanical system to position the helicopter over a the most critical. These injuries could have manifested in a specific track built into the flight deck which runs into the few dangerous ways, such as someone getting pinned by the hangar. However, when a helicopter opts to perform a clear aircraft as it moved about the deck, or from aircraft static deck landing, it does not land with the probe in the RSD. rollover caused by unstable ship motion. Mitigating static Instead, the RSD is moved off of the landing area and the rollover was easily accomplished by requesting a steady deck helicopter lands in the center of the deck. With the helicopter from the ship and ensuring the helicopter was moved in on deck and unable to take off, the RSD could not be used a smooth, deliberate manner. The risk of someone getting normally. The “Savages” Maintenance Team was forced to pinned by the aircraft, however, required a more creative use an unorthodox procedure. solution. “We started out with just the static hold test,” said 35
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