NAS JRB FORT WORTH, Tx. -- Two pilots with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112(VMFA-112) successfully located a downed aircraft that led emergency response personnel to provide medical assistance to the injured. The incident unfolded on Sept. 23, 2023, near El Dorado, Arkansas.
VMFA-112 F/A-18 pilots, Lt.Col. Christopher Baker and Maj. Robert Lundgren were traveling from a memorial in Beaufort, South Carolina for LtCol Andrew “Simple Jack” Mettler when they heard another pilot on the same frequency in distress.
“When we checked in with Fort Worth Center on our newly assigned frequency, we heard, ‘pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan, I have a rough running engine, I need the nearest airport.’ Initially, we were just listening unaware of the aircraft’s location,” said Baker. “In a matter of seconds, the pilot came on the radio, and said ‘mayday, mayday, mayday, we aren’t going to make it, we lost our engine.’”
The civilian aircraft with engine failure was flown by pilot John Wise who was assisting plane owner Jim King to their destination in Oklahoma. Once it was apparent the aircraft was not going to make it, Wise requested that someone fly over them, that is when Fort Worth Center asked Baker and Lundgren to help.
“Lt.Col. Baker and I didn’t plan on executing a search for a downed aircraft that day, but due to our training we instinctively knew how to execute a search to coordinate their location”.Maj. Robert Lundgren, VMFA-112
“They were about 60 miles from us, I was able to find his ADS-B track on my tablet, we turned toward them and went as fast as we could. As we got close, he stopped responding to Fort Worth Center, and we could hear the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) going off,” said Baker. “We notified Fort Worth Center of the ELT, and we were fairly certain at that point he didn’t make it to the airfield. We flew over the field to verify, then asked Center for their last known radar hits. I started looking for areas where he could’ve landed and saw what looked like an aircraft in a clear cut in the woods. Within about one minute of their crash, I told Center I think I see him, let me confirm. As I got closer, I could see the aircraft, then went down low to confirm the condition of the pilots. When I flew over the top of them, I could see two people standing on the wing waving.”
Remarkably, they discovered the two souls on top of the aircraft who had managed to survive the impact. Falling back on their training, the pilots generated a GPS coordinate and relayed the location back to Fort Worth Center.
“Lt.Col. Baker and I didn’t plan on executing a search for a downed aircraft that day, but due to our training we instinctively knew how to execute a search to coordinate their location. Once he [Baker] located him, I remained up high to act as a radio relay with Fort Worth Center and flew over to mark their position. Thanks to our shared training, we were able to work together to get the coordinates back to Fort Worth Center quickly, which ultimately led to the first responders being able to find them,” said Lundgren. “It’s a terrible situation when you hear something like that happening over the radio, and it was amazing to offer assistance to get emergency services out to them as quickly as possible. We were relieved that their injuries weren’t worse.”
In a call with the pilot who was rescued, he shared his appreciation for the pilots who found him. “Seeing the aircraft fly over was like being in a movie where the Marines save the day. You just can’t imagine the feeling. We were in a remote logging area that wasn’t easy to get to. I am just so thankful,” said Wise.
Baker and Lundgren combined have more than 33 years of F-18 flight experience in the Marine Corps.