http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61043-2003Dec12.html Missile Strike in Iraq Leads to 'Phenomenal' Landing A videotape shows masked militants firing the missile that hit a DHL cargo jet near Baghdad in November, forcing it to an emergency landing called "fantastic" by investigators. (AFP) By Don Phillips and Thomas E. Ricks Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, December 13, 2003; Page A18 The mail run started out as routine as a flight can be over Baghdad -- until, at 8,000 feet, a missile slammed into the full left-wing fuel tank. As part of the left wing melted in the flames, the hydraulic system drained of fluid. The three DHL Airways cargo pilots, all longtime veterans who had volunteered for duty in a combat zone, were several thousand feet above the Iraqi desert with no flight controls and -- even if they could somehow make it back to Baghdad International Airport -- only minimal braking. There was only one option left, according to a reconstruction of events by sources close to the crash investigation. The engine thrust controls still worked, and fuel tanks on the other wing were intact. The missile had just missed the left engine, and luckily the fuel lines to it from other tanks remained intact. And as damaged as it was, much of the left wing retained its aerodynamic shape, providing enough lift to stay in the air. So for 16 anxious minutes, the pilots used the only tool they had, turning the thrust on and off to each engine to crudely steer the Airbus A300 jet. More fuel to the left engine to turn right. More fuel to the right engine to turn left. Reduce the fuel to descend. Give more fuel to climb. It was the same technique that Capt. Al Haynes used in 1989 to bring in crippled United Airlines Flight 232 at Sioux City, Iowa, for a crash landing that saved 184 lives. Figuring out the "asymmetric thrust" technique as they went along, the pilots became so confident that they actually aborted one landing. They apparently were not satisfied with how they were lined up on the runway. Then they went around and approached Runway 33 Left again, knowing they had no way to steer on the ground and only the thrust reversers on the engines to slow them down.They effectively became helpless passengers as the plane shot down the runway and veered to the left. For more than 600 yards, sand howling around them, they blasted through a razor-wire fence to a sandy slope between the runway and the taxiway. Soft sand makes for a pretty good braking system. The DHL incident, which occurred on Nov. 22, was noted at the time as the first confirmed case of a hand-held surface-to-air missile hitting a wide-body civilian jet. What wasn't known at the time was the crew's feat of airmanship, described by investigators this week as "fantastic." The only injury occurred when one of the pilots was cut on a piece of razor wire while evacuating the plane on the ground. DHL spokeswoman Patricia Thompson in Brussels said the airline would not release the pilots' names, for security reasons, nor make them available for an interview, because an investigation is still underway. But she said DHL is proud of the crew's "exceptional performance." Once investigators had a chance to examine the plane on the ground, they were struck with how close the wing came to burning off. One of the two spars running through the wing, a main structural support for the wing, was burned away. The ribs that provide the structural integrity of the fuel tank were at least half burned away. And if the pilots had chosen the parallel runway to their right rather than the one they chose, and the plane had veered to the left in the same fashion, sources said it would have rammed right through the airport fire station. "This is just a phenomenal feat," Thompson said. "I certainly wouldn't dispute that they flew an unflyable plane." There was one almost comical moment after the plane surged to a halt and the pilots realized they were alive, safe and uninjured. Anxious to get away from the scene, the crew pulled an emergency slide on one side of the plane. It came down on top of the strands of razor wire and deflated. They then used the slide on the other side. However, there were still some strands of razor wire on that side. That produced the only injury.
