CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 2 RYAN A. INBODY
P Troop, 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
Fort Hood, Texas

As pilots, we push not only ourselves, but our fellow crewmembers and aircraft. I want to tell you a story where I pushed my co-pilot, the airframe and myself into a series of events that could’ve ended tragically for everyone.

We took over the Multinational Division Center from the previous unit and pulled missions throughout the area of operations. The MND-C is a huge area in Iraq, ranging from Talil in the south, all the way to Baghdad International Airport. On this day, our team of two Apaches was executing missions in the Forward Operating Base Hammer area, about 50 km east of Baghdad. This area had seen some recent improvised explosive device strikes as the brigade pushed into the insurgent-held areas to the north and east. Our brigade was based at Hammer, which also had a two-point forward arming and refueling point.

After finishing the mission, we headed to the FARP for fuel before returning to BIAP. I was lead, with my co-pilot as the air mission commander. We always had a great time flying together and enjoyed our casual atmosphere. In the other aircraft, the crew consisted of an instructor pilot and a captain in the front seat.

No sooner had I leveled off at 1,500 feet than I smelled something burning. I asked my co-pilot if he smelled a burning odor. He said, “No,” adding this aircraft had burned a generator the day before. He explained that it was probably residue resulting from the previous generator. We both laughed and headed away from FOB Hammer. (First chance to land.)

Maybe another 10 minutes into the flight, I got another burning smell — this one more intense. I asked my co-pilot again if he smelled anything. He told me he didn’t. I insisted there must be something burning. He brought up the residue again. We soon got a GEN 1 FAIL warning light and a dose of burning plastic odor in both crew stations. We talked about it briefly, deciding to shut down the burned generator rather than reset it. My co-pilot turned off the generator and I made the course change to Al Rashid airfield, also called 11W.

As we approached 11W, the smell had disappeared and the airframe had no other issues. Our wingman understood what was occurring and didn’t see any smoke coming from our aircraft. As we crossed the Diyala River, my co-pilot and I asked each other if this was the best idea. We convinced ourselves that we had only a generator issue, the aircraft was still flyable and BIAP wasn’t that far away. We both had been flying this aircraft the day before when the generator fire occurred and had landed at 11W. Due to lack of maintenance at 11W, we decided to return to BIAP. As we made the turn to head west, I saw 11W's long airstrip through our right door. (Second chance to land.)

We traveled another 10 minutes when gray smoke filled my cockpit. I passed the controls to my co-pilot because I couldn’t see outside. We passed over Route Jackson, 20 km from BIAP. We could land at one FOB about 10 km to the north or at countless other small checkpoints; however, for the most part, we were in bad-guy country. Regardless where we went, I had to get rid of the smoke. Somewhere around 134 knots true, I opened the cockpit door, holding it with two hands, and quickly vented the smoke. We pushed on to BIAP, leaving FOB Falcon behind. After all, it was now the closest secure place to land. (Third chance to land.)

As we entered BIAP airspace, a loud, grinding sound came from behind my seat. It was the sound of the generator coming apart on the transmission deck. We were entering on a base leg and I honestly thought the generator was going to come apart and start flailing around. Turning onto final, we requested fire crews to meet us on the ramp. I landed, making a big air assault flare and quickly taxied to the ramp. I pulled the engines off and shut down the aircraft while my co-pilot unstrapped and jumped out. I was about four steps behind him. The fire crews were already around the aircraft. Once we were 100 feet away, we both turned around to look at the aircraft. There was no sign of smoke or fire. It turned out the generator had smoldered and ground itself to pieces. There was never any real fire, only smoke and grinding.

Lessons learned
Our entire flight from FOB Hammer to BIAP was about 40 minutes. When I look back, every 10 minutes we had a chance to land the aircraft. Luckily, the smoke never turned into a real fire, but it could have easily done so.

Throughout our return trip, we could have done many things differently, starting with returning to FOB Hammer, followed by landing at 11W or later at the FOB Falcon passenger terminal. However, we made the choice to push on, based on prior maintenance, duty day issues, location and at least a dozen other things.

What I learned from this flight is that pushing your fellow pilots, your airframe and yourself can sometimes be unwarranted. Was it worth the risk? We were returning home without a mission. What’s a night at FOB Hammer or 11W compared to burning one in? I gambled that we could make it back to BIAP and won. However, I wouldn’t roll the dice on something like that again.