An Air Force KC-135 tanker flying over North Dakota earlier this year had a problem with a refueling boom—it wouldn’t retract and a blizzard was forming. According to The Wichita Eagle, the aircrew and Air Force personnel on the ground couldn’t figure a way to retract the boom and were uncertain whether the aircrew should attempt to land at home base or fly to an isolated area. They called the Boeing in-flight emergency response team—always on call to help resolve problems with Boeing-built military aircraft—and got word that it was OK to land on base. The tanker and crew landed safely.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
