Lajes Airmen can stop a speeding plane

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Shannon Ofiara
  • Det. 6, Air Force News Agency
Military planes flying across the Atlantic come to Lajes Field to refuel and recuperate, but if a fighter aircraft can't stop due to brake or engine failures, Lajes Field Airmen are standing by with barrier arresters to stop the plane safely. 

Base civil engineer Airmen have to be ready for anything because emergency landings can happen at any time.

The barrier arrester system works with a pendant cable run across the flightline. When the aircraft comes in to land, the plane's tail hook catches the cable and the barrier arrester's brakes attached to both sides of the cable bring the aircraft to a stop. 

Airmen from the Lajes Field power pro shop maintain all the parts involved in the barrier arresting kit, including the generators that run them. 

"You have to do your job right the first time," said Senior Airman Wade Smith. "There's really no second chance."

Even just a small leak in the hydraulics could cause the brakes to apply uneven brake pressure. This could cause the aircraft to roll off of the runway and crash.

"Which is not what we want," Airman Smith said. "We want an aircraft stopped dead centered."

Every time Lajes Field civil engineers save an aircraft, they not only save the Air Force millions of dollars, but also they save the lives of the pilots flying the jets.

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