Two maintainers went to Mosul, Iraq, to rescue a stranded C-130 Hercules cargo plane.

Hydraulics specialist Staff Sgt. David Harrelson and crew chief Senior Airman Brian Kundick, of the 386th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, went to Mosul Nov. 12.

The Airmen boarded a C-130 and flew into northern Iraq only a few hours after they got the mission.

“We replaced the elevator booster pack,” Sergeant Harrelson said. “It’s what enables the aircraft to elevate and descend.”

Once at Mosul, the maintenance troops quickly conferred with the plane’s flight engineer, Staff Sgt. Robert Alexander of the 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron.

“The pilot reported it was feeling odd so I checked and saw hydraulic fluid was leaking like a sieve,” the flight engineer said.

Though it was almost 11:30 p.m. -- and though they had started their shift at dawn -- the two Airmen immediately went to work.

Crawling into the cramped confines of the plane’s tail, Sergeant Harrelson was not surprised to find the booster pack had failed. He always likes to check to see when a part was installed. This one was installed in 1989.

“It’s not unusual to find parts that age onboard a 42-year-old aircraft,” he said.

While he was working inside, Airman Kundick was outside the aircraft waging a war against the stubborn bolts on the access panel. The troops had to remove the panel to get to the booster pack’s mounting bolts.

“Look at that, they’re spotlighting for snipers,” the Airman said, pointing to the lights only a few hundred yards away -- a sight that emphasized the dangerous location they were in.

As the night wore on and the temperature dropped into the 30s, fatigue set in as they struggled to remove the part. With only flashlights and no power on the aircraft, removing the part was tough.

They finally got the part free and settled down -- around 3 a.m. -- for a few hours of sleep.

Sergeant Harrelson realized the longer he put off sleep, the more the chances of making a mistake grew.

“We’ve got pillows, we’ve got food. This is the ‘Herc’ Hilton,” Airman Kundick said.

After a few hours of sleep, the team went back to work.

Around 1 p.m. Nov. 13, the new booster pack was in place and working. It was time to head home.

Stepping off the C-130 at their home base, the two maintainers were visibly relieved to be home.

“Tomorrow’s my day off. I’m going to sleep all day,” Sergeant Harrelson said.