 proudly we hail New York City where the American stage begins here is another program with a cast of outstanding players public service time has been made available by this station for your army and your Air Force to bring you this story as proudly we hail the officers and men of the United States Air Force strategic air command is entitled the safety factor this is the story of Major Leonard Marquesi and the crew of strategic air commands Air Force bomber nine seven two eight a v-36 that ran into a peculiar kind of trouble while making a routine landing on a beautiful day our first act curtain will rise in just a moment but first young men of America today there is an urgent need for aircraft observers in your United States Air Force if you can measure up here's your chance to get the finest aviation training training that equips you to fly in the most modern aircraft in the world and prepares you for executive positions in military aviation you graduate from aircraft observer training as a second lieutenant specializing in radar navigation or bombardment you'll receive a starting salary of approximately five thousand dollars a year and a liberal uniform allowance to qualify as an aviation cadet in the aircraft observer training program you must be a high school graduate he between 19 and 26 and a half unmarried and in good physical condition for complete information visit your nearest United States Army and United States Air Force recruiting station all right to aviation cadets headquarters department of the Air Force Washington 25 DC and now your Army and your Air Force present the proudly we hail production the safety factor the safety factor you know what that is it's the extra allowance and engineer figures on in his plans to meet emergencies if he's building a bridge that should have to stand the maximum weight of half a million pounds he may plan the bridge so it can stand 750,000 pounds in other words he allows 250,000 pounds for the safety factor now this is a story about a B-36 intercontinental bomber and its commander major Leonard Marquesi and his crew first pilot Gimmel flight engineer Schwartz and some 19 other men gunners and navigators and the men who operate the complicated electronic equipment on the big plane the safety factor in this story turned out to be the skill and ingenuity and experience of the aircraft commander major Marquesi which was brought into play when the B-36 ran into trouble it was the end of a perfectly routine 15 hour training flight a lovely sunny hot afternoon in Texas major Marquesi and his crew were coming into cars well Air Force base outside of Fort Worth he called the tower for landing instructions cars well tower this is Air Force 9 7 2 8 10 South of cars well request landing instructions request GCA full step Air Force 9 7 2 8 this is cars will tower land on runway 3 6 wind 25 from the north altimeter 3 0 0 2 switch to channel F for Foxtrot for GCA Roger cars will tower 9 7 2 8 out cars well GCA this is Air Force 9 7 2 8 do you read Air Force 9 7 2 8 this is cars well GCA read your loud and clear you're now 10 miles west of the station on your downwind leg you should have completed your gyro check make a 360 degree right delaying turn we have traffic call cars well GCA when right turn is completed center 1,000 feet gear down lock Roger Coswell GCA 9 7 2 8 gear down checklist complete Air Force 9 7 2 8 Coswell GCA stand by for left turn the final approach checklist is complete ready to land you've got it John the bats let's get back on course and get on the ground I'm right with you John maybe between us we can get the wheel back to center I'm switching from GCA to tower this is 9 7 2 8 emergency stand by one aircraft is uncontrollable we're in a steep right wing down bank lost 400 feet plane keeps turning right we can't control it can't get the wing up can't make a turn left understand 9 7 2 8 give me a call when you pinpointed trouble Roger Coswell 9 7 2 8 we're alerting crew for possible bailout aircraft command of the crew stand by to crash take crash landing positions acknowledge all compartments those compartment Roger photo compartment Roger radio compartment Roger half compartment Roger pilot this is AC John let's get on this wheel and push hard full left rudder I'll crank in the rudder trim to full left bring me up to date now look to log shows everything you take over for me about 10 minutes everything's under control only aircraft not from this basis major Marquesi bringing in a B 36 9 7 2 8 he's requested clearance and coming in now on DCA everything seems to be in order aren't Marquesi I'll be glad to see him haven't seen Len for a long time the funny thing you know we were born within a dozen blocks of each other in New York yeah he married a girl I used to know in California as three kids now rapid city he's a good flyer well he's not acting like one what do you think he's doing stunt in the big plane like that look look at that Bob that isn't like Len Marquesi hey he's not stunning he's in trouble something's gone wrong the plane's fallen off to the right they must have lost half their altitude they're gonna cause well tower this is 9 7 2 8 emergency stand by one aircraft is uncontrollable we're in a steep right wing down bank lost 400 feet plane keeps turning right we can't control it can't get the wing up can't make her turn left understand 9 7 2 8 give me a call as soon as you pinpointed trouble Roger cause well 9 7 2 8 we're alerting crew for possible bailout you better warn other planes aren't just about to boss cause will tower to all aircraft cause will tower to all aircraft within the cause will area the field is closed I say again cause well is closed all aircraft orbit 10 miles north of cause well until emergencies over cause will tower to all aircraft in area the field is closed and that takes care of that plane stopped falling and leveling off but still turning gonna clear the field get all personnel and aircraft out of the way give him room if he can come down you got trouble book I've got the tech book ready seem to have the plane in some sort of control see it's still circling to the right do not fall in anymore they can gain altitude they could jump Air Force 9 7 2 8 this was cause will tower anything new Air Force 9 7 2 8 this is car full left rudder I'll crank in the rudder trim and give a full left rudder Roger AC this is engineer you check the autopilot AC to engineer Roger checked AC to engineer give me climb power Roger AC my power coming on let's keep it at this but too low to bail out so we've got to keep fighting tell me what to do I'll do it you used to be a fighter John the thing you've got strong arms we'll keep at it until we lick it engineer this is AC any suggestions we're not losing anything now still searching the right right wing still down watch the increased power just makes us go faster but doesn't let us climb what do you think of unbalanced power let's try reducing power on the two outboard engines on the left side let's see what happens Roger land I'll handle the power for you let me know what you want you've got it you've got primary control at all times John that seems to help some doesn't it yeah we're still circling lamb but it's a much wider turn we've increased the radius of turn I think we'll try cutting back number three engine two why not aircraft commander to engineer I'm going to try cutting back number three engine let's see what happens with that Roger Ace what I've got a little directional control now the right wing is still down we're skidding through the air crabbing but I think we're reasonably safe for a time we've got enough fuel aboard to stay alive for several hours Roger Ace second engineer this is AC go back to the bomb bay check all the control cables check tension check the pulleys Roger AC AC to left gunner check behalf compartment go back in tail section check all the control cables Roger AC left gunner will go AC to scanners check your flaps check your control surfaces let me know if you see anything that is out of the ordinary or doesn't look normal I don't know John I'm just hoping that we'll find a control cable it's frozen and can be freed Air Force 9728 this is Garzwell Tower anything new Garzwell Tower Air Force 9728 trying unbalanced power it permits some directional control we are checking on controls and cables will keep you advised Roger 9728 keep in touch airfield is cleared all planes have been warned away from the area we're ready to help in any way possible Roger Tower I'm just trying to stay aloft and in the area until we can find out what's wrong hope to be able to fix it so we can land or gain enough altitude so we can bail out how's your fuel supply we've enough for several hours this way but in order to keep from going to the right we've got to give a full left rudder use the engines on the right side only we're grabbing it almost 45 degrees don't know how long the plane can take it we're going to have to do something in a hurry whether we find the trouble or not we can't keep doing this very long into the proudly we hail production the safety factor will return in just a moment for the second act today thousands of alert and intelligent young men are needed to enter aircraft observer training and become flying officers in the United States Air Force if you act now you can get a four month selective service deferment and stand a good chance of being enrolled in a training class before your deferment expires upon graduation you'll receive a commission as a second lieutenant your silver wings a liberal uniform allowance and a starting salary of approximately five thousand dollars a year for complete information right to aviation cadets headquarters department of the Air Force Washington 25 DC glasses begin every two weeks you are listening to proudly we hail and now we present the second act of the safety factor aircraft nine seven two eight of the 36 intercontinental bomber was in trouble over cars well Air Force base outside of Fort Worth Texas as it was coming in for a routine landing after a routine trip it suddenly went into a steep descending right bank aircraft commander major Leonard Marquesi sitting next to first pilot John Gimmel added his hand and strength to the wheel and rudder bar between them they stopped the fall but all they could do was to circle the field at the same low altitude with a right bank of from six to ten degrees major Marquesi sent the left gunner and second engineer back to the bomb bay in the tail section to see if they could see what was wrong station everything seems to be in shape in the bomb bay everything's okay in the wings Roger second engineer AC this is left gunner mangan station from Granary everything looks okay back there no help Roger Gunner and seven two eight this is gospel tower can you report this is nine seven two eight tower visual scanners report nothing out of the way to cause right wing down position or tendency to turn to the right nine seven two eight tower Roger describe condition tower nine seven two eight here we seem to have aircraft under control but we're in almost a 45 degree left crab right wing is still down anywhere from six to ten degrees with engines one two and three pulled back we can turn as much as 30 degrees to the left and can turn to the right by varying the throttle setting on any one of the left engines in other words you have directional control now up to about 30 degrees either way Roger or can turn to the extreme right nine seven two eight the control officer recommends you try engaging autopilot Roger Tower will try autopilot and report engineer this is AC tower suggest we try autopilot what you'd want to know Roger Ace everybody wants to get into the act even the autopilot did he connected it it's connected pilot this is AC relax pressure on wheel let's see if the autopilot can hold okay land we can try it but it won't work thinking all of both of us can give the whole the wheel and rudder it's worth a trial John all right but not a long one ace AC to pilot you're right John can't be a long one you've just maintained enough altitude to be safe for a little while we can't risk losing much of it here we go again off to a ride give it a chance John all right that's enough I'll disconnect as well tower this is nine seven two eight autopilot can't hold us back to manual control Roger nine seven two eight aircraft commander the crew we've got to try to come in for a landing we can't get high enough to risk a bailout we can't fly straight we're going to try to straighten out enough to come down at cars well AC to engineer we've still got quite a right wing down condition wonder if we can't get more lift into that wing by using the two jets on the right side the jets might give more lift to that wing and might increase the craft to John I'm going to try to run the two jets on the right side I'll have to reach up overhead for the throttles can you hold the wheel without me go ahead skipper I'll try Roger I'll reach now I've got it now come on we can get up back well there's no sense in me trying to hold it alone if you can't I wonder enough I've raced my right hand against the wheel and bring up my right leg my elbow on my knee maybe I can steady it that way and reach up for the throttle with my left hand I've got it starting numbers three and four jets started the number three and four jets to get more lift into the right side Roger nine seven two eight did it help it picked us up but only a bit the right wing bank is reduced to about four degrees now that seems to be as little as we can get it I'm afraid I can't see anything to do but try to bring her down this is our nine seven two eight whenever you say keep us informed Roger by talking the number three engine right but we can maneuver enough so we should have a chance to hit the runway skipper this is Schwartz Roger I'm calling the field for a landing Oswell Tower this is nine seven two eight we're coming in emergency landing we have fair control of the aircraft however we can't know just what will occur once we get down close to the ground Roger nine seven two eight guards will tower all equipment all personnel are clear either side of the runway and approach nine seven two eight to tower Roger aircraft commander to crew assume crash landing positions acknowledge all compartments those compartment AC Roger pilot and engineer this is aircraft commander on this final approach we'll maintain speed at about a hundred and fifty to a hundred and fifty five use ten degrees of flaps we'll drop the gear about five miles out now John soon as we come over the fence when I holler now release the pressure on the left rudder I'll take care of the throttles and hope we can square away on the runway so we're not hitting it at the 45 degree crab Roger land Roger Schwartz I'm going to cut the jets again they don't add much lift and they add tremendously to the crab Roger land landed Bob can you see her off yeah not too far away saw a plane fly that way before he's really in so much of a crab she's going as much sideways as she is forward right wing is still down to major Marquesi said he had it reduced about four degrees from here it looks more than that to me any more than five or five and a half degrees in the right jet pod the number four part will hit the runway before the landing gear touches down could cause the plane to cartwheel and worried about that crab too I don't see how you can get squared away enough to come down on the runway I don't know but I have a feeling well if if anyone could do it land Marquesi can I'm seven two eight calling Carzwell tower Carzwell tower to nine seven two eight come in nine seven two eight nine seven two eight to tower that's just what we're about to do tower to nine seven two eight come in at your discretion runways cleared all aircraft and personnel have been removed emergency equipment nine seven two eight to Carzwell Roger will land at a hundred and fifty to a hundred and fifty five miles per hour tower to nine seven two eight good luck John remember as soon as we come over the fence when I holler now release the pressure on the left rudder I'll take care of the throttles Roger land man there this is that good left gunner skipper we're all in Christ landing position but what I want to know is does our bet still hold bet what bet well skipper when we left Rapid City we had a deal if you brought us down without shaking us up too much we'd stand to treat you but if you shook us up then you'd have to treat us how about it you trying to back out now AC the left gunner you've got more faith than sense but it's my treat if I shake you up skipper we all have faith in you and Schwartz and Gimmel if this great host together we think you can bring us down and remember it's me saying so best gunner in the whole Air Force AC the left gunner I'll just say this the stand treat to you and the rest will be a pleasure AC to pilot all right John we're letting down now everything's under control looks good John think we've got her made looks real good let's get over just a little bit more right that's it that's right we've got it now boy we've got her made just this way we've got it made no sweat on this one thank the Lord it's clear whether or not night or instruments that would make it tough but we're doing all right boy now we're over the fence let's bring those up give me a little help John little back stick little back pressure main gear must be almost ready to touch now that right wings awful low only get her straight fine almost sideways touch her down that way sideways so she're off the landing gear no no look at that look at that can't be more than put off the ground and she's straightening out and away like a compass needle swinging through touching down now and running straight prettiest landing I ever saw little backstick little back pressure now release the pressure we squared away main gear is down those gear must be about touching those gear down to now AC to engineer ready the props AC to engineer reverse props let's get out of here major Marques they brought his crippled B 36 in at Carzwell Air Force Base he says he was the first one out of the plane and the others followed him oh boy that's a laugh you're telling me no sweat look at me I'm ringing wet hot afternoon over Fort Worth and you say no sweat well I didn't mean the temperature anyway I was talking to keep up my courage I think yeah or mine here comes that gunner to collect oh my left leg my right arm I was pushing on them all the time too hard I guess what I wanted to say is skipper you won I still don't know how you did but that was as smooth a learning as you ever made we weren't shaking a bit treats on us all right for you and give all in lieutenant Schwartz hey where lieutenant Schwartz go well he was here a second ago there he is like a good flight engineer going topside trying to find out what caused the trouble lieutenant Schwartz the engineer found out what the trouble was a malfunctioning of the left inboard trim control a technical order was instantly made mandatory correcting the default before another B 36 took to the air anywhere so this couldn't happen again to another B 36 major Marquesi received a letter of commendation from general Vandenberg and certificate of merit disaster was averted but that was no accident the Air Force does everything possible to keep such incidents from happening but with all the planes we fly they're a bound of the emergency the Air Force trains its men well and gives them the best planes it can get but when something goes wrong it has one big ace in the hole the ingenuity and experience of the aircraft commanders and crews proudly we hail major Leonard Marquesi and the crack B 36 crew of aircraft 9728 and the other officers and men of the strategic air commands 28th strategic reconnaissance wing at the Rapid City Air Force base plan your tomorrow today there's a future in flying for you young men who can qualify as aircraft observers in today's global Air Force if you are between the ages of 19 and 26 and a half a high school graduate and our otherwise qualified you have a future in flying as an aircraft observer for full details visit your nearest United States Army and United States Air Force recruiting station today this has been another program on proudly we hail presented transcribed in cooperation with the station proudly we hail is produced by the recruiting publicity center for the United States Army and United States Air Force recruiting service this is Kenneth Bangart speaking and inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on proudly we hail