May 15 2009
Airman Saves 300 Lives – Civilians
Not all of our armed forces personnel become heroes on the battlefield or in mortal combat. Sometimes they are save lives by recognizing problems and acting to correct them. Such was the case with Staff Sergeant Bartek Bachleda of the 909th Refueling Squadron. He saw a potentially dangerous situation while on a flight to Kadena, Japan and alerted the pilot and crew.
A fuel leak on a civilian aircraft caught the attention of Staff Sgt. Bartek Bachleda, 909th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, during a flight from Chicago to Narita airport, Japan. After alerting the pilots and aircrew, the ranking pilot made the decision to divert the flight to San Francisco.
“I noticed the leak on the left side of the aircraft right behind the wing earlier during take-off,” said Sergeant Bachleda. (Source: Air Force Link).
Sergeant Bachleda first brought the leak to the attention of a stewardess. She didn’t take it seriously. Not until the sergeant showed the video he’d been making of the leak. Soon the pilot arrived at his seat and after watching the video and observing it first hand through the window decided to divert the flight to San Francisco.
While conversing with the captain, the sergeant said he was hesitant at first to inform them about the leak, but he knew it was abnormal. The captain said they would have never made it to Japan if it wasn’t for him.
The two Airmen were placed in a hotel overnight and flew back to Japan the next morning. The airline company showed their appreciation by seating them first-class.
These young men used the experience they had gained through their military training to save the lives of not only themselves, but the 300 other passengers aboard. Good job airmen.
