Pilot: Maj. Wm. J. Knight

Date: June 29, 1967

This was #l out of Smith's Ranch. After we got the radios all squared away and everybody got their readings good all the way around; we came around in the launch and the flight was beautiful, up to a certain point. We had gotten on theta and I heard the 80,000' call. I checked that at about 3100 fps. Things were looking real good and I was really enjoying the flight. All of a sudden the engine went "blurp" and quit. There could not have been two seconds between the engine quit and everything else happening because it all went in order. The engine shut down. A11 three SAS lights came on. Both generator lights came on and then there was another light came on, and I think it was the fuel low line light. I am not sure. Then after all the lights got on; they all went out. Everything quit. By this time I was still heading up and the airplane was getting pretty sloppy. As far as I am concerned both APU's quit. I knew it took 30 seconds to run down and so the airplane was just wallowing up as it continued to climb. It never did really go, well, it was out of control, but it never got over on its back or anything else. It was still wallowing going up and pretty well following the trim conditions that we had, which was about 5°. I tried to control it with the BCS but I am not sure that the BCS was working or if it was, it was not giving me what I wanted. About this time I decided that I was going to have to leave it. I looked out on top to see where I was and I could see Mono Lake clear over to the right. It was clear and beautiful. When it rolled over to the left again I looked down and I was almost directly over Mud Lake. I thought, well, if we get anything running we will go back to Mud and I had already made that decision. Coming down I got the emergency battery on and shut off the right APU. I waited the time period I thought was long enough and tried to start the right one and it did not give me anything. I did the same thing on the left one. I heard the left one fire up, so I really do not understand why the generator would not engage, but I'd engage it and it would not engage at all. So I began to pick up control of the airplane and tried to pull it up to get some angle of attack on it for the reentry. I did not know how much, so I would pull it up and the yaw would start out, I could feel it. It probably got some pretty good yaw on the airplane. Then I would come off angle of attack and get the yaw back. I would come up again and I did that about twice before I got it steadied down to where I thought I had a good enough angle of attack for reentry. Once I thought I was level enough I started a left turn back to Mud. Made a 6 g turn all the way around. The airplane leveled at about 45 - 50 somewhere in there, but by the time I was leveled out and looking at Mud Lake I had at least 45,000 and I could see then that I could make Mud Lake so I headed right for the east shore. Once I was sure I could make the east shore of Mud Lake with sufficient altitude I used some speed brakes to get it down to about 20 to 25,000 and then varied the pattern to make the left turn into the runway landing to the west. On the final, all this time the trim was still at 5° for the theta that we had. I was getting pretty tired of that side stick so I began to use both hands. One on the center stick and one on the side stick taking the pressure off the stick with the left hand and flying it with the right. Made the pattern and the airplane is a little squirrelly without the dampers but really not that bad. I did not have any qualms about landing it on the side stick that way because I really did not want to get both hands on that center stick. Came down and flared. Put the flaps down but I don't remember a trim change with the flaps and I don't remember looking at the airplane after I got out to see if the flaps were down or up. I don't think they came down. I settled in and got it right down to the runway and it was a nice landing as far as the main skids were concerned, but the nose gear came down really hard. Once I got it on the ground I slid out to a stop. I started to open the canopy. I could not open the canopy. I tried twice and could not move that handle, so I sat there and rested for a while reached up and grabbed it again. Finally it eased off and the canopy came open. Then I started to get out of the airplane and I could not get this connection off over here. I got the hat off, to cool off a little bit, and tried it again. Then I was beginning to take the glove off to get a hand down in there also. I never did get that done. I tried it again and it would not come so I said the hell with it, and I'll pull the emergency release. I pulled the emergency release and that headrest blew off and it went into the canopy and slammed back down and hit me in the head. I got out of the airplane and by that time the C130 was there. Got into the 130 and came home.

Did you have the third skid? Anything electrical in that airplane that did not work?

I put the circuit breakers for the third skid in but then I thought, well you are not going to have it because there isn't any electrical power on the airplane. I did put the circuit breakers in, but I am sure it did not do any good.

.......... about landing?

Well it was hard I know, but the main touchdown was smooth. I could feel the skids easy.

(?)

I am sure I pushed because that is the way the trim was set. I was having to hold it all the time. When I touched I just let go of it and it went forward but I don't remember making a conscientious effort to push, Jim.

Did you use full back stick to help slow down?

Not that I know of. Well I think maybe I did when I rolled out, Jim, and I opened the speed brakes. We were in good shape as far as the landing was concerned. I figured I'd touched down a mile and a half from the edge of the lake because I saw one marker go by. It stopped just past the other runway,

Regards, Chase.

Yes, I looked around a couple of times to see if there was going to be a Chase there. He could not have done me much good anyway but I never did see anybody.

Dana - Yes the first time I saw you was just as you crossed the east shore.

How much was the control stick moving in attempting to control after shut down?

It was not moving at all.

(?)

No the stick was only moving in the slop.

About how many degrees was the stick moving?

Gosh, I don't know.

Were the deflections small?

Yes small. It wasn't much. I think that the BCS was working but it was not really giving me enough control.

(?)

Oh, and the cockpit pressurized too. I mean depressurized and the suit blew up. Sometime after all the electrical went out and I noticed it when the suit started to go.

What magnitude of bank angle did you experience?

I don't think more than 40 or 50°, Glenn, and it was very slow. It was just like the airplane was just; it was not doing anything, but it wasn't doing anything I wanted it to do either.

How much alpha did you get?

I don't have any idea, Glenn. I don't have any idea. I was pulling a good 6 g because I remember feeling the g suit come in, and then I looked up at the g meter and I was a good six g. I thought, boy, it is turning and that is where I want to go.

(?)

I was not watching it then. I did not notice it all. Not much g. I was trying to get reference outside to get the airplane under control and get it leveled off.

(?) Regards pitch attitude reference without instruments?

No, I did not have early reference until it would roll over 30° or so, and then I could see out. The mountains and so forth.

(?)

You ought to be able to see some as to what went out first, shouldn't you? Because when the engine quit that probably was the start of it. Well it was the start of it. It was the first thing that happened, but there still should be some data as to what was going on until everything went black.

(?) You lost TM before you lost the engine?

Yes, we heard you call shutdown. NASA l said "he made the 104,000' call".

Well I never heard the 104.

(?) Were the both APU's off at one time?

Not that I know of. That is, not as far as the switches were concerned.

(?)

No, I did not shut both of them down because I wanted to feel with one at a time, getting it running again because I knew it took 30 seconds to get one running.

(?)

I heard the one fire up.

(?) Well, before that. You were throwing switches or ....

I did not hear anything. Didn't hear a thing. I think I mentioned before that one APU that fired up, boy was pretty noisy. It really came up.

(?)

Only one switch was on.

(?) ...and you turned the one off or they were both off at one time?

No. I always had one switch on. I turned the #2 off first. Then tried to start it and did not get anything. Then I left it on and went back to the #1. Started it and it came up. Then I tried to reset the generator and it would not reset.

(?)

No. I think it is on. Well they are both off now. I am sure that there was only one running when I touched down, because when I shut them off there was only one shut down. I am sure that there was only one APU running. I have never seen so many things go so fast. They all went in sequence. I remember seeing the two generator lights on. I don't understand how we can have that. When both generator lights are on you should not have any. But I remember seeing both generator lights on. Then almost immediately all the lights went out.

(?)

No. Everything started from the right. Engine shutdown and I was looking at the altitude waiting for his 104,000' call and when the engine shut down I went across the cockpit, and as fast as I went across the cockpit, lights were coming on. All three SAS lights, the generator and then nothing. There was one other light over there and I think it was the low line fuel light or a malfunction shutdown light or something.

(?) When did you turn the emergency battery switch on?

After I tried to start the #2. Then I went to battery. Then #1 started.

(?) How did you set up for entry?

I did not set it up at all, Glenn. I just started pulling on the stick. Oh, I started trim first and then I found out I did not have any trim and so I just pulled in until the airplane started to pitch a little and then it started to yaw. I could feel this and by this time I was low enough in attitude that I could see out and see what it was doing. I would just back off and keep coming up again. There was no way I could tell what kind of alpha I had on it at all.

(?)

Yes. It yawed. Nose went to the right both times.

(?)

No, nothing. I never did have electricity. I never did get any electrical back.

(?) Was b oscillatory?

No. It just went out. It just started out.

(?)

Then I would come off on angle of attack and use a little rudder and get the yaw back, then come back in on angle of attack.

(?) Did you look at q during this time?

No, never thought to look at it. Everything at this time was visual outside.

(?)

Things were pretty fast, I will tell you that. I don't know what, if I had not seen Mud Lake.

(?)

Yes. I saw that the first thing, even on top. Well we figured we would not be able to see Grapevine anyway because we were going right over it and it would have to be a turn out away from it and then turn back in or turn right over it. Then you would never know where it is. But even if it had been 70 seconds. I think with the conditions I would have gone to Mud.

(?)

On gliding to Mud I put some brakes out. Probably half to three quarter brakes to get it down to about 25,000 and that was just a couple of miles off the east shore. Still going north. Then I just buried the turn to kill off the rest of it. Put the brakes out after touchdown.

(?)

Yes, Yes, Yes.

(?)

I had a window shade. I had the right one up on launch. Then when everything quit I was looking over the right side going over the top and I put the window shade down.