Photo By Jonathan Bell | Thomas E. Dokey and Wayne Sadler, 561st AMXS aircraft painters, discuss the actions...... read more read more
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ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- It’s not every day that someone has to put out a randomly started fire, and it’s even more rare that a random fire would break out on a multi-million dollar combat aircraft.
A paint team from the 561st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, who work in the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex F-15 paint facility not only witnessed, but successfully extinguished a fire on an F-15E fighter plane.
During a routine work shift on April 13, an aircraft mechanic was in the cockpit of the plane to adjust the vari-ramp so that paint could be applied to the fuselage where the ramp prevents proper paint application.
While he was in the cockpit the mechanic inadvertently turned on the landing light, which in normal operations can be seen almost a mile away.
Because the light was on the plane’s nose gear and covered by tape and paper no one immediately knew it was on.
Thomas E. Dokey, aircraft painter explained, “by the time any of us knew the light was on it had come through the paper and caught it on fire and made its way to the area we had just painted with fresh paint and it just accelerated from there.”
While they train for, and have the equipment for the possibility of a fire, in this case Dokey’s protective instinct took over as he worked to save his coworker in the cockpit by smothering the fire with his hands.
“I figured the fire would be up there on top of him before I could get over and get back with the fire extinguisher,” said Dokey as he recalled his actions the day of the fire.
Dokey and Wayne Sadler, a fellow Aircraft Painter, pulled the surrounding paper and other flammables from the landing gear assembly and continued to extinguish the flames on the plane.
Dokey and Sadler’s actions saved the Air Force millions of dollars by preventing injury to personnel, and catastrophic damage to the aircraft and paint facility.
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.08.2017 14:08 |
| Story ID: | 254609 |
| Location: | ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 117 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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