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Skilled landing rewarded
By Barry Rollings
Volume 49, No. 14, August 09, 2007 |
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DESERVED: FLTLT Peter Komar from 1SQN with the CAF Commendation presented by 82WG OC GPCAPT Tony Grady for his successful wheels-up landing of an F-111 (pictured below) last July.
Photo by LAC Aaron Curran |
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Turning adversity to your advantage is a rare talent, but it is something 1SQN’s FLTLT Peter Komar has been able to do since his emergency wheels-up landing at RAAF Base Amberley on July 18 last year.
FLTLT Komar, then a FLGOFF at 6SQN, and 1SQN navigator FLTLT Luke Warner, safely landed their F-111 after the main port wheel had fallen off as the aircraft rotated and the undercarriage was retracted.
Their efforts at the end of nearly five hours in the air won FLTLT Komar a CAF Commendation, which was presented in May.
“It gave me more confidence in my own ability as a pilot,” FLTLT Komar said of the incident. “I definitely would not want the same thing to happen again, but I look back on the experience as a positive one.
“The overall response of the F-111 community in dealing with an emergency situation was calm and calculated, and resulted in a solution where everyone ended up on the ground safely.
“As a result, I have every confidence in the processes put in place to deal with such situations.”
FLTLT Komar said he was extremely pleased to receive the commendation but believed the award also belonged to the members of the F-111 community.
“The support I received ranged from the high quality of instructors at 6SQN, the professionalism of the members of 1SQN, and the invaluable depth of knowledge and experience of the simulator operators,” he said.
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