The USAF's 'Killer Chick' Somehow Managed to Safely Land Her A-10 Warthog After Being Hit By a Missile

Kim Campbell, a pilot in the US Air Force, showcased remarkable expertise during a critical situation over Afghanistan. When her Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II was struck by an enemy missile, Campbell lost hydraulic control. Nevertheless, her adept handling of the aircraft allowed for a return to base, ensuring the safety of both herself and her flight leader.

Kim Campbell's A-10 Warthog is struck by an enemy missile

On April 7, 2003, Kim Campbell embarked on a mission to strike an Iraqi command post in Baghdad. However, en route, she and her flight lead, Lt. Col. Rick "Bino" Turner, received an urgent call for air support from the 3rd Infantry Division, who were under enemy fire.

Navigating the city, Campbell and Turner were challenged by the need to minimize civilian casualties and avoid damaging any infrastructure. The threat of surface-to-air missiles loomed, requiring cautious maneuvers to protect Campbell's A-10 Warthog from potential strikes. Despite the perilous conditions exacerbated by dense cloud cover, they pressed on.

Employing multiple passes and deploying rockets and 30 mm bullets against enemy fighters, the mission initially appeared to be successful. However, during their final approach, disaster struck as the A-10 was engulfed by an ominous orange fireball , causing catastrophic damage to the hydraulics system and sending the aircraft hurtling toward the ground.

Kim Campbell was trained in how to manually fly the A-10 Warthog

Kim Campbell's flight training immediately took over. She first focused on maintaining control of the aircraft, later recalling , “In an emergency situation like that, I felt like time slowed down. I knew I had to take quick action but I also had to figure out what was going on in my cockpit.” Her solution was to manually fly the A-10.

Despite the challenge, the A-10 is one of the few aircraft that can function without hydraulics, thanks to its manual reversion system. This allows the pilot to continue flying in emergencies.

“Aircraft control in the manual flight mode is exceptionally demanding of piloting skills,” noted the Air Force Human Resources Laboratory in a 1982 report on the manual reversion system.

A quick lesson while under fire

Campbell had to reteach herself how to manually fly while being shot at by anti-aircraft fire. Thankfully, her skills as a pilot were honed enough that she didn't struggle too much. “Once I flipped the switch to manual reversion, I don’t remember it being overly difficult,” she said. “I was just so relieved the airplane was finally climbing and responding.”

Campbell and Turner were able to get out of the combat zone relatively unscathed after the critical hit, and the pilot manually flew the A-10 for 300 miles to Kuwait.

Landing manually is a completely different ball game

Manually landing at A-10 is an entirely different ball game as, without hydraulics, minute adjustments are much more difficult to execute. It's so difficult, in fact, that the checklist for manual reversion states to "attempt only under ideal conditions."

Kim Campbell didn't have that luxury. The aircraft had hundreds of bullet holes in it and damage to the right horizontal stabilizer. She and Turner discussed their options, and after weighing the risks decided to attempt to manually land the A-10. “[Turner's] actions after I was hit were absolutely critical,” she later recalled. “I was so focused on flying the airplane, getting it under control, whereas he had more awareness of what was going on around me.”

Campbell landed the A-10 just fine, and later received the Distinguished Flying Cross for her actions. Lt. Col. Mike Millen, Chief of the 355th Fighter Wing Commander’s Action Group, said, “Kim landed that jet with no hydraulics better than I land the A-10 every day with all systems operational.”

Surprisingly, when Campbell later attempted manual landings in simulators, she wasn't always successful.

Kim Campbell went right back to it

Despite her bravery in the moment, Kim Campbell admitted that, deep down, she was scared. “When I go back and listen to the audio recording [of the flight], I can hear the fear, I just didn’t have time to think about it,” she recalled. Regardless, she hopped back into the cockpit the following day.

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Now retired, Campbell amassed 1,800 hours of flying time and completed more than 100 combat missions while flying the A-10. For her, it's all about being a great pilot. "I never wanted to be labeled as a female fighter pilot," she explained. "I wanted to be the best pilot. So just work hard and be credible. Be good at what you do."