Col. Kim Campbell is one of the only US Air Force pilots to ever manually land an A-10

Kim Campbell, a US Air Force pilot, demonstrated remarkable expertise during a dangerous mission in Afghanistan. After an enemy missile struck her Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, she lost hydraulic control of the aircraft. Despite this challenge, her exceptional piloting allowed her to guide the A-10 safely back to base, ensuring both her safety and that of her flight leader.

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

On April 7, 2003, Kim Campbell left on a mission to strike an Iraqi command post in Baghdad. During the flight, accompanied by her lead, Lt. Col. Rick "Bino" Turner, they received an urgent call for air support from the 3rd Infantry Division, which was under attack.

As they maneuvered through the city, Campbell and Turner had to navigate the challenge of minimizing civilian casualties and preventing damage to infrastructure. They also faced the persistent threat of surface-to-air missiles, which required precise maneuvers to shield Campbell's A-10 Warthog from potential hits. Despite the increased danger posed by dense cloud cover, they pressed on with their mission.

After executing multiple runs and using rockets and 30 mm ammunition against enemy positions, the operation initially appeared successful. However, disaster struck during their final approach when Campbell's A-10 was engulfed by an ominous orange fireball , severely damaging the hydraulics system and sending the aircraft into a rapid descent.

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

Kim Campbell's flight training kicked in immediately. Her first priority was to maintain control of the A-10. She reflected , "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."

She determined that manually flying the A-10 was the best course of action. Fortunately, it's one of the few aircraft capable of operating without hydraulics, thanks to its manual reversion system, which allows pilots to fly 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 an A-10 presents unique challenges, especially without hydraulics, as it makes precise adjustments much harder. The manual reversion checklist even warns to "attempt only under ideal conditions."

Kim Campbell, however, faced anything but ideal conditions. Her aircraft was heavily damaged, riddled with bullet holes and a compromised right horizontal stabilizer. After evaluating the risks with Turner, they chose to proceed with a manual landing. Campbell later reflected, “[Turner's] actions after I was hit were absolutely critical. 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 successfully landed the A-10 and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for her courage. Lt. Col. Mike Millen, Chief of the 355th Fighter Wing Commander’s Action Group, commented, “Kim landed that jet with no hydraulics better than I land the A-10 every day with all systems operational.”

Interestingly, when Campbell later practiced the same manual landings in simulators, her results weren’t as successful.

Kim Campbell went right back to it

Even though she showed bravery in the moment, Kim Campbell confessed that she was truly frightened inside. “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. Nevertheless, she climbed back into the cockpit the next day.

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Now retired, Campbell logged 1,800 hours of flight time and completed over 100 combat missions in the A-10. For her, it’s all about being an excellent 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."