Capt. Taylor Bye survived a 'catastrophic failure' after her A-10 Warthog lost its canopy and landing gear

In 2020, Capt. Taylor Bye of the 75th Fighter Squadron, US Air Force, received the highly regarded Air Combat Command Airmanship Award. Her remarkable piloting abilities were demonstrated during a bold emergency landing of a Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II, despite the absence of landing gear and a missing canopy.

This accomplishment further solidified her standing as an exceptional aviator.

Overview of Taylor Bye's incredible landing

After experiencing what the Air Force described as a " catastrophic " failure, Taylor Bye skillfully landed her A-10C safely, despite a malfunction with the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger during a flight over Grand Bay Range at Moody Air Force Base , Georgia.

This unexpected failure resulted in the cockpit canopy detaching and damage to the landing gear systems. Thanks to Bye's expertise and skill, however, the damaged aircraft was brought down safely.

Reflecting on the incident, she later noted,"My initial reaction was to climb away from the ground and then look at my engines. The amazing thing about the A-10 is even though all these things happened, I had two perfectly working engines and hydraulic systems.”

Teamwork helped save the day

Taylor Bye was the flight leader on the day of the incident, accompanied by her wingman, Maj. Jack Ingber. Following the malfunction, Ingber visually inspected her A-10C to help establish what had gone wrong.

“I slowed down the aircraft and that’s when (Ingber) looked over my jet,” Bye explained. “The trust in this community and the Air Force in general, but specifically this fighter squadron, is huge because I’m completely relying on him to let me know what’s going on so I can take the proper action and get both him and I back on the ground safely.”

Taylor Bye had to reduce her visibility

“When anything (unusual) happens, it’s apparent and very easy to spot it and fix it," Ingber explained. "It’s my primary job to think of everything that (Bye) is not because she has a massive handful of an airplane that is falling apart.”

After assessing the severity of the situation, Bye executed a belly landing with the 20-ton plane. To manage the force of the 350 MPH winds battering the cockpit, she adjusted her seat, though this maneuver restricted her ability to clearly view her surroundings.

Taylor Bye was nervous, but still did her job

"I guess I was nervous the whole time, but I didn't have time to think about being nervous," the pilot remarked. "My job was to take care of myself and to take care of the jet." Fortunately, she landed the A-10C without incident and walked away without injury.

In the aftermath, Lt. Col. Stephen Joca, commander of the 75th Fighter Squadron, highlighted, "what's most important is preventing total loss of the A-10 or even worse, her life," and added "there are some steps that were covered in the checklist - the rest was just superb airmanship and decision making.”

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II's famous ruggedness

Throughout its service life, the A-10 has become renown for its durability and reliability. Nonetheless, even this resilient aircraft is susceptible to malfunctions.

A similar incident took place in 2017, involving Maj. Brett DeVries of the 107th Fighter Squadron based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base , Michigan. His A-10 experienced a failure with its GAU-8 Avenger, resulting in the blowing off of the cockpit canopy and the landing gear becoming inoperable.

Mirroring Bye's actions, DeVries executed a belly landing and emerged unscathed.

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Since "she managed to skillfully and safely land her A-10 with minimal damage," despite the dangerous situation she found herself in, Taylor Bye received the Air Combat Command Airmanship Award.