Air Force Pilots Help Civilian Flyer In Trouble

When the pilot of a small twin lost an engine over Idaho while far from an airfield in bad weather late last month, he was lucky that two Air Force pilots were nearby on a training mission. Lt. Col. Evan Roelofs, in an F-15C, and Capt. Marco Parzych, in an F-16, from Mountain Home Air Force Base, got a call from Salt Lake Center asking them to help the civilian pilot find a hole in the clouds to descend through. Roelofs found the twin and circled nearby, until he found a opening for descent. Parzych then flew alongside in his F-16 until the twin landed safely at Boise International Airport. “The pilot informed me that he would like to follow my aircraft to the Boise airport and also let me know that he did not have many hours of experience,” Parzych told the Air Combat Command News Service. “However, he seemed very calm throughout the approach.”