The overall winner of USAFE’s Sure Fire 2005 weapons loading competition, held last week, was the 81st Aircraft Maintenance Unit, Spangdahlem AB, Germany. The other top finishers were: SrA. Joshua Shively, 23rd AMU, Spangdahlem, for the bomblift competition; the 31st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Aviano AB, Italy, for top loadcrew.
A helicopter instructor pilot failed to take sufficient corrective action in time to fix the mistakes of a student pilot taking off from a slope, resulting in a rollover that caused nearly $11 million in damages to a TH-1H chopper last spring.