For Bill Barton and pilot Chuck Gardner, the landing they made this afternoon in a World War II vintage fighter plane was the best kind possible.
It was one they both could walk away from.
The pilot and passenger touched down safely about 2:15 p.m. at Mobile Downtown Airport in a P-51 Mustang that minutes earlier had a stuck landing gear, authorities said.
Neither Gardner nor Barton was injured, and the plane suffered no structural damage.
After the landing gear problem arose, the owner of the plane Gardner was flying, Cavanaugh Flight Museum of Dallas, got the pilot in contact by radio with Bob Hoover, a 90-year-old P-51 veteran from World War II and the Korean War, according to passenger Barton.
Hoover suggested a number of maneuvers Gardner could use to dislodge the stuck left landing gear on the single-engine plane. One of the moves worked, dropping the
Mobile Fire-Rescue Department emergency personnel accompany a vintage P-51 Mustang after the World War II fighter landed safely in Mobile this afternoon. Its pilot had to execute maneuvers to dislodge a stuck landing gear before he could bring the plane and his passenger in safely. (Photo courtesy of Steve Huffman, Mobile Fire-Rescue department)
landing gear into place, Barton said.
The flight Barton had taken was part of an air nostalgia weekend at Alabama Aviation Center, and it also featured flights in the Commemorative Air Force’s B-29 "Fifi," the last operating B-29 in existence.
For Barton, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force and is an enthusiast of history and vintage aircraft, the flight was a much anticipated experience. He said it was originally meant to last about 30 minutes.
The noon takeoff was routine, as was most of the flight, Barton said. "When we flew over the Battleship USS Alabama, from that height it looked like a toy in a tub," he said.
After flying over Fairhope, Gardner turned the plane back toward Mobile and set up for a landing. That’s when only the right wing landing gear and the small gear beneath the tail deployed.
As the situation unfolded, Barton said both he and Gardner were more concerned about the plane than their own well being. "I didn’t think either of us were in extreme danger. But I was concerned that a beautiful piece of American history could have been badly damaged," Barton said.
As Gardner and Hoover exchanged ideas on how to free the stuck landing gear, the Mustang circled the airport and vicinity. Its distinctive piston engine was clearly audible in the low clouds over Midtown in 10-minute intervals for nearly an hour.
Finally, Barton said, Gardner took the P-51 over Mobile Bay, then up over the Mobile River Delta, where Gardner began the recommended maneuvers.
"We did about 30 to 40 minutes of these, both positive-G and negative-G moves. It was to me like riding a really neat roller coaster," Barton said. Finally, he felt what he described as a "jarring sound, like you hear on an airliner when the landing gears come out."
It was then, Barton said, that Gardner told him, "Bill, we’ve got 3 green Christmas lights," aviation jargon for the landing gear indicators on the instrument panel.
After two passes over the airport, they attempted the landing, which Barton said would tell them once and for all if the landing gear was locked.
All the while, Mobile Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Steve Huffman said that 3 engines, a ladder truck, a paramedic unit, crash trucks and a district chief were deployed along Runway 14, where the Mustang was assigned to land.
Vintage B-29 bomber 'Fifi' flies over MobileThe Comemmorative Air Force's B-29 bomber "Fifi" is seen flying at the Alabama Aviation Center in Mobile, Ala., on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. The flight was part of an air nostalgia weekend.Watch video
The P-51 approached over Interstate 10, Neshota Drive, the northeast corner of Pinecrest Cemetery and Perimeter Road before touching down — with landing gears fully locked — on the runway about 2:15 p.m.
Cavanaugh officials on site at the airport towed the P-51 to a hangar and did not make Gardner available to the media after the plane landed.
Meanwhile, flights on the B-29 continued for the afternoon, the last of 3 days the planes were to be in Mobile.
The P-51 Mustang was the U.S. Army Air Force’s top long-range fighter during the latter stages of World War II. It was also used in the early months of the Korean War before being replaced by jet fighters.
The P-51’s most notable use during World War II was to escort Allied bombers over Germany. U.S. bomber losses were high earlier in the war because fighters available before the P-51 could not accompany bombers for the entirety of missions.
The P-51 was the fighter most often flown in combat by the Tuskegee Airmen and is prominently featured in the recent movie "Red Tails." The film gets its name from the red markings the Tuskegee Airmen put on the tails for identification.
The P-51 that was in Mobile today was modified to include a passenger seat. According to information on the Cavanaugh website, a trip like the one Barton took costs close to $2,000. Attempts to reach Cavanaugh officials in Dallas Sunday night were unsuccessful.
Barton is no stranger to flight. A retired senior master sergeant, he served 22 years in the USAF in the field of network security.
He currently works for the U.S. Navy at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., on the Navy’s Aegis destroyer program and the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter program.
Barton said that, despite the unexpected adventure of Sunday’s ride, he would gladly fly the Mustang again.
"Absolutely," he said.