F/A-18 Runs Critically Low on Fuel After Repeated Missed Approaches

On 4 April 2012, U.S. Navy F/A-18 pilot Brandon Gasser was attempting to recover at Spirit of St. Louis Airport when deteriorating weather forced the flight to divert. The aircraft was then worked toward Scott Air Force Base, but communications were lost during the approach and the F/A-18 missed the approach. When contact was re-established, the weather problem had not gone away and the aircraft needed another option.

St. Louis TRACON controller Kevin Cook took the aircraft toward Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Gasser reported minimum fuel. The second approach also became unusable, leaving the pilot with a rapidly shrinking margin and no realistic prospect of simply trying the same plan again. The situation had moved from a weather diversion to a fuel emergency.

Gasser climbed toward 15,000 feet while controllers considered the remaining options. The climb was useful because it increased the aircraft's potential glide range. He also told controllers that he was considering putting the aircraft into the Mississippi River rather than risk running out of fuel while attempting another approach.

At that point, controller Steve Clark concentrated on the airspace around Gasser. While Cook remained focused on the F/A-18 and its approach, Clark worked to clear other traffic so that the pilot would have room to maneuver. NATCA later described the coordination as a deliberate division of workload: one controller handled the emergency while the other made a hole in the surrounding airspace.

The third approach into Lambert succeeded. The F/A-18 landed with roughly five minutes of fuel remaining. NATCA subsequently recognized Cook and Clark with an Archie League Medal of Safety Award, and Gasser attended the recognition ceremony. The award record provides an unusually detailed account of what the controllers did and why the sequence became so time-critical.

The significance of the event lies in the changing constraints. The first diversion was caused by weather, the second approach failed, and the final recovery had to be built around the amount of fuel left rather than the normal arrival sequence. The controllers did not solve the weather; they reduced the number of additional problems the pilot had to manage while preserving the remaining options. That is what allowed the final approach to be attempted with enough fuel to reach the runway.

Sources

• NATCA — Archie League Award account
• NATCA — Archie League transcript