It appeared like an ordinary ending to an ordinary mission Sept. 11 as the commanding officer and executive officer of Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, brought their UC-35D Cessna Citation Encore to a stop on the Futenma flight line here.
The flight was anything but typical as it marked the achievement of a safety milestone that dates back to 1972.
Lt. Col. David W. Bussel, H&HS commanding officer, and executive officer Lt. Col. Scott Payne piloted the craft as the squadron surpassed 80,000 mishap-free flight hours.
the fact that over a 36-year period, the squadron has not had a single Class A mishap.
The Department of Defense defines a class A aviation mishap as one where an aircraft is destroyed or there is fatal or disabling injury to personnel. Also, any aviation mishaps where damage costs equal or exceed $1 million fall in this category.
As Bussel stepped smiling from his aircraft he was visibly proud of the accomplishment. He was quick to acknowledge, however, the safety feat had little to do with this one flight and much more to do with the many years of dedication and hard work of the aircraft maintainers on the ground.
“We absolutely have the best mechanics in the business and it’s because of them we surpassed this milestone,” Bussel said. “The crew has been phenomenal.”
Since hitting the 30,000-hour mishap-free milestone in January 1990, H&HS, which currently operates three Citation Encore jets and one UC-12 King Air propeller craft, has averaged about 10,000 mishap-free hours every three years and eight months, according to official squadron records.
Records also show in that time, the squadron has flown to 30 countries to include the United States.