U-2 pilot named Kolligian Trophy winner - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

U-2 pilot named Kolligian Trophy winner

A pilot who managed to save his plane from crashing during a training flight has been awarded the 2009 Kolligian Trophy, the Air Force Safety Center announced Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Joseph Santucci of the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron, Beale Air Force Base, Calif., was flying a U-2 at 50,000 feet on Feb. 12, 2009, when the plane pitched violently to 50 degrees nose down, an Air Force summary said. Santucci managed to pull the nose back up by “bear hugging” the yoke. He continued struggling to keep control of the reconnaissance jet.

With a blizzard raging below, ejecting and parachuting into the snow-covered mountains was an option Santucci wanted to avoid. With the help of his control officer at Beale, Santucci guided the plane to a safe landing at Beale.

The Kolligian Trophy is presented each year in memory of 1st Lt. Koren Kolligian Jr., an Air Force pilot declared missing in the line of duty when his T-33 aircraft disappeared in 1955 off the California coast.

The trophy was established to honor the outstanding actions of aircrew members who, in extraordinary situations, avoid a crash or minimize the seriousness of the accident.