Van Nuys : 146th Airlift Wing Flies By Key Milestone

Shortly after one of its monster-sized, military-green cargo planes nosed up into the sky, the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing flew past a key milestone this week.

Cruising up the sun-splashed coast toward San Luis Obispo, the crew logged the air wing’s 250,000th hour of accident-free flying, racked up over more than three decades, most of them when it was based at Van Nuys Airport. The air wing moved to Ventura County in 1990.

The air wing planned Thursday’s flight to mark what officials say is a major safety benchmark for the Air National Guard’s 92 flying units nationwide. Only one other wing--a unit based in Oklahoma City--has such bragging rights.

“This is a flight like any other, but this is also an important point to appreciate,” said Capt. Kimberly Holman, who co-piloted the plane on the landmark, 90-minute round-trip up the coastline. “It doesn’t come easy.”

The quarter-of-a-million hours of flying without a mishap amount to keeping a single plane in the air around the clock for 28 1/2 years, officials calculated.

Given that the 146th Wing’s planes have flown into wars, firestorms, floods and other major disasters, such a record was “a remarkable achievement,” said Maj. Gen. Bob Barrow, commander of the California Air National Guard.

The 146th Wing recorded its last accident in October 1965, when a C-97 Stratofreighter had a “hard landing” at a Palmdale airstrip. The plane touched down with its landing gear up, resulting in no injuries but causing damage to the aircraft.

“If we hadn’t had that, our record would probably go back much further,” air wing Lt. Col. Ed Bellion said.

Luck has been on the air wing’s side. With duties ranging from hauling troops and military supplies to evacuating injured soldiers, the 146th Wing was deployed in the Persian Gulf and other areas during Operation Desert Storm.

Based at Van Nuys Airport for 40 years, the air wing moved in 1990 to a base near the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station.