Marine pilot awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for heroics after mid-air collision
'We all had a job to do.'
BY JEFF SCHOGOL | PUBLISHED MAR 2, 2022 12:48 PM
NEWS
MARINE CORPS
Marine Maj. Corey Jones
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Corey Jones, a KC-130J Super Hercules pilot with Fleet Replacement Detachment salutes Maj. Gen. Michael Cederholm, Commanding General of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, during an award ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Feb. 28, 2022. Jones, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for conducting an emergency landing after another aircraft collided with his KC-130J Super Hercules. Jones’ piloting skills and timely decisions during the most critical moments of the 12 minutes from mid-air impact to landing are the reasons the entire aircrew were able to walk off of the aircraft and are alive today. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt Servante R. Coba).
For 12 minutes, Marine Maj. Cory T. Jones fought to keep his stricken KC-130J tanker in the air following a collision with a F-35B that could have very well ended in disaster.
On Sept. 29, 2020, Jones was piloting a Super Hercules during an air-to-air refueling mission when the F-35B struck his aircraft. Terrifying video that emerged on social media showed the Joint Strike Fighter hurtling to the ground and then exploding into a fireball. The pilot was able to safely eject.
But the KC-130J did not have any ejection seats. In fact, it only had five parachutes and there were eight crew members aboard at the time, Jones later recalled for a video posted by the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Even though the plane had lost two engines and was on fire, Jones and the rest of the crew worked methodically to address numerous simultaneous crises. As a result of their teamwork, the KC-130J safely landed in a farmer’s field. Nearly two years later, Jones was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the fourth highest military award for bravery, for helping to save all eight crew members that day.
On the day of the incident, the KC-130J crew was refueling aircraft that were taking part in training at The Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course in Yuma, Arizona. While refueling one of the F-35Bs, Jones heard one of the KC-130J crew members warn that the Joint Strike Fighter was going to hit the tanker.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-distinguished-flying-cross-midair-collision/
