CSAF awards Kolligian trophy to Pope pilot
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Capt. Michael Honma accepted the Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy in a ceremony presided over by Gen. John Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, and attended by the Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. James Roche, Brig. Gen. Winfield Scott, 43rd Airlift Wing commander, members of the Kolligian family and several other Air Force senior leaders. Honma’s family, including his wife, parents, and close friends joined him at the Pentagon for the ceremony.
The Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy, presented annually, was established in 1958 by the Kolligian family in memory of 1st Lt. Koren Kolligian Jr., an Air Force pilot declared missing in action when his T-33 aircraft disappeared off the California coast in September 1955.
The award recognizes outstanding airmanship by an aircrew member who has demonstrated extraordinary skill, alertness, ingenuity or proficiency in averting or minimizing the seriousness of flight mishaps.
“This is definitely the greatest honor I have ever received as far as being recognized for something I have done,” Honma said regarding the award. “I am definitely humbled by this.”
Honma was selected for this honor as a result of his actions during an in-flight emergency Sept. 5. He and his crew were aboard a C-130 flying a routine training mission when they saw indications of a problem with the No. 4 engine. The crew of 10 used its training and flight manual procedures to shut down the engine. Shortly after, the engine caught fire and fell off the aircraft. Honma said from the time the crew spotted a problem to the time the engine departed the aircraft was only about four minutes.
“It was just like any other training mission. There was nothing special about it. It just so happened that night we had a problem, and we handled it,” Honma said. “We had more people on board because we were trying to maximize training. We handle emergencies. That is what we get trained to do,” he said. “We handle them as they happen and safely bring (the aircraft) back.”
Honma said the situation was something the crew had not seen before, but was prepared to deal with because of training missions.
“That is why we fly as often as we do. So when something does happen, although it may not be covered in our technical orders, we can still deal with the situation and put (the aircraft) down safely,” Honma said.
Honma said everyone performed outstanding under the pressure and landed the aircraft safely with no injuries at Fayetteville Regional Airport.
In addition to the Kolligian award, Jumper said he had a surprise for Honma and announced his selection for promotion to major.
“That was a total shock for me,” Honma said smiling.
The crew was also nominated and awarded the 21st Air Force Aircrew Excellence Award for the third quarter and later won the annual award for their actions during the Sept. 5 flight.
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