Last Dec. 30, 151 passengers and six crew members on a commercial flight out of Des Moines received the best possible holiday present, and it came in the form of Capt. Mark Gongol, then of 13th Air Support Operations in Fort Carson, Colorado.
Gongol, along with an ad hoc team of nurses, crew members, and a remarkably composed first officer successfully guided their commercial jet to a safe landing at Omaha International Airport after the plane’s captain suffered a heart attack.
The flight was just like any of the thousands of commercial flights that criss-crossed the country that day. Capt. Gongol and his family were flying home after visiting family over the holidays and never expected the call that came over the PA system about 30minutes into the flight.
“First there were a couple of calls for a physician, and then they called for a pilot,” stated Cpt. Gongol. At that point, the 11-year Air Force veteran, after a nod from his wife, knew it was time to head for the flight deck.
When he arrived in the cockpit, the aircraft’s first officer greeted him with a few questions. “She had been flying solo for at least four to five minutes before I got there,” said Gongol.
Gongol was in civilian clothes and did not have any airline credentials. “She didn’t know if I flew Cessnas or jet fighters. She immediately asked about my experience level and what I flew. I told her I was an Air Force guy and that I flew the B-1B.”
Apparently, that was enough. The first officer invited Gongol to have a seat and assist her with the radio and safety processes.
“She did a great job flying and was completely in command of the aircraft,” he said. And he was happy to play sidekick to his airline counterpart. “She would have been just fine on her own. I had full faith and confidence in her.”
Once the plane landed safely and the pilot had been transported to the hospital — he has since recovered, retired from flying, and is doing well, according to Gongol — the Captain and his family faded into the crowd and headed home, where they awaited their next adventure.
That adventure, it turns out, was becoming part of the Air National Guard and moving to Mansfield to fly for the 179th Airlift Wing. Standing next to a C-130 Hercules, Gongol said that he was happy with his choice. “I chose the Air National Guard. I can spend more time with my family, but still do more flying than I would have been able to if I had remained on active duty.”
His move to Mansfield brings the career military man and his family back to his midwestern roots. “I was born in Chicago and grew up in Iowa, so this all feels very familiar,” he said, “Everyone has been very nice since we arrived and we are excited to get to know the area.”
There’s no shortage of news reports that point out that Richland and surrounding Ohio counties have lost population the past few years. Somebody needs to grade those losses on a weighted scale however, because Ohio just gained a bonafide hero and his family. A hero has to count at least double, right?
