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Gen. John Jumper, US Air Force Chief of Staff, presented the Kolligian Trophy to Capt. Michael Matesick during a ceremony last July at the Pentagon. Matesick earned the award for piloting his F-16 to safety after he experienced a major engine malfunction over Iraq in June 2003. He jettisoned his external stores and established his aircraft on course for a flameout landing at Baghdad International Airport, thirty-five miles away. After discovering the runway was closed, Matesick found an available taxiway and landed there. The award is presented annually in memory of Lt. Koren Kolligian, who was declared missing when his T-33 aircraft disappeared off the California coast in 1955. The trophy, established in 1958, is the only Air Force individual safety award personally presented by the chief of staff.
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