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I was just watching a Twilight Zone segment on TV; one which I had, to my knowledge, never seen before. The major implication or plot of the segment required the audience to believe the airplane flew and landed... without pilot or passengers. As unlikely as it may seem, I once experienced a very similar occurrence. Hower, we'll get back to this extremely remote possibility later.
I have a long personal military history, as I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1970, finished a tour of duty, and went on to serve in the Air National Guard, the Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army Inactive Reserve in that order.
However, during my 35 years of
military service nothing, I mean nothing, surprised me more than what I
observed one day during a 40 day stint of active duty in my home state of
Florida.
The 2nd Battalion,
116th Field Artillery (National Guard) Battalion, including
half of the other reservists in Florida, along with twenty five thousand
regular Army troops had been mobilized in the wake of the devastation of
Hurricane Andrew, and assigned to the Homestead, Florida area.
Our battalion of about 400 troops
“set up camp” on the grounds of the Metro Zoo. While not the focus of my story,
it is interesting to note that an AID’s research facility on the grounds of the
zoo was virtually destroyed by the hurricane, and numerous squirrel monkeys
escaped, and scampered away “to the Lord knows where.” Our unit members were
informed that, should we see one of these HIV infected monkeys we should not
hesitate to lift our M-16’s to our shoulders and blow them away. To my
knowledge, none of these monkeys were seen, or ‘dispatched’ by our troops. Some
people have conjectured they made their way to the Florida Everglades, and that their descendants are
still breeding disease-ridden offspring there.
Be that as it may, during the course
of our hurricane duty my section chief and I were standing at the entrance of
what had once been an upscale subdivision called “Country Walk;” (which by now
could only be described as a “complete mess”).
Pt. 2
Sergeant Hoehne and I were tasked
with checking the ID’s of people who drove up to the entrance of the
subdivision to ascertain that they were residents of what had, a few days
earlier, been $250,000-$500,000 homes; (and this was 30 years ago).
I suppose we had stood at that
entranceway a couple or three days when a middle-aged man walked up to us from
a nearby home, or what had been a home, and began speaking to us. He told us
that he and his wife had decided to brave the hurricane, and remain in their
house, rather than evacuate. Needless to say, within minutes of the storm’s
arrival, “Jim” and “Sarah” rued the day that they made this fateful decision.
The house began to shake. The windows began to break. The living room ceiling
began to collapse. And they were forced to take refuge in their bathroom.
Stepping into the bathtub together, they held hands, and told each other
“Goodbye.” Thankfully, they lived through their horrendous experience. Jim went
on to tell us that they had already made an appearance on 20/20, and shared
their ordeal with a national audience. (I have never been able to locate a copy
of this video, however).
But in spite of everything I have
shared with you thus far, I have yet to mention the primary focus of my story.
For you see, as Bob and I were
standing at the front entrance to “Country Walk,” I happened to look behind us,
and noticed something metallic in a nearby field. Upon closer examination, I
saw the most compelling sight. A Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft. And not a
scratch or dent in it. Of course, I realized I was looking at a piece of flying
history which shouldn’t be sitting in a field full of weeds.
After I picked my teeth up off the
ground, I asked Sergeant Hoehne,
“Bob, what is that perfectly good
airplane doing in the middle of that field?”
To which he replied,
“Oh, that airplane flew there, and
plopped right down where it is; without so much as a runway!”
He continued.
“Not only that, but the cockpit was
empty when the airplane chose that field as its final resting place.”
I responded.
“Do you mean to tell me there wasn’t
a pilot onboard the airplane when it took off?”
Now, Bob chuckled and exclaimed,
“Not only that, but there wasn’t a
pilot or passengers on board when it landed either!”
Pt. 3
It seems the C-47 prop plane had been on exhibit in a World War II aircraft museum, about half a mile from the Country Walk subdivision, when Hurricane Andrew plowed its ferocious pathway through south Florida. And, apparently, as the concrete walls, and glass windows dissolved around the airplane, a small tornado lifted it from its moorings, spun it towards the non-descript field hundreds of yards away, and set it down “as pretty as you please.” (Though I was unaware of it at the time, perhaps I had inadvertently solved the far-fetched dilemma in that old Twilight Zone segment).
I have often wondered what became of
that airplane. I have seen a similar aircraft along an interstate highway in
central Florida, not far from my own home, and designed as an advertising tool
for a nearby aircraft museum. As a matter of fact, the same person who owned
the aircraft museum in Homestead also owns this museum. Perhaps, it is the same
old C-47 airplane. If so, it is still “out standing in its field” as the phrase
goes; (transported this time around by the act of human beings, and not the whim
of nature).
Yes, I have often thought of that old
airplane, and the cooperative effort of what is generally thought of as a
destructive act of nature, to do something which might considered miraculous.
Never before or since have I come across an airplane which managed to fly
without a pilot, (and still remained intact after it landed).
Given the facts of my story,
when it is all said and done, all I have to say is,
Lions and Tigers and Bears, oops…
HIV Infected Monkeys, Bathtub
Goodbyes, and Pilotless Airplanes, Oh My!
by William McDonald, PhD
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