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<blockquote data-quote="leardriver" data-source="post: 1397266" data-attributes="member: 3997">I&#039;m not afraid of heights.&nbsp; I AM afraid of falling OFF those heights.Jump out of an airplane?&nbsp; In 1971, I was returning to my base in Thailand from a night recon mission over Laos.&nbsp; Engine quit at about 16,000ft during the descent.&nbsp; I set up a nice glide and started the restart procedures and emergency checklists.&nbsp; Nothing worked.&nbsp; Looked like I might have to bail out.&nbsp; That terrified me.&nbsp; I decided I would ditch in the Mekong River which forms the border between Thailand and Laos.&nbsp; I might drown, but I damn sure wasn&#039;t gonna crash and burn.&nbsp; However, there was no moon.&nbsp; It was so damn black out there, I couldn&#039;t even see the river... which is as wide as the Mississippi!&nbsp; I kept working the engine controls.&nbsp; Finally, after several minutes... and down to about 5,000ft, the engine seemed to catch. It was rough, but it did give me a little extra push.&nbsp; Enough to get close to the base before it quit for good.&nbsp; I got overhead, pitched to the left, and deadsticked into Nakhon Phanom.&nbsp; My commander and some other crews had come out to watch, so I sure didn&#039;t want to eff it up.&nbsp; I touched down and rolled out onto a high speed taxiway.&nbsp; I was a sweatsoaked mess.&nbsp; Later on, when I heard the tapes of my radio transmissions, it was funny how the lower I descended with the dead engine, the higher my voice got.&nbsp; Near the end, when the outcome was still in doubt, I could have sung as a stand-in for Beverly Sills at the Met...!But at least I didn&#039;t have to jump out of the airplane.BTW, the ground crews tore into the engine immediately.&nbsp; Each magneto was filled with water.&nbsp; I had flown several hours in solid rain.&nbsp; Those mags ain&#039;t supposed to get water in them.&nbsp; Someone told me it was near impossible.&nbsp; Guess they hadn&#039;t been tested in the Southeast Asia monsoon season.Cap&#039;n BillVampire 25</blockquote>

[QUOTE="leardriver, post: 1397266, member: 3997"] I'm not afraid of heights. I AM afraid of falling OFF those heights. Jump out of an airplane? In 1971, I was returning to my base in Thailand from a night recon mission over Laos. Engine quit at about 16,000ft during the descent. I set up a nice glide and started the restart procedures and emergency checklists. Nothing worked. Looked like I might have to bail out. That terrified me. I decided I would ditch in the Mekong River which forms the border between Thailand and Laos. I might drown, but I damn sure wasn't gonna crash and burn. However, there was no moon. It was so damn black out there, I couldn't even see the river... which is as wide as the Mississippi! I kept working the engine controls. Finally, after several minutes... and down to about 5,000ft, the engine seemed to catch. It was rough, but it did give me a little extra push. Enough to get close to the base before it quit for good. I got overhead, pitched to the left, and deadsticked into Nakhon Phanom. My commander and some other crews had come out to watch, so I sure didn't want to eff it up. I touched down and rolled out onto a high speed taxiway. I was a sweatsoaked mess. Later on, when I heard the tapes of my radio transmissions, it was funny how the lower I descended with the dead engine, the higher my voice got. Near the end, when the outcome was still in doubt, I could have sung as a stand-in for Beverly Sills at the Met...! But at least I didn't have to jump out of the airplane. BTW, the ground crews tore into the engine immediately. Each magneto was filled with water. I had flown several hours in solid rain. Those mags ain't supposed to get water in them. Someone told me it was near impossible. Guess they hadn't been tested in the Southeast Asia monsoon season. Cap'n Bill Vampire 25 [/QUOTE]

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