Michigan A-10 pilot belly-lands plane that tried to kill him
Having a rough day at work? Computer running slow? Paper jam in the copier? Corporate blocked your favorite websites?
How about this for a bad day at work? You're flying your A-10 over northern Michigan on a beautiful summer day, practicing shooting stuff with your 30mm cannon, when the gun malfunctions, causing your canopy to fly off, damaging your landing gear and taking out two of your aircraft radios. So, there you are - flying right above the tree tops at 375 MPH, with no windshield - Chinese takeout menus and pin-up calendars flying around in the cockpit (the official description was, "There was paper everywhere", so I'm just assuming) and worried that even if you can find somewhere to land, you'll have no landing gear.
The good thing? You've got friends. And if you've ever seen a "Toy Story" movie, you know that's the way you get out of tough situations.
Fortunately, it all worked out for Capt. Brett DeVries, of the Michigan Air National Guard's 107th Fighter Squadron, when all this actually happened last month.
Nice work by everybody involved. Here's the story.
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