| Flying
with the 33rd Marine Air Group, Ted Williams was one of the
200 flyers in a huge air mission aimed at Kyomipo, fifteen
miles south of the North Korea capital of Pyongyang. Coming
in low over his target, a troop encampment, Ted lost site
of the plane in front of him.
He dropped down to regain visual contact, but went too low.
North Korean soldiers in the encampment blasted him with small
arms fire. He completed his run over the target and tried
to pull up. Every warning light in the cockpit was lit and
the plane was vibrating. The stick started to shake and he
knew he’d sprung a leak in the hydraulic system.
The landing gear came down and the plane was hard to control.
Ted got the gear up and started climbing. He knew he was in
trouble and got on the radio, but the radio went dead. Another
pilot pulled close and tried to signal Ted to bail out, but
he didn’t know his plane was on fire.
He increased altitude and turned the jet toward the nearest
American base. Nearly all his instruments were out. The airspeed
indicator read zero. The wing flaps were frozen and Ted was
unable to lower the landing gear. Every message given by the
plane told him to eject.
He continued to climb, still not knowing the plane was on
fire, but took the precaution of climbing to higher elevation
anyway. A companion aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant Larry
Hawkins, led Ted back to the field and radioed ahead that
he was in trouble.
Ted again considered bailing out but resisted the idea. He
was afraid if he |
ejected
his kneecaps would crash against the cockpit.
With the field in site, Ted turned to land when an explosion
rocked the craft. A wheel door had blown off. Smoke was pouring
from the brake ports. Down below, the residents of a small
Korean village on the outskirts of the field scattered. His
plane was a mass of fire and smoke.
Unable to check his air speed and almost powerless to do anything
about it, Ted approached the ground at 225 miles per hour,
almost twice the recommended speed. He dropped the emergency
wheel latch and only one wheel dropped into position. He hit
the strip level, but with no way to slow the plane. Soon the
plane settled on its belly, sparks, fire, and smoke trailing
after it, as Ted held on, hoping it would stop.
The F-9 screamed down the field out of control for more than
a mile, shedding strips of metal and on the verge on exploding.
Twice the plane nearly barreled into fire trucks waiting for
the inevitable blowup. Finally, at the very edge of the field,
the plane groaned to a stop.
Ted popped the canopy. With the exception of the cockpit,
the entire plane was aflame. He dove headfirst to the tarmac,
where he was grabbed by two Marine flight crewmen and hustled
away. Angry, both at himself and the close call, Ted took
off his helmet and threw it on the ground. When he returned
to look at the plane, it was a blackened hulk, completely
destroyed. He avoided death by the narrowest margin. |
