Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/05/07
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At 08:35 AM 5/6/96 -0700, Eric Welch wrote:
>At 10:21 AM 5/6/96 +0200, you wrote:
>
>>The "F-4 bailout over the Mojave Desert"? Sorry, but I don't understand
>what you're talking about - although I'd like to. Could you please give some
>details?
>
>PMFJI, but I remember that story. A pro. photographer was using an SL(2?)Mot
>with a 90 Summicron to photograph air-to-air between to Phantom F4 jets.
>They did the same move Tom Cruise did in "Top Gun" when he gave a Mig pilot
>the bird and took a Polaroid that opened the movie. Upside down above the
>lower plane to get closeup of the pilot.
>
>Anyway, the top plane with the photographer lost power and the rudder cut
>into the body of the plane below. They bailed out, but the pilot of the
>other plane was killed. The camera, at an altitude of 5 miles was ripped out
>of his hands as he bailed out and fell to the desert below.
>
That's basically the story I've heard as well, except that I thought
everyone ejected successfully from both planes. (A tragedy if someone had to
die for a photo op.) Also recall the slides disappeared and haven't been
seen since, despite a reward offered by Mark Meyer, the photographer who was
shooting for Time.
----------------------
Charles E. Albertson
Seattle, Wash.
chucko@mail.eskimo.com