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At 11:46 AM,  Bill Arnett said...

I had something vaguely similar happen to me once. I was on patrol at Clark AB, Philippines, and had stopped at the end of the main runway to eat lunch with the guard we always posted there so no one would steal the landing lights. The lights suddenly popped on and then we saw the C-5A (bigger than a 747) coming in for a landing.

Thirty seconds later we saw that the plane was going to overshoot the runway and was heading straight towards us. I never started a truck and burned so much rubber getting out of the way in my life, watching in awe as the plain wiped out every single landing light, splintering the telephone pole size supports for the lights, eventually coming to a slow stop with much less damage to the plane than I expected. Still my guard and I swung into action, catching personnel as they came down the slides and then I went up into the plane to ensure no one had been left behind. No one had, so while crash teams took over my guard and I left during all the chaos.

Three years later in Albuquerque, NM, at Kirtland AFB, I was dispatched to the runway to safeguard a C-5A carrying some very special and secret gear. As I was standing there talking with the loadmaster I recounted the crash of the same type plane at Clark AB.

The aircrafts pilot and commander just happened to be within earshot, came over, and said, "This is the very plane that crashed at Clark, and i always regretted that I never got to personally thank you for your actions of going back into the plane to make sure my crew was safe," and then grabbing my hand and shaking it he very simply said, "Thank you, Sergeant."

When he and the crew returned to the plane the pilot brought me a full porterhouse steak dinner from the Officer's Club and told me it was payback for the meal I didn't get to eat because of the crash.

So, yes, I firmly believe such things can, and sometimes, do happen.

 

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