Clouds of War

Suddenly, I was back to the “present.” It felt like we had flown into a wall or hit another airplane or a ridge. Bam! Bam! The airplane was pitching and bucking like a wild animal. I fought just to hold the airplane straight and level. In my mind, I heard one of my instructors saying, “Fly the airplane! Fly the airplane!” After a few minutes, things settled down. I quickly scanned my instruments, asked for a position report, and instructed the crew to strap on their parachute. I turned on all the outside lights so we could be seen by other aircraft that might be in the area. The flight engineer, George Ronnenkamp, quickly checked everyone’s chutes. Again, I scanned my instruments. Apparently, we had again flown through a wind shear and into a strong updraft. My rate of climb was 2,400 feet per minute, and the pitch attitude was nose level. I pushed the nose downward to offset the effect of the updraft, reduced power, and lowered my flaps. My actions meant nothing to the updraft. We were still climbing at 2,400 feet per minute. I instructed the crew to hang on and make sure their belts and harnesses were as tight as they could get them! It was dark outside, except for occasional lightning. There was no sense of motion, and we had no outside visual references! The force of the updraft pressed us hard into our seats. Suddenly, I felt weightless, and the seat belt was pressing hard against my lap! I pulled the nose up and went to full power. We were still descending at an incredible rate! This was like riding a rodeo bull blindfolded! Suddenly, we were going up again, and I had to push the nose over and reduce power. More wind shear! The airplane tried to roll to the left as we flew through another vertical wind shear! We were bouncing around like a rubber ball in a washing machine. A thousand particles began hitting the aircraft, creating a deafening noise that wouldn’t go away. Hail! I tried to focus on the instrument panel. Then I realized I was holding my breath! I consciously made myself breathe again. I reached over to the console and put my hand on the bail out toggle switch. In my mind, I quickly considered the consequences of a night bail out in a heavy thunderstorm over the highest mountains on earth. The updrafts were strong enough to keep our bodies airborne for a long time. The hail would break bone. The lack of oxygen would lead to death. Even if we made it to the ground, we would still have to deal with local tribes of head hunters in the villages below. But if we rode the aircraft into the ground or the aircraft broke up in flight, we all would surely die. I looked over at my hand on the bail out switch. I thought to myself, That bell better work!