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generally speaking, when an emergency occurs during flight, the plane will crash soon after the pilot abandons the plane and parachutes. however, there was an american fighter plane that didn't believe this. after the pilot escaped, it miraculously resumed normal flight and even landed smoothly. finally, it was repaired and flew back into the sky. today, let's introduce this legendary story.

on the morning of february 2, 1970, various ground crew members at malmstrom air force base in montana, u.s., were busy preparing aircraft. the u.s. air force's 71st interceptor squadron stationed there was to conduct routine two-plane formation confrontation training.

the 71st interceptor squadron is equipped with the f-106 fighter, a supersonic all-weather fighter that was put into service in the late 1950s. the f-106 adopts a tailless delta wing design and is equipped with an advanced ma-1 fire control system. its fuselage weapon bay can carry four semi-air-to-air missiles, one air-to-air nuclear rocket, and a 20mm m61 six-barrel cannon.

▲the f-106 was the most advanced all-weather interceptor in the united states at the time, and could also carry air-to-air rockets equipped with nuclear warheads.

there were four pilots participating in the gun dogfight training that day, but one of the planes could not continue due to a malfunction, so the controller divided the remaining three planes into two groups to fight in a 1v2 mode. the pilots were major tom curtis against major jim roll and captain gary foster.

under the guidance of the controller, the two groups of pilots flew towards each other and soon approached a distance of less than 30 kilometers. since major curtis was at a disadvantage in numbers, the controller allowed him to fly higher than the other group.

after major curtis spotted the opponent visually, he immediately dived to "engage the enemy", his target was captain foster who was in the wingman position. however, due to the relative speed of several times the speed of sound, major curtis's first raid did not hit, so he immediately ascended and turned sharply, trying to regain the altitude advantage.

▲two f-106s are flying in formation. the subject of the day is 1v2 combat training.

captain foster also accumulated a certain amount of speed and began to circle each other to seize the high position. however, until the energy was almost exhausted, neither plane could gain an absolute advantage, so they entered the roller scissors action to see which side could not control the speed and overtake the front.

after the two planes rolled over each other for several weeks, major curtis was the better fighter. he suddenly slowed down at an altitude of 11,000 meters, and captain foster's plane immediately overtook him.

captain foster, who was caught in a passive position, was extremely anxious and subconsciously slowed down. however, his plane was performing a large-angle maneuver at this time and almost immediately entered a horizontal stall spin.

▲no aircraft can perform large-angle maneuvers at low speeds, otherwise there is a high probability of a tailspin.

due to the special aerodynamic shape of the f-106, it is not easy to correct the stall spin. fortunately, the altitude at this time is still high enough to deal with it. captain foster followed the flight manual to correct the stall spin, but it was ineffective. in desperation, he even opened the parachute to try to change the aerodynamics of the aircraft, but it was of no avail.

soon the plane fell to the parachuting altitude of 4,500 meters. captain foster, who was at his wits' end, shouted "eject! eject! eject!" and pulled the ejection handle. the ejection rocket was immediately activated, throwing captain foster and the flight seat out of the plane.

just after captain foster left the plane, the f-106, which had been spinning violently, actually recovered from the horizontal stall spin on its own and maintained steady straight flight. it is very likely that the downward impact force of the ejection propellant pushed the nose of the aircraft down, and the aircraft regained lift.

▲f-106 ejection static model.

after seeing the incredible scene, captain foster's lead plane, major roll, shouted on the radio: "foster, you'd better find a way to get back on the plane!"

captain foster, who was hanging under the parachute, was unable to do anything. because he had put the throttle in the slow position before parachuting, the unmanned f-106 was able to maintain a speed of about 300km/h and was slowly descending. several other pilots thought it would crash to the ground and explode sooner or later, so they did not fly with it.

this f-106 seemed to have its own temper, and it specifically chose a flat cornfield to land. when the plane slowly descended and approached the ground, due to the ground effect and thick snow, the f-106 landed very lightly, and even made a precise right turn at the end of the taxi to avoid a stone wall.

▲the f-106 made an almost perfect forced landing in a cornfield.

the nearby people were frightened by the huge plane falling from the sky and gathered to watch. the plane's engine was still running, and the police were maintaining order and trying to contact malmström air force base through the name "foster" on the side of the cockpit cover.

the first thing the police said when they got through the phone was: "how can i turn off the engine?" captain foster was confused. after figuring out the situation, he told the police to put the throttle down to the idle position. however, due to the long-term operation of the engine, the snow under the belly of the plane melted, and the plane began to slide forward slowly.

the onlookers and the police on the plane immediately jumped out of the plane. fortunately, the plane only slid 120 meters before stopping. 20 minutes later, the fuel was exhausted and the f-106 completely collapsed in the cornfield.

▲note that the parachute door at the tail of this f-106 is open.

▲the belly of the plane was only scratched, and the rest of the structure was almost intact.

the ground crew sent by the air force base rushed to the "crash" site and turned off the main power supply. after a careful inspection, they were surprised to find that the plane was not seriously damaged. only the skin on the belly was worn, and the rest of the plane was intact. a pilot said on the spot that if conditions allowed, he could fly the plane back directly.

the f-106 was quickly dismantled and sent for repair. after several months of hard work, the aircraft was completely restored and returned to the 71st interceptor squadron. finally, the f-106 known as the "cornfield plane" was retired in 1988 and sent to the united states air force museum to spend its remaining years.