Annals of Oops–“Sorry about the $40 million plane, Colonel”: Flying for the US Air Force Thunderbirds is not for the faint of heart. Come to think of it, GOING to a Thunderbirds show is not for the faint of heart. On Sept. 14, 2003, Capt. Christopher Stricklin had to punch out as his F-16 jet headed for an unscheduled touchdown. Stricklin had the presence of mind to steer his jet away from the crowd, and hit the eject button just a slim eight-tenths of a second before impact. Click here for a spectacular 2.7 meg picture of the key moment. The plane turned into a fiery comet and skidded to a stop just 100 feet short of the control tower. Click here for a video of both the crash and the fireball heading towards the control tower (note: I don’t think the bouncing object at the end of the clip is Capt. Stricklin; he survived).



Bad, Bad Day at the Office

(Images via AVWeb)