Cheating Death Quotes

“I had recently completed several extremely dangerous test flights in the F-4C trying to determine why eight aircraft flown by Tactical Air Command pilots had crashed while maneuvering at low altitude. In preparation for flying combat, F-4C aircraft were loaded with twenty-five-pound smoke bombs, and pilots dropped them on simulated targets in Air Force gunnery ranges. With a full load of fuel, the aircraft was being flown out of balance. As a result, the flight controls were so light that some pilots maneuvered the F-4C through airframe buffet and into a full stall, ending in loss of control and a crash.”
― George Marrett, Cheating Death: Combat Rescues in Vietnam and Laos