In 1970, during a training
exercise, a Convair F-106 Delta Dart, piloted by Captain Gary Faust, flung
itself out of control and went into a
tailspin near Great Falls, Montana. Captain Faust did what he could to regain
control of the plane but was finally ejected out at an altitude of 15,000 feet.
A few seconds later, the plane’s
nose dove forward and recovered from its spin. One of the other pilots on the
mission was reported to have radioed Faust during his descent by parachute that
"you'd better get back in it!"
The plane landed itself gently
onto a farmer's field near Big Sandy, Montana, virtually undamaged.
In 1956, an experimental drone
was launched over Southern California. After a short time, the drone stopped
responding to commands, and it became clear that the drone had become a runaway.
The Navy, who owned the drone, phoned Oxnard Air Force Base 5 miles away and asked
them to bring the drone down. Two F-89D Scorpions were scrambled and caught up
with the drone at 30,000 feet but the drone suddenly southwest, crossing over
Los Angeles, then headed northwest, and then circled over Santa Paula. The
Scorpion pilots waited for it to fly over an unpopulated area so they could
attack with their "Mighty Mouse" 2.75-inch folding-fin rockets
When the drone headed towards the
mostly uninhabited Antelope Valley, the jets attempted to fire in automatic
mode several times, but due to a design flaw in the fire-control system, the
rockets failed to launch.
Suddenly the drone turned back
towards Los Angeles.
The jets switched to manual fire
only to find out that the jet's gun sights had been removed, forcing the pilots
to manually aim unguided rockets. The pilots in one plane fired 42 rockets,
completely missing their target. A second interceptor unleashed another salvo
of 42, the rockets passing just beneath the bright red drone, a few glancing
off the fuselage underside, but none detonating. The pilots then unleashed the
last salvo of 30 shots at the target with no hits.
In all, the Air Force element fired 208
rockets and was unable to shoot the Hellcat down. Of the 208 rockets, 15 were discovered undetonated. The first set
of rockets started brush fires 7 miles northeast from Castaic which burned 150
acres
The drone descended in an easy spiral and
landed in a desolate section of the desert 8 miles east from Palmdale Regional
Airport. Just before crashing, the drone severed three Southern California
Edison electric cables. One rocket bounced along the ground and started a
series of fires near a park, while others set fire to oil sumps owned by the
Indian Oil Co. The fires reached within 300 feet of the Bermite Powder
explosives plant. Other rockets started fires in the proximity of Soledad
Canyon, near Mount Gleason, burning more than 350 acres of rough brush.
Of the final set of rockets that were
fired while the Scorpions faced Palmdale, many landed in downtown Palmdale. One
chunk of shrapnel burst through the front window of a home, ricocheted off the
ceiling, went through a wall, and came to rest in a kitchen cupboard.
More rocket fragments completely penetrated
a home and garage on 4th Street East. One rocket landed right in front of a
vehicle being driven west on California State Route 138 near Tenth Street West,
of which one tire was shredded and many holes were punched through the car's
body. Two men in Placerita Canyon had been eating in their utility truck; right
after they left it to sit under the shade of a tree, a rocket struck the truck,
destroying it. Many fires were started near Santa Clarita, with three large
ones and many smaller ones in and around Palmdale.
It took 500 firefighters two days
to bring the brushfires under control. 1,000 acres were burned.