Show Pilots Pilot's Feat Saves Huge Crippled Plane j i Flier Does Impossible With Vi th 13 9 I 1 Ton Bomber I FORT WORTH The The worlds world's big big- biggest big big- biggest biggest gest bomber the 36 was all in one piece thanks to a civilian test pilot jilot who risked his life to bring his i 20 million dollar plane down with a damaged landing gear i After all except one of his crew had lad obeyed his orders to bail out I Ithe the he pilot W. W A. A Erickson 30 landed I Ithe the he ton 1 ton 9 plane on a broken land land- landing landI landing I ing gear gear gear-a a feat army air force ex ex- experts exI experts I said was next to impossible The 36 is the only plane in the I world that cali can take a full load of bombs arid make a round trip from Ip I p United States St tes to any inhabited Gea ea in the world I Erickson's pilot co-pilot G. G S. S Green 33 also rode the plane to the I ground II The plane was crippled on its take off from the Fort Worth army air base when a side brace strut on the main landing gear broke from froma fr m ma I a wing connection It left one wheel dangling In addition to Erickson and 1 1 Green 12 crew members were W re I aboard the plane I Erickson ordered the men to bail out He circled back and I forth over a highway as one after another of the men jumped Seven of them were injured none seriously seri seri- seriously seriously when they hit the ground Erickson then radioed he would try to land crash-land on the air field No Noone Noone Noone one had ordered him to try it But no one objected either Officials Officials Officials were eager to save the multi multi- million-dollar million plane For two hours he circled slowly above the field exhausting his gaso gaso- gasoline gasoline gasoline line supply Crash wagons and army ambulances stood by byi A crowd of 2000 gathered near the field I Erickson banked the plane slight slight- slightly ly to the left as it touched the run run- runway runway way maintaining the bulk of weight weighton 1 on the left main gear and nose gear The plane plant rolled to a stop It was a perfect landing Roland G. G G Mayer Fort Worth di di- division division division vision manager of Consolidated tee said it would take several weeks to repair the damaged land land- landing landing II ing mg gear |