Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 1, 1990                   TAG: 9006010089
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CRASH SURVIVOR: `I SAW THE WHITES OF OTHER PILOT'S EYES'

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - It was a great day for flying. My wife, my 5-year-old son and young daughter watched from the runway as we took off.

I've always been scared to fly. But the plane takeoff was so smooth. I was feeling comfortable and was talking to Duncan much of the way.

We flew in formation to the tanker and practiced fueling in air. Everything was going so smoothly.

I handled the plane for a couple Bushee of minutes. Then Duncan took control for good. We took it for a roll. We went up and did some G-force testing to see how I would react. . . .

Then he brought the squadron back together and began setting up for combat exercises.

We did the first exercise. It was pure Top Gun. . . . We were moving so fast - I saw Duncan's head swinging around looking at the other planes.

We were engaged in a dogfight with another plane, and we were the aggressor. Suddenly, it got turned around and another pilot was the aggressor. We began going around with Greg Gore, the other pilot, pursuing us.

I noticed way down to the left of what I could see that Gore's plane was coming up in an arch towards us. Duncan suddenly pointed the nose higher and seemed to be backing off the fight. That is when I fixed on Gore coming at us.

Those planes go so fast, a mere second makes such a difference. I said to myself, "There isn't any danger. These guys are too good of pilots." Then it became obvious he was going to hit us.

I saw the whites of the other pilot's eyes.

We went up, but I think we took the hit low. He hit us from underneath towards the tail section.

Gore said later he thought he was going to take it right in his canopy and he would have died instantly. . . .

Duncan hit the ejector button as soon as we hit, sending me exploding through the canopy and him following a second later. Then everything came apart. It was just a ball of flame. Duncan later told me that if he had waited a couple of seconds longer to eject, we would have been crispy critters.

It was just a surreal scene. I was floating up in the air and my flight suit was burning like a torch. My first thought was, "I'll never see my wife and kids again. This is it."

Pieces of the plane were going by. Flames were all over me. I couldn't remember where the cord was to open the parachute, but it went open automatically.

It was like one of those movies. The plane and debris were spiraling down below me in flames. The parachute was swinging me around. I thought, "Oh my God. I'm alive."

Then I noticed blood was dripping from my head. The only thing I could think was, "I wonder if I'm really seriously hurt." I didn't know if half my head was blown off. I looked down at my feet and saw my shoes were completely singed, but they were both there.

I saw the other guys were alive. Duncan gave me the thumbs up. I gave him the thumbs up. It was very peaceful floating down. But I kept smelling this smell and finally figured out it was my skin burning.

I was trying to remember everything they told me about landing - how to avoid trees, power lines. It seemed like five minutes to get down. It was very, very slow.

I saw people gathering in cars below us. I just sort of floated down and hit kind of awkwardly. I couldn't get out of the chute right away and it was blowing me across the field. A farmer came out and grabbed the chute and helped me. . . .

Duncan came along and asked me if I was all right. He said he was sorry it had to happen.