NSTG8R
Elio Addict
It happened a couple of times to the F-4, and aircraft known to have all the aerodynamic characteristics of a brick in flight. In our case, a Phantom was launched off the deck with the wings unlocked - and on departure, looked like this:
Dropping external stores, the pilot managed to make it to a bingo field at Sigonella where a couple days inspection and repair returned the aircraft to flight status and he and his RIO flew back to the carrier. Upon his return, the pilot in a very solemn ceremony was presented a pair of gold pilot's wings - hacksawed and bent upward.
F-4 Phantom's are proof that with enough thrust, ANYTHING can fly. Think we pumped around 5000 of those out of St. Louis [McDonnell Douglas].
