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“I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way”

The artificial horizon and altimeter still worked since they were mechanical, but the fancy electronic displays were black, so Petkunas would have to do this by eyesight and feel along If this had happened at night or in bad weather, they’d be dead men

With the engines out, Petkunas would have only one chance to get this right The runas approaching fast as Larsson called out their altitude

“Five hundred feetFour hundredThreeTwoOne”

Petkunas pulled back on the stick to flare out and bleed off speed, but he’d waited too long He felt a jolt when the tail smacked the runway

The impact pitched the plane forward The bo blow, and it continued to slide out of control Petkunas could do nothing else now except go along for the ride

The B-1B began to spin, and Petkunas braced hi somersault that would rip the plane apart Sparks and smoke flew behind the to set fire to the re jet fuel if any of the tanks ruptured

But the spin turned out to be what saved the plane The borassy area next to the runway and kept going until it crossed a sandy beach that slowed them just before it plowed into the ocean Seawater sprayed across the windscreen as they came to a halt

Petkunas didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until he took in a huge lungful of air to celebrate not dying

“Everyone okay?” he asked h

is crew All three responded that they were fine

Norh the stairway beneath the front landing gear, but that wasn’t possible with a belly landing And there was still the possibility of a fire

Petkunas reached up and manually activated the explosive bolts on the canopy, which blew off with a bang

He waited while each e and jumped out Then he followed the wet, he waded out of the water and joined his men next to the plane He could see now that no fuel was leaking, and the plane looked in reood shape except for its underside

“Nice work, Major,” Larsson said, clapping him on the shoulder