Friday, February 21, 2014

The B - 58 over at the Flyby




3 comments:

  1. This airplane has always been one of my very favorites.

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  2. Growing up as an "Army brat", I remember seeing a few of these flying out of Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas, where I attended Bassett Junior High School and Stephen F. Austin High School.

    It was rare to see the B-58 "Hustler", but I did see them at least a couple of times.

    Mostly, Biggs Air Force Base had B-47 "Stratojet" bombers, B-52 "Stratofortress" bombers, and F-100 "Super Sabre" fighters.

    Also, while living in El Paso, Texas, I saw the first skyjacking of a commercial jet airliner.

    We lived on a hill in military housing, so I could watch the live television broadcast, and also look through my binoculars at El Paso International Airport.

    A father and son, Leon and Cody Bearden, were the perpetrators, demanding a ransom.

    As the plane began rolling down the runway for takeoff, El Paso Police, Deputy Sheriffs, FBI, US Marshals, Texas Rangers, and Border Patrol agents raced along the side of the aircraft, shooting out the tires.

    Passengers on the jet airliner were unharmed, while Leon and Cody Bearden surrendered, and eventually were sentenced to 99 years in prison.

    I think the father died in prison, but the son was eventually paroled.

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