U-2 in Trouble – He Was on Top of the World Until He Wasn’t

U-2 pilots must use a special pressurized David Clark flight suit due to the extreme operational altitudes in which they fly. The yellow box is their environmental control system that goes along with them. (Photo by Ted Carlson/fotodynamics.net)

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My mission on January 26, 2003, began much like my previous 80 U-2 high-altitude flights: with a high-protein meal, a mission briefing with my mobile officer and supervisor of flying (both fully qualified U-2 pilots), a short flight physical, suiting up, and two hours of breathing 100 percent oxygen. Weather was typical of a Korean winter: low IFR (instrument flight rules) ceilings and cloud tops around 25,000 feet. There was light snow forecast for later...

PARDON THE INTERRUPTION

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