A US Air Force F-106 Delta Dart Went Into a Flat Spin at 35,000 Feet Over Montana on February 2, 1970. The Pilot Ejected at 15,000 Feet. The Aircraft Recovered on Its Own, Landed in a Snow-Covered Field, and Flew for 16 More Years.

A US Air Force F-106 Delta Dart Went Into a Flat Spin at 35,000 Feet Over Montana on February 2, 1970. The Pilot Ejected at 15,000 Feet. The Aircraft Recovered on Its Own, Landed in a Snow-Covered Field, and Flew for 16 More Years.

The ejection is what saved the F-106 aircraft. With Gary Foust gone from the cockpit, the balance changed, the spin stopped, and the jet flew away trimmed wings-level for about 175 knots — a near-perfect glide setting. It came down on its belly near Big Sandy, slid around a pile of rocks, and stopped roughly 400 yards short of a paved road. The engine ran for another hour and 45 minutes. Foust was carried out of the mountains by locals on snowmo…