The pivotal flight that changed a pilot's career beneath Michigan's Mackinac Bridge.
"On April 24, 1959, Captain Lappo, then 39 years old and with 12 years of Air Force experience under his belt, rose early to participate in a nighttime simulated bombing exercise. Cruising near the Straits of Mackinac on their return to Lockbourne Air Force Base in Ohio, Lappo seized the opportunity to fulfill a long-held dream.
Admitting to the Detroit Free Press in 1976, Lappo confessed his lifelong desire to fly beneath a bridge. During earlier missions in the Far East, as a co-pilot, he had yearned to glide under the Golden Gate at night, yet his captain had thwarted the idea.
Now, in command, Lappo decided to indulge himself. Informing his two crew members of his intentions, he declared, “I’m taking her under.”
While excitement filled the air, one crew member, the navigator, voiced concerns. And rightly so. There were numerous reasons not to attempt such a maneuver: the inherent danger to lives onboard and those on the bridge, the risk of damaging valuable government property, and the illegality of the act itself. Moreover, it was a feat defying death, requiring precision flying amidst perilously close margins.
Undeterred, Lappo forged ahead. Recalling the moment, he noted only two vehicles traversing the bridge at the time—a car and a truck, both headed north. Despite clear skies, a stiff breeze stirred whitecaps in the straits below. With nerves of steel, Lappo executed his dive, leveling off at around 75 feet, and executed the legendary pass beneath the Mighty Mac. Though unrecorded by cameras and unnoticed by local media, word of the audacious stunt spread through the ranks, eventually reaching the higher echelons of command.
As for the navigator, Lappo suspected his involvement in reporting the incident, revealing, “I didn’t know at the time that his father was the general and he was going to go rat on me when we got back.” Despite the potential repercussions, Lappo continued to fly, spending the latter part of his life in Alaska, piloting smaller aircraft.
In a later interview before his passing in 2003, Lappo was asked about the motivation behind such risk-taking. His response echoed the sentiments of adventurers throughout history: “Why do men climb mountains? Or what motivates them to go into space? It’s just a sense of adventure that some men have, and some don’t.”
0 Comments