US Air Force Capt. Brett DeVries made an emergency landing on July 20 after the perfect storm of awful flight conditions dawned on him. “In that moment, your training kicks in. The training – that’s what saves you and your wingman," DeVries said in August 14 news release.
His A-10 and other aircraft were conducting practice raids when the plane’s seven-barrel, Gatling-type 30mm GAU-8 Avenger cannon stopped working and the pilot’s canopy popped off. This occurred as the jet was cruising at about 375 miles per hour.
DeVries considered simply ejecting from the aircraft but was worried that with all the Hog’s midflight snafus the aircraft might not be able to conduct a safe and successful exit. DeVries and fellow Warthog pilot Maj. Shannon Vickers talked through "every possibility," Vickers said, and finally decided to land on an airstrip in Alpena, a city in northeast Michigan about 250 miles from Detroit.
