Bright Side

Small damage to the fuselage won't have dramatic consequences. But a big opening in a plane’s side will. So would you believe me if I told you a pilot managed to land a plane with much of its roof torn completely off?

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Passengers got on board the plane; flight attendants nonchalantly checked their boarding passes; everything went as usual.

But what happened after that was really scary. No electricity onboard, all equipment down, no airport in sight, and only a half-forgotten runway deep in the Siberian snow forest. It’s hard to imagine a worse scenario for a passenger plane landing, so it’s a real miracle that everyone ended up safe and sound. And all of it thanks to… a glass of water.

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The airplane involved was a Beechcraft Bonanza single-engine aircraft. Onboard, pilot Bruce Gernon had two passengers: his father and business partner. They took off from Andros Island in the Bahamas and headed northwest for the Florida coast. It was December 4, 1970. This was a typical flight Bruce had made dozens of times before! But this time would be different. They would face really unexplainable and maybe even mysterious things…

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