[Transcript]

A Pilot's Wild Plan

Now, we've still got about 10 more minutes on this road, and I promised you another doozy of a story, right? This one is also about a pilot. But this pilot somehow thought he could land his plane on top of a volcano and live to tell the tale. In April of 1951, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant John W. Hodgkin had an idea.

You see, it was already well known that John had a passion for landing in high places. He'd already touched down on Mount Whitney and Mount Shasta in California. So, no one was able to talk him out of his harebrained scheme to land on the peak of Mount Rainier, an active volcano.

For the record, it's illegal to land a plane on Mount Rainier. But this daredevil just couldn't resist. Back then, private pilots were not required to file a flight plan.

Landing on Mount Rainier

So, John did the unthinkable. He flew his own lightweight airplane, which was equipped for snow landings, to the top of Mount Rainier. Now, it was tricky, but the son of a gun pulled it off.

And he even got out to take a few photos. And that's where the story goes, well, downhill. You see, John got stuck on top of the mountain when he couldn't restart his engine.

Stranded and Rescue Efforts

So, John did the unthinkable. He flew his own lightweight airplane, which was equipped for snow landings, to the top of Mount Rainier. Now, it was tricky, but the son of a gun pulled it off.

And he even got out to take a few photos. And that's where the story goes, well, downhill. You see, John got stuck on top of the mountain when he couldn't restart his engine.

The Daring Descent

John managed to turn the plane so it was facing downhill over the steep Nisqually Glacier. Then he started pushing. As the plane picked up speed, John hopped into the cockpit right before it slipped off the edge.

Quickly, he tried to restart the engine. But after falling 5,000 feet, the engine still wouldn't start. And John was running out of time.

Miraculously, he caught an updraft and was able to glide the plane away from the mountain. He then made a perfect dead stick landing without any engine power on the frozen Mowich Lake in the northwestern corner of the park. Meanwhile, the rescue party arrived at the summit to find it empty.

As the Seattle Times newspaper later put it, eight bone-weary weather-battered rangers and mountaineers had gone up to rescue a man who was no longer there. Amazing! Now, back down at the lake, John and a park ranger managed to fix his engine. When he flew back to base, the exhausted pilot stepped out of the plane and was met with a barrage of reporters, photographers, and some very unhappy military brass.

Aftermath and Legacy

In the end, the Air Force decided not to court-martial him. But the National Park Service, well, they weren't so forgiving. And John was fined $350 for his little stunt.

Now, that's about $4,000 in today's money. Now, if you think that deterred John from any more stunts, well, you'd be wrong. His Mount Rainier landing set a world record for high-altitude landings.

And the very next year, he landed on Washington's Mount Adams. Twice! Lieutenant John Hodgkin. He certainly earned his place as one of the bad boys of aviation history.