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(More customer reviews)Born To Fly
By Shane Osborn
With Malcolm McConnell
Lt. Shane Osborn was the mission commander and pilot of the U.S. Navy EP-3E AIRES II reconnaissance aircraft when it was rammed by a Chinese F-8 Finback II fighter over the South China Sea on April 1, 2001 during a routine recon mission.
As the world knows, Osborn heroically managed to pull his severely damaged four-engine turboprop out of a near vertical, inverted dive and somehow keep it flying long enough to land on the F-8's home base at Lingshui Air Base on Hainan Island. It was there that he and his crew of 23 were imprisoned by the Chinese for 11 days before the U.S. issued a statement that it regretted the loss of the F-8 pilot and the emergency landing on Chinese soil.
This 262-page book, an "as told to" military writer Malcolm McConnell, is a quick read but one gets the impression it was sanitized by the U.S. Navy, if not higher ups. That's to be expected, of course, as the aircraft was on a sensitive electronic intelligence mission and the airplane was packed with cryptologic technicians and others on "special missions."
Osborn, as far as we know, is still in the Navy so you won't find any criticisms of fellow crewmen, superiors or political higher ups. Everyone performed magnificently, everyone was brave and the politicians are all magnificent individuals.
Nevertheless, it was worth reading, even though Osborn tends to be a little too kind to himself in telling his life story preceding the collision. There's quite a bit of detail about his early years and how successfully he endured the toughness of his Navy training.
He makes a special point to let you know that he could have flown jets if only the Navy had some openings (in the Navy's hierarchal system, land-based four engine transport pilots are only a step above helicopter drivers in aviation status).
The real meat of the book, the events leading up to the collision and the resultant terrifying attempt to save the aircraft, are what makes it worth the price of admission. Osborn also has an amazing memory as he was able to recount the day to day experiences of himself and the crew once they were under house arrest by the Chinese.
What's not mentioned is much of how the other crew members got along, especially those crypto techs who must have been shaking in their boots because of their highly sensitive knowledge of classified information, who suddenly found themselves at the mercy of the Chinese.
No, this is Shane Osborn's story alone, although he does credit a special few of his crewmen with exemplary behavior (he did make note that one female crewmember seemed to freeze up at a particularly bad time; take that for what it's worth).
Osborn was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions that day (other crewmen received Air Medals) and no one can deny that he deserved it. McConnell deserves proper credit for how well he interpreted Osborn's memories to give the reader a taste of what it was like in the cockpit of that beleaguered aircraft.
The Chinese mind games - in which they repeatedly tried to get the crew to admit they "rammed" the fighter - while exhausting, were to be expected. What's surprising is that there was no violence and only some mild threats ever made against them.
In fact, after the decision was made to allow them to go home, Osborn said he was congratulated by the Chinese base commander for his loyalty to his crew. The Chinese interrogators and guards even requested pictures of themselves with the crew.
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Born to Fly: The Untold Story of the Downed American Reconnaissance PlaneFrom the age of three, Shane Osborn dreamed of being a pilot. He began learning the skills he would need to fly as a member of the Civil Air Patrol, a branch of the U.S. Air Force, when he was just twelve years old. But it wasn't until he graduated from the naval ROTC program at the University of Nebraska and joined the navy that his dream became a reality. For five years, Osborn practiced rigorous training exercises, working tirelessly day in and day out until he advanced from navy pilot to mission commander.All Lt. Osborn's flying skills were put to the test when a Chinese F-8 II fighter jet collided with his EP-3E ARIES II plane during a U.S. surveillance mission through international airspace. The impact severely damaged Osborn's aircraft, sending it plummeting toward the ocean. With almost certain disaster looming, Osborn managed to gain control of the crippled plane and land it safely on the Chinese island of Hainan—saving the lives of his twenty-three crewmates.In Born to Fly, Shane Osborn describes these terrifying events in vivid detail, along with the years of dedicated training that made the emergency landing possible. This is the inspirational story of a boy with a dream, and of the extraordinary discipline and courage that made him a hero.
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