On this date in 1954, 2nd Lt. Arnold Weber was on a training flight out of Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, South Dakota.
Weber and his wingman were each flying an F-86D fighter, training to intercept Soviet bombers coming over the Arctic Circle just in case the Cold War suddenly turned hot. The Korean War had ended the year before, and tensions with the Soviet Union were high.
While streaking seven miles above Bismarck, the engine on Weber’s plane failed. He heard several loud bangs as the engine blew apart.
Weber tried to pull the throttle back—but it had fused in place. His wingman shouted over the radio, “Leave it, boy! You’ve got a…” Weber didn’t wait to hear the rest. He ejected immediately from his stricken aircraft.
He delayed opening his parachute until he fell to around 15,000 feet. Once the chute deployed, strong west winds carried him eastward as he descended. His plane spiraled down and crashed near the farmyard of Jack and Eudora Pfeiffer, near Menoken disintegrating on impact.
Jackie and Janine Pfeiffer, ages 7 and 4 at the time, still carry vivid memories of that day.
As Weber floated down, pushed east by the wind, he was spotted by a motorist driving on Highway 10. Joseph Swartz, an employee of Sun Oil Company in Bismarck, matched his speed with the descending airman.
When Weber finally touched down four miles east of Sterling. Swartz pulled over and helped collapse the parachute, which was dragging Weber across a plowed field.
Swartz then drove Weber to the Bismarck airport. A C-47 transport plane from Ellsworth Air Base was sent to pick him up. Weber’s ejection from 36,000 feet set a world record at the time for the highest survived bailout.
Arnold Weber went on to have a long career in the Air Force, retiring with the rank of Major. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for missions flown during the Vietnam War.
He also set an endurance record in the mid-1960s: flying 10,000 miles in an F-4 Phantom jet over the course of 18 hours.
Years later, reflecting on his bailout over Bismarck, Weber said he wouldn’t exchange the experience for a million dollars but he’d never want to do it again.
Dakota Datebook by Scott Nelson
Sources:
- Oct 2022 issue of Parsons Presbyterian Manor Community Matters Newsletter
- June 13, 1954, Bismarck Tribune article, Chutes 6 ½ miles to earth by Tribune Staff Writers
- Phone visit with Jackie (Pfeiffer) McGregar and Janine (Pfeiffer) Knop
