During the Vietnam War, there was an airline that carried out some of the most harrowing missions ever undertaken by such a group, and in hostile territory. Because of this, they won the title of "World’s Most Shot at the Airline". This airline had more than 30 twin-engine cargo planes, two dozen STOL aircraft such as the Helio Courier, more than 30 helicopters and more than 300 employees. The company name was Air America, and its motto was "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime, Professionally".
Neil Hansen started his interest in aviation at a young age. Like many of us in aviation, your passion for aviation started as a child building models. Then he started flying the planes from the control line until he was old enough to get a job. His first job was at the local airport washing planes. " You could make a lot of money cleaning planes at the airport and if I did it right, I could do 3 puppies in an hour. "He participated in what he was doing and used to have flight lessons. It didn’t take long for him to get his license and buy his first plane, a Cessna 140. Later he would buy a Mooney Mite and fly it on an amazing trip to Jamaica. Later he would do a lot of executive flights, eventually flying for the Teamsters and the personal pilot for Jimmy Hoffa. "It seemed that Mr. Hoffa would be gone for a while, and I thought better to find something else. There was an ad in the Air America newspaper. I signed up and a gentleman called me back. He didn’t seem impressed and said they weren’t looking for more drivers. So I continued with my business. "
More than a week has passed and Neil found himself at Meigs Field in Chicago. "Oh, the CIA". "As you can imagine, it was a big surprise for me. I was called to answer a phone in the field manager’s office and on the other side of the line was an Air America gentleman. He asked if I could fly well and if I liked to drink. I said yes to both of them and they asked me if I could go immediately. I said I had to notify my company and needed more time. Also, I didn’t have a passport and it would take a while." They sent Neil down immediately and put the paperwork for his passport. In 3 days he was with his new passport in hand. One day, while flying with some of the Teamsters' lawyers, he mentioned that they would lose him because he had taken a new job. When asked where he was going, he spoke to Air America. The lawyers replied very casually with joy, "
"I was treated first class during my entire trip from the United States to Asia. So good that I began to worry about what was coming". Neil attended indoctrination and background checks and also received a Chinese license. "Many of the aircraft they had in their company were built by the Chinese and would not be legal in the United States" Neil found himself flying part of the company’s scrap metal. Most of the time was on DC-6, C-123, C-46, DC-3 and DO-28. "They would take all the markings off my DC-6 and I would leave around 2am. We would fly 150 meters from the published routes and fly for about 10 hours carrying ammunition to Laos. All this was done without any flight plan! "
There was really no navigation aid. Most of the flight was done with dead calculations. One of the biggest challenges, of course, would be the weather. Time would change very quickly and when it came to monsoon season, sometimes it would be impossible to play. Neil had great adventures. Many of them are portrayed in the 1990 film starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. "There was a lot of Hollywood in that film. One of the things mentioned there is that we carried drugs. It’s no use. We never carry drugs anywhere. The only time drugs could have been loaded is if they were in someone’s pocket who was on our plane. Some of the things they got right. I would take people on their orientation flights and, while they were flying, I would take a coloring book and crayons and start to color. I used to have my plane blessed by Buddhists every day and even became a Buddhist monk. I thought that if I was going to live among these people, it would be better to try to fit into their culture.
When asked if there was a day that stood out during his time with Air America, he said it would have to be the day that he fell 3 times on the same day. The event took place near a base in Pac Say, near the Ho chi min Trail. He was flying a C-123 loaded with ammo that carried to refuel two different bases. "We got to first base without any problems and as soon as I pushed the button to leave the green jump light on the back to signal the kickers to launch the load, we started to have anti-aircraft fire. The kickers were people who stood in the back of the plane and took care of the cargo, where they were often locals who would work for us". Neil questioned them and they reported seeing orange balls coming at them. Neil determined what kind of weapon he was shooting at them and then avoided it. He returned to the base and reported to his case officer that there was intense anti-aircraft fire near the launch area. The case manager said there was no known enemy activity in the area. "Well, I knew at that moment someone was lying to me. " At Neil’s insistence, the case officer agreed to send a fire brigade to sweep the area. After a few hours, the crew reported that there was nothing out there and it was clear for us to continue the flight. I knew we were going to fight, so I requested two helicopters on standby. " Huey’s took off half an hour earlier / Neil then left in his C-123 and headed for the drop zone. "Image shooting skeet. I thought if I stayed low and fast until the last second, it would be a harder target to hit. So I kept myself down just above the trees. As soon as we got to the DZ, I stopped and dropped our cargo. As soon as the cargo fell, they started shooting. We were hit hard. The plane shuddered under fire. You could hear the shrapnel hitting C-123’s belly. The plane kept wanting to turn right, so it’s hard to turn the jet and bring it up to 100% of that side to prevent it from turning. . I asked our co-pilot, a younger and nervous guy, to come back and see the severity of the damage. He reported that both ailerons were in the maximum position. I knew we’d have to get out, so I headed for this old Japanese airstrip. We could not land there, but it would be a safe area to save. As I approached the field, I told my co-pilot to prepare. He went to the back of the aircraft and when I was about to give the signal to jump, he returned to the cabin looking for his harness. I was kind of surprised by it and gave it to him. Then I called the kicks on the intercom and said that when he came back there to take that vest out of him and throw it through the door. If he tried to put it on the parachute, it wouldn’t open properly. The problem is that since all this happened, we had flown over the base. Then I had to turn around to try again. When we lined up on the base for the second time, once again about to signal to the crew jump, I could see something with the corner of my eye. He was my co-pilot back in the cockpit. I asked him in a very practical tone what he was doing in the cockpit. He claimed that he had forgotten his Nikon camera. I handed the camera to him, punched him and he fell out of the cabin. By this time, we had already crossed the base once again and I had to line up for the third time. This time I called the kickers again and told them to kick him out. In that attempt, they all ran away. My co-pilot was not sure how to use the parachute and was trying to pull the ring in the wrong direction. He finally managed to open it, but first lost a little altitude. Now it was my turn. The plane started to break apart and I jumped in time to see it fall. After a brief wait, a helicopter came to pick us up. Inside this helicopter was a guy who had been shot and was vomiting between his feet. I knew how he felt. They stuck the tail rotor in some brush and splashed me with branches. We fired small arms on the way out and after a short jump, we had to land. We did this and a second helicopter landed about 50 meters from us to pick us up. We couldn’t figure out why, since we had a wounded man with us, but we went to the helicopter. When asked why they landed so far from us, the pilot replied quite naturally, like: "Well, you were in a minefield". We had just returned to the base in this helicopter when it ran out of gas and we had to automatically turn towards the trees. When I entered the base that night, still armed with my Uzi, that agent who sent us there saw me coming and said he would get the beer. We never saw him again."
" I really loved flying the DC-3. We would take it in and out of 1,500-foot ranges. It was just a big plane. I had a great friend named Bill Pruner with whom I used to fly a lot. Bill had been a corporate pilot for Cummings Diesel in Indianapolis. One day, Bill and I planned to take a DC-3 to fly for a while. Just before we left, I got the news that there was some confusion about where I should be. So I couldn’t go. Some time later, I was in the radio booth and we learned that Bill’s DC-3 had caught fire and was wounded. Bill was shot in the thigh, but he was still in control of the plane. He struggled to find a place to make the forced landing of the plane and managed to get off it and trap it in a paddy. Everyone was fine, and they were taking care of their wounds. In fact, we had a helicopter less than 20 minutes away and it seemed like everything would turn out fine. All I could do was sit in the radio booth and listen to the reports that came. The helicopter appeared and started shooting at VC who was on the plane and throwing grenades. We sent a fighter that shot down the VC and when the rescue helicopter returned, they found that everyone inside the plane had been tortured and killed. There was a report that a person in an Air America uniform was seen being taken away from the crash and I hoped it was my friend Bill. When the rescue helicopters returned to our base, I went out to meet them and pulled the sheet over one of the bodies. It was Bill. If things had gone differently that day, I too could have been on that flight." What many do not know is that 242 people lost their lives working for Air America. To date, none of them are eligible for veteran benefits. This is a mistake that deserves to be corrected.
Por Chris Henrique
Matéria originalmente posta em warbirdsnews.com
Filme Air America de 1990.
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