Fighter Pilot Ejects at Speed of Sound

Captain Brian Udell is an elite fighter pilot at the top of his game. But there are still some scenarios that defy all expectations. When his F15 suffers a major malfunction, Brian must hit eject… while travelling at supersonic speed. It’s never been done before - for very good reason. This routine mission is about to become an extraordinary scientific experiment... A Noiser production, written by Rowan Coleman. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:03John Hopkins?

  It's nighttime on Tuesday, April 18, 1995. Off the coast of North Carolina, around 8:45 p.m. Utter darkness grips the skies over the Atlantic. Dense clouds hug tightly together, blocking out any light from the heavens. The sea and the sky merge into one enormous mass of impenetrable blackness. The wind whistles quietly, and the waves keep their never-ending rhythm.

• 0:36John Hopkins?

  And then, from nowhere, there is an almighty whoosh and a roar.

• 0:45John Hopkins?

  Four F-15 fighter jets rip through the air. Their powerful engines screech as the sleek aircraft soar onwards, approaching the speed of sound. And yet, despite their breathtaking pace, their movements are stealthy and precise.

• 1:06John Hopkins?

  Inside one of the planes, guiding the jet, is Captain Brian Udell. Behind him sits his good friend and colleague, Captain Dennis White. Together, along with their fellow aviators, they're carrying out a series of training maneuvers. Despite the lack of visibility, Brian is a picture of poise.

• 1:27Speaker 01

  It's a loneless night at night, no moon, no stars, no discernible horizon, it's pitch black. We're using our instruments in our aircraft to determine which way up and down is. We went through our first two engagements, no problem.

• 1:42John Hopkins?

  They have one last exercise to complete before heading back to base.

• 1:47John Hopkins?

  Brian communicates to his wingman, the guy flying in the plane to his side, but he and Dennis are initiating the maneuver. At 24,000 feet, he makes a planned 60-degree turn to the right.

• 2:02John Hopkins?

  Brian is following his heads-up display, a square glass of numbers, gauges, and measurements directly in front of his face.

• 2:11John Hopkins?

  According to these onboard instruments, everything's on track. But as the plane hurtles through the night sky, Brian senses something isn't quite right.

• 2:21Speaker 01

  Obviously, trust your instruments. They're telling you what the airplane is doing. But you should also be listening to the airplane. Airplanes will talk to you. They'll tell you things based on the sounds that they're making. What I was hearing and what I was seeing in my heads-up display didn't make sense. I'm seeing a level flight, 24,000 feet, 400 knots, and a right-hand turn. But what I'm hearing is this airplane's getting extremely fast. I could hear the wind rushing over the canopy.

• 2:51John Hopkins?

  The jet seems to be gathering pace. Both Brian and Dennis can feel it unmistakably. But the readings suggest they're flying steady.

• 3:01John Hopkins?

  In a flash, it becomes terrifyingly clear. The heads-up display is broken. The systems Brian relies on to navigate are down and showing him false information. Suddenly, they cannot be sure of their height, their speed, or even which way is up. The darkness outside offers no clue.

• 3:21John Hopkins?

  Rapidly, Brian brings up a secondary display screen positioned between his legs. And then he sees it.

• 3:29John Hopkins?

  This monitor is telling him that they're plummeting nose-first straight towards the water at supersonic speed.

• 3:37John Hopkins?

  He now has literal seconds to make a decision. Which instrument does he trust? Does he have time to change course? Or will he have to bail out? At 800 miles an hour, Brian makes his choice.

• 3:50Speaker 01

  That's when I said it's time to get out. Eject, eject, eject.

• 4:01John Hopkins?

  Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice?

• 4:10John Hopkins?

  Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives.

• 4:24John Hopkins?

  In this episode, we meet Captain Brian Udell. The 31-year-old is an aeronautical expert, an elite fighter pilot at the top of his game. But there are still some scenarios that defy all expectations. When Brian's F-15 suffers a major malfunction, he is forced to eject while traveling faster than the speed of sound. It's never been done before, for very good reason.

• 4:52Speaker 01

  Here we are at 700, roughly 780 knots, supersonic. All of this equipment is only tested up to 600 knots because they don't feel that you're going to survive past that, physically survive. What happens when you eject supersonic? I felt like I'd been hit by a freight train.

• 5:12John Hopkins?

  I'm John Hopkins. From Noiser, this is Real Survival Stories.

• 5:41John Hopkins?

  It's Tuesday evening on April 18, 1995. The Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina buzzes with activity. Uniformed men and women scurry across runways, weaving between rows of state-of-the-art fighter jets.

• 5:56John Hopkins?

  More planes are pushed in and out of enormous hangars. People are refueling, carrying out final checks, clambering into cockpits. Walking through the base's busy airfield is 31-year-old Captain Brian Udell.

• 6:10John Hopkins?

  He strides along, smiling and nodding to his compatriots as he goes. It's just like the movies.

• 6:19John Hopkins?

  He's kitted out in a dark green jumpsuit with badges on the arm and breast, parachute pack on his back, and a helmet under his arm. For this top-of-his-game fighter pilot, life right now couldn't be better. Two years ago, he married his sweetheart Christie, and the couple are now expecting their first child. Professionally, things are going great, too. After years of strenuous study and training, he's reached the pinnacle of his career. Aviation is in Brian's blood. Growing up in Texas, he inherited a passion for flying from his father Maurice. In the late 1940s, when Maurice was still just a teenager, he saved up to buy a battered old plane and incredibly taught himself to fly.

• 7:04Speaker 01

  He bought a book called Stick and Rudder. It's a kind of a how-to-fly book or a flying-for-dummies-type book, and he read most of that book.

• 7:17John Hopkins?

  However, as Maurice found out, reading and doing are two different things. One wintry day, he was forced to make a crash landing, plowing into a deep snowbank and narrowly escaping serious injury. Furious with himself, Maurice ripped the propeller off the wreckage and took it home as a constant reminder.

• 7:40Speaker 01

  So my whole life, I spent looking at that broken propeller. And that broken propeller was a lesson that you always do things correctly. You don't just wing it. You don't just go get a book and take off on your own. You get some good instruction. Well, my instruction was my father. And he taught me some very valuable lessons that ended up saving my life.

• 8:05John Hopkins?

  While most nine-year-olds might hope their parents buy them a bicycle or a skateboard as a birthday present, Brian got a plane. And just a year later, Maurice took his son out on his first flying lesson. He never looked back.

• 8:19Speaker 01

  Flying attracts a lot of engineer types, people that inherently are good at math and put square blocks and square holes. But flying is very artistic. Every day is different. Every flight is different. The environmentals are different. The places you're going, the things you're doing, the decisions you have to make are all different. So that's more of a mindset of an artist, not an engineer.

• 8:48John Hopkins?

  By the time Brian joined the US Air Force, it already clocked up some impressive numbers.

• 8:54Speaker 01

  I took my first flight at age 10. I took my first cross-country. At age 16, I'm soloing the aircraft, which is the youngest that you can solo. At age 17, I'm getting my pilot's license. And by the time I actually went into the military, I had over 1,000 hours of flying time. My private license, my instrument rating, and my commercial rating. And was flying skydivers on the weekends while I was in college.

• 9:21John Hopkins?

  But to become an elite Top Gun fighter pilot, Brian faced months of rigorous training, learning not only how to master the awesome power of a jet, but also to develop the character, resilience, and survival skills essential to the role.

• 9:37Speaker 01

  Nobody gets to where they are overnight. It's a journey, it's a process, and it's a hard one, and it's a long one. And the people that are successful, they're willing to put in the grind, to do every day what is required for that day to be successful.

• 9:59John Hopkins?

  Brian went on to graduate first in his class, receiving the prestigious Commander's Trophy from the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program. All of this meant that he was able to choose which aircraft he wanted to fly.

• 10:13John Hopkins?

  Top of his list was the F-15E Strike Eagle, a fighter jet designed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. At the time, it was the most powerful and sophisticated aircraft of its kind.

• 10:26John Hopkins?

  But Brian still had hurdles to clear, including intense prisoner-of-war training and water-survival exercises. Eventually, he was deployed to the Gulf War.

• 10:37Speaker 01

  And once I got deployed, you get over to the desert, and now you're an operational fighter pilot. From the length of time you start, day one of pilot training, till the time that you are considered an operational fighter pilot is about two and a half years. That's the length of training. Two and a half years, every day, blood, sweat, and tears. You want to be successful in this? It's desire most of all. Because if you don't have the desire, you're not going to make it.

• 11:10John Hopkins?

  Back at the base in North Carolina, the flurry of activity continues on the airfield. Brian ducks into one of the low-level, nondescript buildings. He's about to lead an exercise out over the Atlantic, and needs to do some final checks. He scans the squadron status board, which records when essential training has been completed.

• 11:32John Hopkins?

  Because of prolonged bad weather, Brian's mission status is in the red. He is laser-focused on the urgent need to fill in the square, or catch up on training. His wingmen are going to be deployed into active service in the next rotation, and the clock is ticking. A crucial part of their training is flying combat missions and practicing aerial refueling at night. The weather is looking good, so there's little time to lose.

• 11:59John Hopkins?

  But before takeoff, there are important procedures to follow, including checking your aircraft's maintenance log.

• 12:06Speaker 01

  I looked through it, and I noticed that this aircraft had ground aborted twice the week before. And that problem was that the central computer was having issues. The display processor, which is the equivalent to a graphics car on a computer, was having issues. The heads-up display, which is the combiner glass that we look through that projects our attitude information, our speed, or altitude, that had issues. So I'm not getting the whole warm fuzzy that this airplane is in good shape at that point.

• 12:43John Hopkins?

  Brian asks if there are any alternative aircraft available. There aren't. He consults with his good friend, Captain Dennis White, who will be flying with him. They know they have to make this jet work, or abort the sortie, putting them even further behind schedule. The pressure is on.

• 13:02John Hopkins?

  They climb the ladder of the F-15 and strap in. Sure enough, the plane fails the same tests. Brian requests maintenance to come up and test the systems.

• 13:14John Hopkins?

  Three reboots later, everything comes back online.

• 13:18Speaker 01

  So in theory, we've got a good airplane. By all standards, this airplane is suitable to go fly. The other three aircraft had now taxi down to the end of the runway and were waiting on us. And so we taxi probably five to 10 minutes late. We get down, we meet them in the arming area. They arm us up to get ready to fly. And we take off and we launch out as a force ship. I'm thinking we've got a good airplane. Everything passed its test. Everything up until this point now is as briefed and planned.

• 13:59John Hopkins?

  It's an intensely dark night over the Atlantic. There is no discernible horizon. Clouds, sky, and ocean meld into one amorphous black chasm.

• 14:11John Hopkins?

  But Brian and his formation complete the first part of their mission perfectly.

• 14:17John Hopkins?

  Their F-15s can reach astonishing speeds of over 1,800 miles per hour. Out here, off the North Carolina coast, they can fly combat simulation at supersonic speed without the fear of shattering people's windows or terrorizing wildlife.

• 14:34John Hopkins?

  But the moonless night provides no visibility. The pilots are relying solely on the vital data supplied by the aircraft's heads-up displays.

• 14:44Speaker 01

  At night, when you're doing air-to-air intercepts, air-to-air training, it's primarily because of the restriction in visibility, because it's night. Most of what you're doing is targeting and sorting exercises via the radar and the systems onboard the aircraft. And effective communication, communicating effectively between front seat to back seat and from aircraft to aircraft. It doesn't matter if it's present day or thousands of years ago. The key to a successful battle is that the group can effectively communicate.

• 15:20John Hopkins?

  The four jets have split into two pairs, engaging each other in a simulated dogfight, as if facing enemy forces. When operating at such speed, the slightest miscalculation or miscommunication could be fatal. A pilot's reactions and reflexes must be instantaneous. But so far, everything has proceeded as it should. Brian smoothly guides his jet through the skies.

• 15:51John Hopkins?

  In the back seats, Dennis, the weapons system officer, or WISO, is a consummate pro too. Reliable and focused. The pair make a great team. They are about to complete their final mission of the night, role-playing as the enemy against the trainee pilots. Brian calls action and begins the planned maneuver, splitting from his wingman to bank into a sharp turn.

• 16:16John Hopkins?

  Simultaneously, he watches the information on his heads-up display. Brian frowns. Something's not right.

• 16:25John Hopkins?

  And it's in this moment that sage advice from his father comes to the fore.

• 16:31Speaker 01

  It really sticks. And it was amazing because the lessons that he taught me about how to fly an airplane was, you know, obviously, trust your instruments. They're telling you what the airplane is doing. But you should also be listening to the airplane. Airplanes will talk to you. What I was hearing and what I was seeing in my heads-up display didn't make sense. I'm seeing a level flight, 24,000 feet, 400 knots, and a right-hand turn. But what I'm hearing is this airplane's getting extremely fast. I could hear the wind rushing over the canopy. And that usually happened at about 550 knots. So I'm seeing 400 knots, I'm hearing 550. Something's not making sense. I'm asking my backseater Dennis White. I said, "Dennis, dude, what's going on?"

• 17:16Speaker 01

  He goes, "I don't know." He said, "We need to recover." I said, "I'm trying. What's our attitude?" He said, "I don't know."

• 17:23John Hopkins?

  As the sound of thundering engines and rushing wind intensifies, Brian faces the sickening realization that their heads-up display has malfunctioned. They're not flying steady, they're speeding up, and he has no idea what direction he's facing. He scrambles for accurate data. There's one other display Brian can turn to, but it presents its own problems. It's a color display positioned between his legs. Because the brightness is distracting when flying at night, he has turned the display right down. He can't read it clearly. Brian uses rocker switches to brighten the display to visible levels. It only takes him a few seconds, but every moment wasted could be costly. When he is finally able to read the display, it confirms his worst suspicions.

• 18:08Speaker 01

  I realize now, we're 80 degrees nose-low, inverted, going through 10,000 feet, and we're now supersonic.

• 18:17John Hopkins?

  The jet is plummeting towards the Atlantic Ocean at 800 miles an hour. The impact will crush them to smithereens. Brian cannot be sure which instrument to trust, but neither can he hesitate. He tells Dennis what they have to do.

• 18:32Speaker 01

  I'm saying, I don't think I can recover this airplane without ripping the wings off or blacking us out. That's when I said it's time to get out, eject, eject, eject.

• 18:52John Hopkins?

  This November, on the Noiser Podcast Network. On Real Dictators, the story of Rafael Trujillo concludes with an epic shootout scene, plucked straight from a mafia movie. On Short History of, join us as we un-thor Utzi the Iceman, Europe's oldest-known natural human mummy, and step back into the swinging 60s. On Real Survival Stories, on Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest mountain, a chilling tale plays out in the mist. And after a volcanic eruption in New Zealand, a helicopter pilot scrambles to respond. In Jane Austen Stories, Emma continues with Dame Julie Andrews. And in Sherlock Holmes' Short Stories, the tale of hidden treasure and murder continues in The Sign of Four.

• 19:35John Hopkins?

  Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus.

• 19:44John Hopkins?

  This November, on the Noiser Podcast Network. On Real Dictators, the story of Rafael Trujillo concludes with an epic shootout scene, plucked straight from a mafia movie. On Short History of, join us as we unthor Utzi the Iceman, Europe's oldest-known natural-human mummy, and step back into the swinging 60s. On Real Survival Stories, on Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest mountain, a chilling tale plays out in the mist. And after a volcanic eruption in New Zealand, a helicopter pilot scrambles to respond. In Jane Austen Stories, Emma continues with Dame Julie Andrews. And in Sherlock Holmes' Short Stories, the tale of hidden treasure and murder continues in The Sign of Four.

• 20:27John Hopkins?

  Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus. And for our American listeners, a special offer on Noiser's debut book, A Short History of Ancient Rome. Head to bookshop.org and use the code NONFIC26 for 15% off. Valid for US customers November 1st to 30th. That's bookshop.org and use the code N-O-N-F-I-C-26.

• 21:03John Hopkins?

  Brian has just ejected from his F-15E fighter jet at supersonic speeds, something no human has ever survived. The wind explodes as his parachute bursts open with extraordinary force.

• 21:17John Hopkins?

  The impact on his body is horrifying.

• 21:22Speaker 01

  What happens when you eject supersonic? Yeah, I felt like I'd been hit by a freight train. The wind blast was so great that as soon as I left the cockpit, my helmet and mask were snatched right off of my head. The wind blast broke all the blood vessels in my face, my head and face, well the size of a basketball from the pressure. My lips were the size of cucumbers, my eyeballs all hemorrhaged, they don't know how my eyes stayed in their sockets.

• 21:51John Hopkins?

  At these speeds, even the equipment designed to protect the pilot becomes dangerous. Brian's ribs are crushed by the buckle of his harness. All four of his limbs are smashed and dislocated, although one shoulder miraculously clicks back into place.

• 22:07John Hopkins?

  With both legs and one arm totally out of commission, Brian can barely move. His blood-flooded eyes render him almost blind.

• 22:18John Hopkins?

  But there's no time to reflect on how he's still alive or assess the severity of his injuries. Ferocious winds are battering him, and he is moments away from landing in the churning, freezing ocean.

• 22:32John Hopkins?

  Again, he has to act fast if he's going to make it through the next few seconds. His life preserver is in tatters, ripped apart during the ejection. If Brian plunges into the sea in his physical condition, he will quickly drown.

• 22:48John Hopkins?

  There is one piece of equipment that can save his life. He just has to hope it's deployed correctly.

• 22:56John Hopkins?

  It's a life raft, attached to his rucksack survival kit by a fifteen-foot line.

• 23:03Speaker 01

  So I reached down. I could grab that line. I gave it a good yank to make sure that that life raft had inflated. I couldn't see anything dangling down there, but I could feel the weight. I have no idea how high I am above the water or how long it's going to be before I hit the water. But if I don't get to something that floats quickly, I'm going to drown. Because I knew I was messed up. So I had the presence of mind. I was clear enough thinking to reach down and with my one functioning arm and my teeth, I grabbed that fifteen-foot line and I started reeling it up to me.

• 23:37John Hopkins?

  Through agonizing pain, gripping the line in his shaking hand and his chattering teeth, Brian hauls the life raft up towards himself. The crash of the waves comes closer and closer. And as he hits the water, he is just able to grasp hold of the raft before he plunges under the dark and freezing surface of the Atlantic.

• 24:00Speaker 01

  I grabbed hold of the raft and I could tell that it was inflated and that it had functioned properly. I went from hanging under the canopy to about 10 feet under the water. It was splashed out. Having hold of that inflated raft saved my life.

• 24:15John Hopkins?

  Using the life raft for buoyancy, Brian resurfaces, gasping for oxygen through painful swollen lips.

• 24:23John Hopkins?

  Hurled around by the gigantic waves, he is at immediate risk of drowning and hypothermia. He must get out of the water and into the raft. With only one functioning limb, it is an exhausting, seemingly insurmountable task.

• 24:39John Hopkins?

  For several desperate minutes, Brian fights against the glacial currents as he attempts to haul himself into the raft. It's no good. He simply cannot get any purchase on the slippery inflatable.

• 24:53John Hopkins?

  Soon he is utterly drained, his body so broken and misshapen that any movement is excruciating. It seems he has survived the ejection, only to perish in the water.

• 25:06Speaker 01

  So at that point, the only thing I needed to do was to stop and start saying a prayer. And I put my head on the side of the raft and I just said, "God, I can't die tonight." I said, "I've got a wife that I have to get home to. She's four months pregnant with our first child, and I've got to see my son be born." I thought how selfish of it would be for me not to be there when she had to deliver our child, and I did not want her to get that knock on the door that said that your husband's gone. That was my motivator. And so I said my prayer and I said, "Okay, here we go."

• 25:49Speaker 01

  And I tried one more time. And I just had the strength to be able to shove that raft down between my legs and I threw my shoulder into it and I rode the waves up. And when I crested the wave and went down the backside, that flipped me right into the raft.

• 26:12John Hopkins?

  With a thud and a squelch, Brian flops into the life raft, a temporary sanctuary.

• 26:20John Hopkins?

  He takes a few moments to compose himself, to steady his breathing.

• 26:27John Hopkins?

  The decision to eject, only minutes earlier, has left him mangled, isolated, and on the very edge of life. But if he hadn't acted, he would already be dead.

• 26:39Speaker 01

  I made the decision at 10,000 feet, commanded the ejection. I'm pulling the ejection handles at 6,000 feet, that's how fast we're traveling. 4,000 feet went by in that moment. At 6,000 feet, I pull the handles, the canopy goes off at 4,500 feet. I left the cockpit at 1,500 feet, and I got my chute, my parachute, roughly 500 feet above the water. Had I waited even one-third of a second longer to pull the handles, I would have impacted the water still in my ejection seat and been killed.

• 27:10John Hopkins?

  Right now, Brian doesn't know the full details of just how close a call it was. He also doesn't know where he's landed, or where Dennis is. But there are more immediate concerns. Now, inside the life raft, he can fully appreciate just how catastrophic his injuries are.

• 27:30John Hopkins?

  Though he can barely see his hand in front of his face, Brian gropes around to take stock of the damage.

• 27:37John Hopkins?

  His dislocated legs are at right angles. His head is swollen to four times its normal size, and one arm hangs limp at his side.

• 27:47John Hopkins?

  Disturbed, Brian resolves to do something. Gritting his teeth, he starts to straighten his broken bones.

• 27:56Speaker 01

  I know I'm not structurally fixing anything, but I'm making myself look a whole lot better. And this is one of those times in your life where it's better to look good than to feel good. And I just wanted, I said, "I'm gonna be out here all night long, and probably well into the next day. I want everything pointed in the right direction. I don't want to look at arms and legs bitten in the wrong way." So now I get everything pointed in the right direction, and now I'm starting to shake uncontrollably. I'm going into shock.

• 28:23John Hopkins?

  Brian convulses violently. He must avoid falling unconscious. If he passes out now, he'll never wake up.

• 28:31John Hopkins?

  Brian always carries a water bottle with him. But when he reaches for it, he realizes it's gone. Blown through the bottom of his flight suit pocket when he ejected. It's another blow. The problems keep on coming thick and fast. The rucksack survival kit that Brian needs is on the end of a line somewhere in the ocean.

• 28:54Speaker 01

  And then I was like, okay, you gotta get your focus back. And you gotta get to some water so you don't go unconscious. So I grabbed the line, that 15-foot line to that rucksack survival kit that's somewhere out in the ocean that I can't see. And with my teeth in my one arm, I reeled that kit into the raft with me.

• 29:14John Hopkins?

  Inch by inch, through the drag of the swirling waves, Brian retrieves the survival rucksack. But even undoing a zip in his state is no simple task. Determined to get to the drinking water to stay awake, Brian again uses his teeth to slowly, painfully, open the bag.

• 29:36Speaker 01

  I reached in, I grabbed some water packs. I tore a couple of those open, drank that water. And that was like somebody flipping a switch. I stopped shaking, I could start thinking clearly. I got the nasty saltwater taste out of my mouth. I thought, okay, it's time to get busy. And survival, we're taught, was called the rule of threes. The survival rule of threes state that you can only survive about three seconds if you don't have the will to survive. You can survive about three minutes without air. You can survive about three days without water, three weeks without food, and three months without human companionship. If you follow that survival rule of threes, that tells you what you need to do and when you need to do it.

• 30:19Speaker 01

  Now, the other side of that equation is you have a window of time. I'm strong. I'm still injured, but I'm strong. That window is gonna close. And over time, the injuries that I have sustained are gonna get worse and worse. The pain is gonna get worse and worse. My strength is gonna get less and less.

• 30:42John Hopkins?

  Brian must optimize this window of opportunity while he still has the strength and the adrenaline in his body. Particularly as a new problem has now presented itself.

• 30:53John Hopkins?

  The main, doughnut-shaped part of the raft he is sitting in has only partially inflated. The frigid seawater is pooling around him. The current is dragging Brian further and further from the crash site. At night, in these heaving, eddying waters, the chances he'll be found are almost zero. So he has to make the life raft as secure and as warm as he can to maximize his chances of still being alive if rescue somehow comes.

• 31:23John Hopkins?

  Lashed by knife-cold spray, Brian gropes around the raft until he eventually finds the inflation tube.

• 31:33Speaker 01

  I stuck the tube in my mouth, I opened the valve, I went to try to blow air into it, but my lips were so distorted I couldn't create a seal around the tube. I had to grab the valve with my teeth, clamp my hands down around my lips to create that seal. Give you an idea how distorted my face was, my lips stuck out past my third finger. So I'd blow, and I'd blow, and I'd blow, and I started getting lightheaded, so I had to take a break. Well, the first time I pulled the tube out of my mouth, the valve didn't self-seal. And about half the air that I just blew in leaked out before I could get it turned off.

• 32:05John Hopkins?

  Lungs refilled, he goes again, and again.

• 32:11John Hopkins?

  It takes Brian two agonizing hours to get the raft fully inflated. A spray shield finally pops up around him, and he has some shelter from the elements at last.

• 32:22John Hopkins?

  Now, he must bail out the bitingly cold seawater. There's not a lot in his pack that can help, especially given he's only got one working hand. Some lateral thinking is required. The rucksack is full of Ziploc bags, included in the kit to keep things dry. Brian has a different use for them now.

• 32:45Speaker 01

  So I've got about 20 of these Ziploc bags in here, so I was able to grab a bag, I was able to grab the end of the bag with my two fingers and my thumb, manipulate the bag, get a substantial amount of water in the bag, and then bail it out over the side of the raft. I'm making progress.

• 33:03Speaker 01

  When you're in a survival situation like that, you have an ultimate goal to survive, but that ultimate goal is broken down into a thousand sub-goals. And it's those sub-goals that are gonna be, whether you were successful or not. So you've set a goal that's achievable. You work through that goal, achieve that goal, and that gives you confidence to continue on to your next goal. So me getting that water out was a huge success in that goal of veiling that water out, making my home, getting myself in a warm environment to where my body temperature's now heating up the inside of this. It took me several hours to do, but I finally got it done.

• 33:43John Hopkins?

  With the raft as secure and as warm as he's going to get it, Brian can finally rest.

• 33:53John Hopkins?

  For the first time since ejection, he can fully turn his attention to his friend, Dennis.

• 34:01John Hopkins?

  He calls out to his partner periodically, trying to make his voice heard over the roar of the ocean, trying to spot a torch or a flare in the dense night. There is no response, just a black, lifeless amphitheater all around.

• 34:22John Hopkins?

  This November, on the Noiser Podcast Network. On Real Dictators, the story of Rafael Trujillo concludes with an epic shootout scene, plucked straight from a mafia movie. On Short History of, join us as we unthor Utzi the Iceman, Europe's oldest-known natural human mummy, and step back into the swinging 60s. On Real Survival Stories, on Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest mountain, a chilling tale plays out in the mist. And after a volcanic eruption in New Zealand, a helicopter pilot scrambles to respond. In Jane Austen Stories, Emma continues with Dame Julie Andrews. And in Sherlock Holmes' Short Stories, the tale of hidden treasure and murder continues in The Sign of Four.

• 35:06John Hopkins?

  Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus.

• 35:14John Hopkins?

  This November, on the Noiser Podcast Network. On Real Dictators, the story of Rafael Trujillo concludes with an epic shootout scene, plucked straight from a mafia movie. On Short History of, join us as we unthor Utzi the Iceman, Europe's oldest-known natural-human mummy, and step back into the swinging 60s. On Real Survival Stories, on Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest mountain, a chilling tale plays out in the mist. And after a volcanic eruption in New Zealand, a helicopter pilot scrambles to respond. In Jane Austen Stories, Emma continues with Dame Julie Andrews. And in Sherlock Holmes' Short Stories, the tale of hidden treasure and murder continues in The Sign of Four.

• 35:58John Hopkins?

  Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus. And for our American listeners, a special offer on Noiser's debut book, A Short History of Ancient Rome. Head to bookshop.org and use the code NONFIC26 for 15% off. Valid for US customers November 1st to 30th. That's bookshop.org and use the code N-O-N-F-I-C-26.

• 36:30John Hopkins?

  It's gone midnight. Nearly four hours have passed since Brian ejected from his aircraft. Even in his sheltered life raft, the freezing temperatures are starting to invade his bones. He has done all he can to survive this far, and now it's up to others to save him. Just then, there is a thrum and a rattle from somewhere in the void above.

• 36:58Speaker 01

  I heard a unique sound. And once you've heard that sound once, it's a sound that you never forget. And it's the turboprops of a C-130 Hercules aircraft. I could hear that faint sound of those turboprops way off into the distance. I peeked up from my raft, I could see the position lights of the aircraft flying a track pattern back and forth. And beyond that, I could see a searchlight, and I could hear the faint whir of a rotor from a helicopter. My whole mind up until this point has been nothing but survival. I hadn't even thought about rescue. Rescue happens when rescue happens. So now, I have to shift gears into a rescue mode. Even when you shift into that rescue mode,

• 37:43Speaker 01

  you still have to focus on surviving. Any number of things can go wrong. I could fall out of my raft. I have to still be conscious of what I'm doing and how I'm doing it while I'm working the rescue.

• 37:56John Hopkins?

  For the first time, it seems Brian might just make it. But he is a tiny dot, lost in a seething dark sea. The torch in his rucksack is waterlogged and useless.

• 38:08John Hopkins?

  How else can he make himself seen? Brian struggles to get the flares from his survival kit. There are two types of flares available to him, but both can only be deployed by someone with two working hands. And even if he could light one, the risk of setting fire to the raft or himself is too great.

• 38:28John Hopkins?

  Desperately, Brian tries to work around the setback. At any moment, the rescue aircraft he can hear above him might return to base, leaving him alone again. He turns to his last option, the radio in his survival kit.

• 38:46Speaker 01

  I started transmitting, "Mayday, mayday." No response. I'm thinking, "My radio doesn't work." So I tried the backup frequency, still no response. I went back to the primary frequency. I'd probably made a dozen transmissions, thinking, "This is all I have. This is all I can do to try to make contact with these people." I can see them flying around. I know I'm line of sight. This should be working. And finally, after one of my transmissions, very faintly, I heard a reply. They know I'm alive.

• 39:22John Hopkins?

  It's now around 1:00 a.m. And finally, it seems, there is an end in sight. Brian breathes a huge sigh of relief as a voice crackles back through the radio. However, before the team can initiate the rescue, they have one more, rather bizarre, task for Brian.

• 39:40Speaker 01

  And they said, "Okay, we need to authenticate you." And I'm thinking, "Why are we authenticating someone? How many people do you think are down here? This is the Atlantic Ocean, 65 miles out off the coast of North Carolina. How many people..." Here's an idea: Rescue everyone. We'll worry about the pleasantries when I get on board.

• 40:00John Hopkins?

  After answering questions about his social security number and the color of the van he drives, Brian is at last cleared for rescue.

• 40:10John Hopkins?

  The crew ask him to send up some flares so they can accurately locate him. Something he cannot do. So Brian comes up with another suggestion.

• 40:19Speaker 01

  I said, guys, I'm doing good just to talk to you. I said, but I can see you. I said, so let me vector you to me. And so I gave them what we call no gyro vectors. Basically, turn left, stop turn, turn right, stop turn. And so I flew that C-130 right over the top of me. And when, as he was approaching, I went three, two, one, barf. You just went overhead.

• 40:43John Hopkins?

  Slowly, meticulously, like an elaborate game of Marco Polo, Brian guides the rotorcraft through the darkness until the team are confident of his position. But the downdraft of a helicopter at low altitude is over 100 miles an hour. If it gets too close to him, he'll be flipped into the sea. As his tiny raft is thrown around on the chill waters of the Atlantic, Brian positions the helicopter around 50 feet short of his location. That'll do.

• 41:17Speaker 01

  I'll never forget the picture of the rescue swimmer as he came out of that cabin door and they had started lowering him down the cable. I thought, OK, this is really going to happen. I want to be ready to go when he gets to me. So I pulled a hook blade knife out of my G-suit pocket. I started raking my legs to grab those lines. And I'd grab a handful of those lines with my teeth. I'd create the tension. And with that razor knife, I would cut those lines.

• 41:48John Hopkins?

  Brian frees himself of the web of ropes and parachute lines. Then he lets just enough air out of the raft to allow his rescuer easy access.

• 41:58Speaker 01

  He swims up to me. He throws his arms over the side of the raft and he introduces himself. I'm Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Jim Peterson, and I'm here to rescue you. And I said, great, I'm Air Force Captain Brian Udell, and I'm here to be rescued. Let's go.

• 42:13John Hopkins?

  When rescuer Jim Patterson finally reaches the raft, he isn't fully aware of the extent of Brian's injuries. But he has to move him, no matter what. He tells Brian that he's gonna swim him across to the rescue cradle, where he will be strapped in and hoisted into the helicopter. Even with Jim's support, the idea of getting into the tumultuous ocean is a daunting one.

• 42:37Speaker 01

  And I knew that this guy was gonna put me through the most pain that I've ever been through in my entire life. Probably more than what I just have already experienced, because he's gonna be thrashing me around as he drags me through this water.

• 42:50Speaker 01

  And so mentally, I'm preparing myself to be the best survivor this guy has ever seen. I don't want him worrying that he's hurting me. I want him to stay focused on his job. As he's kicking, those flippers are generating a wake. That wake is causing my legs to go back and forth through the water. There's just not a whole lot holding my legs on, so they're just free-flowing out there. The pain that I was experiencing every time he kicked and every time that wake-up water went up against my legs was unbelievable. And my whole goal was to not let him know that he's hurting me.

• 43:29John Hopkins?

  Somehow, Brian remains silent, swallowing the agony. Eventually, the roar of the blades is directly overhead, and Brian is strapped into the rescue cradle. He's secured. The signal is given, and he is lifted into the sky.

• 43:48John Hopkins?

  For a moment, as the cradle twists and spins on the end of the rope, it seems like he might collide with a helicopter. But at the last moment, the crew pull him inside with a decisive thump.

• 44:02John Hopkins?

  He's safe.

• 44:12John Hopkins?

  This November, on the Noiser Podcast Network. On Real Dictators, the story of Rafael Trujillo concludes with an epic shootout scene, plucked straight from a mafia movie. On Short History of, join us as we unthor Utsi the Iceman, Europe's oldest known natural human mummy, and step back into the swinging 60s. On Real Survival Stories, on Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest mountain, a chilling tale plays out in the mist. And after a volcanic eruption in New Zealand, a helicopter pilot scrambles to respond. In Jane Austen Stories, Emma continues with Dame Julie Andrews. And in Sherlock Holmes' Short Stories, the tale of hidden treasure and murder continues in The Sign of Four.

• 44:55John Hopkins?

  Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus. And for our American listeners, a special offer on Noiser's debut book, A Short History of Ancient Rome. Head to bookshop.org and use the code NONFIC26 for 15% off. Valid for US customers November 1st to 30th. That's bookshop.org and use the code N-O-N-F-I-C-26.

• 45:26John Hopkins?

  This November, on the Noiser Podcast Network. On Real Dictators, the story of Rafael Trujillo concludes with an epic shootout scene, plucked straight from a mafia movie. On Short History of, join us as we unthor Utsi the Iceman, Europe's oldest known natural human mummy, and step back into the swinging 60s. On Real Survival Stories, on Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest mountain, a chilling tale plays out in the mist. And after a volcanic eruption in New Zealand, a helicopter pilot scrambles to respond. In Jane Austen Stories, Emma continues with Dame Julie Andrews. And in Sherlock Holmes' Short Stories, the tale of hidden treasure and murder continues in The Sign of Four.

• 46:09John Hopkins?

  Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus.

• 46:19John Hopkins?

  With no time to lose, the Coast Guard fly Brian to the nearest hospital in Wilmington. It isn't a comfortable journey.

• 46:27Speaker 01

  There had been military budget cuts, and they had lost their EMT qualifications. So they weren't allowed to push any fluids, not even an IV to rehydrate me. So I'm laying there, they're not able to do anything for me, except give me a neck brace. And I told them, I said, "My neck and back are the only things that don't hurt."

• 46:48Speaker 01

  Finally, we get to the helipad at the hospital. I remember the doors opening up, we roll in through the hallway, we're going down the hallway. I'm looking at the fluorescent lights going overhead, and then all of a sudden, the gurney comes to a stop. I look around, and there was my wife, my answered prayer. She was standing there.

• 47:10Speaker 01

  She was afraid to touch me. I didn't look human. I reached up and I held her hand, and all I could think to say was, "So how do I look?" And she's like, "Oh, you look fine." And I thought to myself, "Baby, you need to be a poker player in Las Vegas." I said, "Because I know I don't look fine." And so I held her hand for a second, and then they said, "We need to take him in and put him back together."

• 47:34John Hopkins?

  Brian is wheeled into an operating theater, full of thirty medics, where his dislocated limbs are reset, still without pain relief. Finally, Brian is put under general anesthetic and taken into the emergency theater, where he is slowly reconstructed by a team of surgeons.

• 47:53John Hopkins?

  When Brian comes around, many hours later, he finds out what happened to his friend, Captain Dennis White.

• 48:02Speaker 01

  About noon that day, my wife came in and woke me up. And I said, "Did they find him?" And they said, "Yes." That he was gone, that he had been killed in the ejection.

• 48:17Speaker 01

  There's no reason

• 48:20Speaker 01

  other than for me, just the grace of God, that I'm a lot. I shouldn't be a lot. Why he was taken and why I'm still here, I have no explanation. It's something that you never get over. It's just something you learn to deal with. He had a wife, he had two kids. And, you know, your realization is that she just lost her husband and they lost their father. That's tough. And it never gets easier throughout life. This, in April of 25, will be 30 years, and it doesn't get any easier.

• 49:09John Hopkins?

  Half a dozen stainless steel rods are inserted into Brian's legs.

• 49:14John Hopkins?

  While he's recovering in hospital, the doctors tell him that while walking again will be a challenge, flying again will be an impossibility.

• 49:23Speaker 01

  That was not something I was willing to accept. I'm a firm believer that your brain dictates what your body does. And if you really want to do something, your mental strength is going to make it happen.

• 49:41Speaker 01

  So I told them, I said, "I may not be able to do anything for the next six weeks while all of this heals." I said, "But I want you to bring me weights so that I can work out in this bed, so that my upper body is strong, so that when you take these rods out, I can start working the lower half."

• 49:59John Hopkins?

  First, with dumbbells in bed, and then with further surgeries and intensive physiotherapy, Brian regains his strength and movement.

• 50:08John Hopkins?

  On June 5, 1995, less than two months after the ejection, he takes his first steps on his reconstructed legs. Within six months of the accident, he teaches himself to run again.

• 50:22John Hopkins?

  His son Morgan is born during this rehabilitation period, adding extra inspiration and incentive to Brian's recovery.

• 50:30John Hopkins?

  When he eventually tells the Air Force that he's ready to get back to work, they have serious reservations. They demand he completes a series of rigorous tests to prove to his superior officers that he's ready.

• 50:42John Hopkins?

  He passes with flying colors. And 10 months after the devastating incident, Brian climbs back into an F-15.

• 50:53Speaker 01

  Pulled that jet fuel starter handle, felt that thing kick off, felt that ramp slam down and the power of that engine. And I thought to myself, "I'm back. I did it."

• 51:06Speaker 01

  I remember taxiing to the end of the runway. And the first takeoff that I did, I just got airborne, I was a few feet off the ground. I sucked the gear up, put the flaps up. By the end of the runway, we were over 400 knots. And I pulled that nose straight up into the air and I climbed that eagle up to 20,000 feet.

• 51:28Speaker 01

  That's what it's all about. Your mind is what controls everything. How you think is going to be the result of whatever you're going through. If you want to fail, you care. If you want to succeed, you can. It's your choice. I went through probably the most horrific event that you can possibly put a human through. I wasn't supposed to survive the ejection. I wasn't supposed to survive the time no more. I was never supposed to walk right again. I certainly wasn't supposed to fly again.

• 51:58Speaker 01

  I choose to make things happen, not to just accept the outcome. That's the story.

• 52:19John Hopkins?

  In the next episode, we meet mountaineering legend Dan Mazur as he tackles the tallest peak on the planet. In 1991, with the last of his student loan, Dan blacks his way onto a climbing expedition to Mount Everest. He's paired up with Ramon, a grizzled Soviet Georgian in his mid-50s. But as the unlikely duo tackle the mighty mountain, things start to go terribly wrong. When Ramon collapses near the summit, Dan faces an awful choice. The decision he makes and what happens next will change him forever. That's next time on Real Survival Stories.

• 53:01John Hopkins?

  Listen right now without waiting a week by subscribing to Noiser Plus. This November on the Noiser Podcast Network. On Real Dictators, the story of Rafael Trujillo concludes with an epic shootout scene, plucked straight from a mafia movie. On Short History of, join us as we unthor Ötzi the Iceman, Europe's oldest known natural human mummy, and step back into the swinging 60s. On Real Survival Stories, on Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest mountain, a chilling tale plays out in the mist, and after a volcanic eruption in New Zealand, a helicopter pilot scrambles to respond. In Jane Austen Stories, Emma continues with Dame Julie Andrews, and in Sherlock Holmes'

• 53:43John Hopkins?

  short stories, the tale of hidden treasure and murder continues in The Sign of Four. Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noiser Plus.

• 53:59John Hopkins?

  Hi listeners. If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you'd like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]. That's [email protected].