HOLIDAY JOYRIDE

LCPL Howard A. Foote, Jr., enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1984 with the hope of an enlisted commissioning and selection for flight training.  He was already an accomplished pilot at the time, having established several altitude records for glider flight.  He had joined the Long Beach Soaring Club in 1981 with whom he set a junior pilot high altitude glider record in 1984, flying at 35,500 feet for 6 1/2 hours.  Indeed, he missed his high school senior prom because he was flying!  However, while later gliding at 42,500 feet, Foote’s pressure suit failed and he sustained an air embolism, similar to the “bends” in diving.  Only after enlisting in the Marines did Foote learn that this embolism disqualified him from military flight training.  The frustrated Marine chose aviation mechanics as an alternative MOS.  But his love of flying never waned.

The Fourth of July holiday often found MCAS El Toro nearly empty.  Foote, now a mechanic with the 214^th Marine Attack Squadron of the 3^rd MAW, knew the air station would be closed, with the control tower unmanned and the runway lights off.  At 0200 he acted!  He drove a squadron vehicle onto the deserted tarmac where the squadron’s unarmed A4M Skyhawks were parked, fully fueled and ready.  No one noticed the man in a flight suit and helmet climbing into the cockpit of one jet.  Not until Foote started the engine was his exploit discovered–a night maintenance crewman ran onto the apron waving his arms.  But it was too late.

The Skyhawk roared down the runway leaving only a trail of jet exhaust.  Its running lights were seen to rise gently into the night sky until the jet disappeared from view.  El Toro’s radars were not operating at that moment, so it could not be confirmed how far, or in which direction, Foote flew.  Foote himself later reported flying about 50 miles out to sea.  Here he indulged himself for 30 minutes, doing barrel rolls and chandelles.  He then headed his–now stolen–$18 million plane back toward El Toro to tackle the most difficult aspect of flight–landing.  It took four missed approaches before Foote touched down and safely rolled to a stop.  He was arrested on the spot and thrown into the Camp Pendleton brig.  Drug and alcohol testing was negative.

The 21-year-old spent 4 1/2 months in confinement and upon release was awarded an other-than-honorable discharge.  He subsequently attempted to fly for the Israeli and Honduran air forces without success.  His aviation career got back on track when he later qualified as a test pilot in 20 different military and civilian aircraft.  He also currently holds patents in aviation engineering and design.

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”   9 JUL 26

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Pinsky, Mark I.  “Marine Accused of Taking El Toro Jet on 2 a.m. Joy Ride.”  Los Angeles Times, 5 July 1986.  At: http://latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-05-me-20219-story.html, retrieved 20 March 2021.

Stilwell, Blake.  “That Time a Marine Mechanic Took a Joyride in a Stolen A4M Skyhawk.”  Military.com website, AT: Http://military.com/off-duty/2021/03/08/time-marine-mechanic-took-joyride-stolen-a4m-skyhawk-html, retrieved 20 March 2021.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  Aircraft sitting idle routinely have their fuel tanks topped off to prevent moisture condensation.

          A chandelle is a full-power, climbing, 180° turn that is so steep it finishes just above stall speed.  A barrel roll is a twisting, horizontal, inversion loop in which the wheels appear to trace the inner surface of a cylinder or barrel.  Both maneuvers were used by WWI pilots to escape an enemy on their “six.”

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