"In June 1949 I checked out a Piper Cub from the factory and filed a flight plan which called for a landing at the airport in Steubenville, Ohio, just across the Ohio River from Pennsylvania. The weather was reported to be good, and I was scheduled to reach Steubenville well before dark.
"However, as I flew over Three Rivers Stadium, home of the Pittsburg Pirates baseball club (where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers converge to form the Ohio), I was confronted by a thunderstorm and violent winds. The western sky became dark and streaked with forked lightening. I could see there was no way of outflanking the storm and decided I better land as soon as possible.
"I was over mountainous country--a stretch known in those days as 'The Pilot's Graveyard'. What was I to do? It became so dark cars traveling below me were switching on their lights. I must land, but could not find on my map any airport I could hope to reach in time.
"I began to quote my lifelong Scripture, Psalm 32:8: 'I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will guide thee with mine eye.
"I was desperate, I prayed, 'Lord, I am on an errand for You. This is a Speed-the-Light plane to be used in Your service in Africa. There is no place to land in this heavily wooded, mountainous country, Please guide me.
"Almost instantly an inner voice said: 'Make a 45-degree turn to the left.' I did so immediately. By now darkness was really upon me. I was 25 miles north of Wheeling, West Virginia. Claps of thunder and terrific downdrafts shook the little plane.
"Quite suddently I saw amid the threatening expanse of trees below me a bare, cone-shaped mountain peak. A spot free of trees! But could a plane land on such steep terrain? I circled once, cut the throttle, pulled back on the stick, and set the Cub down on the steep, bare upslope, managing to stop its roll just before it could top the summit and plunge down the other side. After catching my breathe, I stopped to thank the Lord for being guided by His eye."
No comments:
Post a Comment