International: Saved by Salad Oil

Captain Austin J. King of San Rafael, Calif, banked his heavy-bellied C46 over Seoul airport one night this week, pushed the stick forward and prepared to land. Suddenly the pilot noticed that the plane's hydraulic system was out of order, and that one of the landing wheels was stuck in its casing. King pried open the trap door in the floor of his cockpit, wriggled into the narrow passage in the wing of his aircraft and tried to lower the wheel by hand. For 90 minutes he wrestled in the darkness of the wing while his copilot circled Seoul, burning up surplus fuel that might roast them alive if they crashed. But the wheel could not be lowered.

In desperation, King went aft into the cargo hatch, where twelve frightened passengers waited for the order to bail out. For the first time, he noticed the cargo: case after case of salad oil. King poured the salad oil into the faulty hydraulic system. The gear lowered smoothly, the plane landed safely, and Captain King and his grateful passengers shook hands and said goodnight.