30 November 1957 – Capt Benny Lacombe is killed when he unsuccessfully attempts to bail out of Lockheed U-2A, 56-6704, Article 371, 13 miles SE of Laughlin AFB. Ejection seats had not yet been fitted to U-2s at this point. The history of the U-2 program is fraught with fatalities and crashes. “CIA pilots Wilburn S.
Friedhelm Baitis entered the USAF in 1968 after finishing his BS in Biology in 1968 at the University of Oregon. He served with the USAF for 20 years and then flew as a pilot with United Airlines.
Fried and his wife Anita are busy having fun flying his Supercub and glider in California. They consider themselves living in paradise, and “the luckiest people in the world.” (1)
(1) Source: https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/6/6681/files/2014/03/news05-1uurcco.pdf
