Today in History – July 7, 1950 – Pilot ejects into 2 feet of water.
The third prototype of three Vought XF7U-1 Cutlass twin-tailed fighters, BuNo 122474, suffered an engine explosion during flight exhibition at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Vought test pilot, W. Paul Thayer, ejected and parachuted into two feet of water in the Patuxent as the airframe impacted on a small island nearby. Thayer was returned safely to