AirSpace
AirSpace
National Air and Space Museum
Get Off of My Cloud
21 minutes Posted Mar 14, 2019 at 6:00 am.
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Welcome to SEASON 2 of AirSpace! We’re back with more stories that defy gravity, and in this exciting episode, we’ll hear about one man’s terrifying ordeal trying to get back down to the ground.

Longtime listeners know that bailing out of an airplane is a last resort that pilots take very seriously. But what happens when you unwittingly eject straight into a thundercloud? The already-harrowing journey to safe ground becomes a rollercoaster of howling wind, pounding hail and deafening thunderclaps. Emily, Matt, and Nick will talk to experts who know just how dangerous cumulonimbus clouds can be, and explore the story of William Rankin, who found out firsthand.