He Stood Through a Sunroof at 90 mph to Fix a Plane

A pilot over St. Augustine, Florida, had a landing wheel that would not lock down. The fix that worked involved a speeding car, a sunroof and a mechanic who reached up and pulled the wheel into place by hand.

A Wheel That Would Not Lock

On the morning of Tuesday, March 12, 1985, Scott Gordon was flying a single-engine Piper Turbo Arrow when one of the landing wheels stuck as he approached the St. Augustine airport. The Christian Science Monitor described Gordon as the president of a firm that specializes in aerial stunts.

A wheel that will not lock can fold under a plane when it touches down, so Gordon needed it down and secure before he tried to land.

Ninety Miles an Hour on the Runway

Jim Moser got behind the wheel of a car. The Monitor called him a stunt pilot with 15 years of experience.

He drove down the runway at about 90 mph. Gordon brought the Piper in low and held it just above the car. Accounts of the exact height differ, so the record only supports "low".

Half Out of the Roof

Mechanic Joe Lippo stood on the seat with half his body sticking out through the sunroof. As the plane flew over him, he reached up and took hold of the stuck wheel.

It did not move easily. "It didn't want to come at first," Lippo told the Associated Press.

"Then I was able to put my whole weight on it and it came down."

The Monitor ran a photograph of the moment with a caption saying Lippo was reaching through the sunroof of a car traveling at about 90 mph to free the landing gear.

Down Safely

With the wheel down, Gordon landed the plane safely. Nobody was reported hurt.

The rescue was photographed by a local newspaper photographer, and footage of it still circulates online decades later. Some later retellings add a second mechanic holding on to Lippo and the make of the car. Those details vary between accounts, so they are left out here.