Cornfield Bomber

The "Cornfield Bomber" is the nickname given to a Convair F-106 Delta Dart of the United States Air Force's 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron which made an unpiloted landing in a farmer's field in Montana in 1970. Suffering only minor damage after the pilot had ejected from the aircraft during a training mission gone awry, the aircraft was recovered, repaired, and returned to service. It is currently on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.

The aircraft was manufactured by Convair in 1958 and given the tail number 58-0787. It served with the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron based at Malmstrom Air Force Base adjacent to Great Falls, Montana. During a routine training flight conducting aerial combat maneuvers on February 2, 1970, the aircraft entered a flat spin. The pilot, First Lieutenant Gary Foust, deployed the aircraft's drag chute as a last resort while attempting to recover. When it failed, Foust ejected at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m).

The reduction in weight and change in center of gravity caused by the removal of the pilot, coupled with the blast force of the ejection seat pushing the nose of the aircraft down, which had been trimmed by Foust for takeoff and idle throttle, caused the aircraft to recover from the spin. The previously set trim then helped stabilize the attitude of the plane after the initial nose down. One of the other pilots on the mission was reported to have radioed Foust during his descent by parachute, saying that "you'd better get back in it!" From his parachute, Foust watched incredulously as the now-pilotless aircraft descended and skidded to a halt in a farmer's field near Big Sandy, Montana. Foust drifted into the nearby mountains, and was later rescued by local residents on snowmobiles.