American war hero Scott O'Grady has made a fleeting visit to Farnborough ‘96 in his new career as professional celebrity.
Scott became an international media star in June 1995 when he was shot down by a Bosnian Serb SA-6 surface-to-air missile and spent five days on the run from Serb troops.
"I'm not a pilot, here flying. I am here as a guest of Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), to meet and greet, and answer questions," he said at the pilots' briefing.
"I still fly the F-16 as a combat pilot [in the USAF Reserve], 10 to 15 days a month. I give talks and lectures and I am heavily involved in charity work."
In a question-and-answer session, O'Grady replied to media reports that the US Marine Corps rescue team that brought him out of Bosnia was over-manned.
"In a combat situation you want to dominate the situation. There is no such thing as playing fair," he said. "When you want to rescue someone, you don't send in the Lone Ranger, you send in the cavalry."
O'Grady carefully side-stepped questions about USAF cutbacks in suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD) aircraft, which are used to protect other aircraft from hostile missiles. No SEAD assets were protecting Scott's aircraft when he was shot down. "Operating procedures were changed after I was shot down," he said.
Source: Flight Daily News