An Israel Air Force F-15 reportedly lost its canopy in a freak accident during a training flight at 30,000 feet.
The pilots, suddenly exposed to the rarified atmosphere, managed to coax the plane back down for a gentle landing.
The two pilots, a captain and a lieutenant, took off from the Tel Nof airbase near the central Israeli city of Rehovot, and began a routine training flight southwards, the Yedioth Aharonoth daily reported Monday.
During the flight, the plane’s canopy suddenly became detached. The cause of the separation is not yet known.
The pilots were startled, but did not panic, according to the report. They radioed the control tower, slowed their flight, and began an orderly descent amid biting cold and violent turbulence.