Posted By Kevin M. Pearson on May 27, 2005 at 09:36:40:
In Reply to: B-17 "wingwalking" information search posted by Henk Korenberg on May 25, 2005 at 17:54:28:
I would find it highly improbable that a man was seen on the wing of a B-17 fixing an engine in flight. First, there is no way for any of the crew to get out onto the wing in flight. And even if someone were to get out on the wing, there is nothing to hold onto and at 135 miles per hour, a person could not walk on a wing unless tethered with a rope or some other physical means of attachment because of the airflow.
There are a couple of possibilities, though, and that is if a crew member climbed out of one of the pilot's side windows and a parachute harness got caught. Or, of an person bailed out of another ship and his parachute got hung up on the wing. Both of these scenarios are possible, but doubtful.
The one thing I have learned about the airwar is that strange things did occur, like the guy who fell 12,000 feet without a parachute and lived, but I have never heard of anything like this before.
Kevin