Reply #5: Poor guy KNEW he was in danger

[charlie]

of getting vaporized by a Patriot:

In his last e-mail message home before he died, 30-year-old Navy pilot Lt. Nathan White described the challenges his F/A-18C would face over Iraq. One of his top concerns was avoiding American Patriot air defense missiles.

...

Then he would navigate the system of "airborne highways" created by the military to keep planes from crashing into each other "and of course steer you clear of the army's Patriot batteries," White wrote.

It was not a joking reference. White's was the second plane shot down by a 17-foot-long, 2,000-pound Patriot missile. His was the third coalition plane targeted by the system within a 10-day span.

...

It was a direct hit, apparently slamming directly into White's cockpit. The impact most likely caused White's plane to eject him. His intact parachute was found floating in Lake Karbala. The Navy believed for 10 days White had ejected over Karbala where an intense ground battle was raging and was either hiding or a prisoner.

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030424-042117-6399r