The discovery of a plane wreck at the bottom of the English Channel will likely solve a 50-year-old mystery that some believe the RAF and USAF might rather remain below the surface if local lore is correct. Few details have ever been released about the crash of a USAF C-130 that was stolen by a homesick mechanic in 1969 but one theory is that it was shot down, ostensibly out of fear it would crash into a populated area. Sgt. Paul Meyer, a private pilot and a chief mechanic with the Air Force, got drunk on the night of May 23, 1969, and hatched a plan to fly the transport from RAF Mildenhall back home to Langley, Virginia. He posed as a captain, got the plane fueled and took off.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/recent-updates/business-military/stolen-herc-wreck-found