Page 5 - Steerman Ashley News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> he is to fly the steerman in an event promoting a 3-d film on flying. ashley halsey decides this is the perfect time to try out a camera he's just bought. >> the camera was new to me. i played with it so that i knew how to start it and stop it with relative confidence. >> nothing to worry about. we're just going to go up in a plane. and here's the plane. >> on june 8th, halsey and trushell meet and take off from an airport south of washington, d.c. >> and away we go. >> we were flying into national airport with reporters and dignitaries to attend the premiere of the movie at the smithsonian...

>> the steerman, he learns, is a treasured world war ii biplane. >> it was used to train first-time pilots. a lot of them are flown by barnstorming pilots. they are revered by those pilots the way some people love a model t or the little deuce coupe. they're restored, they're cared for. >> the steerman ashley is to ride in is owned by michael trushell, who performs with the flying circus in northern virginia. >> we're going to simulate a strafing and bombing run. >> we replicated an act that was done in the '30s and '40s. >> six shots, down comes the bomb. yes! >> i fly there just for fun. it'...

>> you okay? >> yep. >> mike, being the consummate pro pilot, dropped out of his harness and helped me drop out of the cockpit. >> with his camera still rolling, ashley scrambles free. >> the next thing we heard were sirens. >> you guys okay? >> we're fine, thank you. >> as emergency vehicles race toward the plane, ashley and mike realize the plane itself has saved their lives. >> the plane was resting on its upper wing, upside down. took a heck of an impact because we flipped over hard. >> the steerman is one tough little plane. >> it was built for training. they knew they were going to be ab...

It's obvious, it's a brake lockup. >> for ashley, this video may prove to be the most widely distributed story of his career in journalism. >> it was a camera i owned for less than 12 hours, and it's been picked up all around the world. >> while the video goes viral, the steerman goes to the repair shop. >> airplanes can get fixed. runways can get fixed. people don't get fixed that easy. >> whoa! >> there's a lot of very fortunate things happened that day. the most fortunate thing is nobody got hurt. >> coming up -- rafters are stranded in an icy raging river. >> there are no guarantees that t...

>> it was used to train first-time pilots. a lot of them are flown by barnstorming pilots. they are revered by those pilots the way some people love a model t or the little deuce coupe. they're restored, they're cared for. >> the steerman ashley is to ride in is owned by michael trushell, who performs with the flying circus in northern virginia. >> we're going to simulate a strafing and bombing run. >> we replicated an act that was done in the '30s and '40s. >> six shots, down comes the bomb. yes! >> i fly there just for fun. it's my excuse to go out on sundays and fly in circles. the beginnin...