Spider Crack in Plane Window: Rapid Decompression

Real Survival Stories

NOISER

Documentary, Society & Culture, Wilderness, Sports, History

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

An Air Force captain, George Burk, boards a plane bound for a base in Washington State. It’s a Monday morning like any other. Or at least, it should be. A structural failure will lead to a horror scenario in the sky. As the windows are blown out, this aluminium tube will hurtle towards the earth at over 250 miles an hour. By the time George and his colleagues have gathered their senses, it will already be too late… A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Joe Viner | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Matt Peaty | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at support@noiser.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs.
0:04.6	Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy, customizable themes that let you build your brand,
0:11.9	marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time.
0:16.7	From startups to scaleups, online, in-person and on the go.
0:23.0	Shopify is made for entrepreneurs like you.
0:27.4	Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:33.7	It's Monday, May the 4th, 1970.
0:36.3	About 8.25 in the morning.
0:43.3	Heavy fog mantles the sky above Sonoma County, California. Sharp, rainy squalls cut through the cloud like arrow showers,
0:48.3	falling on the rolling hills and fields, the oak forests, and cattle pastures.
0:53.3	Two and a half thousand feet up, a U.S. military training aircraft the oak forests and cattle pastures.
1:02.0	Two and a half thousand feet up, a US military training aircraft struggles to climb above the dense gray cloud. Water droplets bead on the cockpit windows as the plane gains altitude,
1:07.0	forcing its way up through layers of soaking mist.
1:10.0	Designed in the 1940s and modeled on early airliners,
1:14.6	the Conveir T-29 is a bulky twin-engined workhorse,
1:19.6	built mainly for radar and navigation training.
1:22.6	Now, after three decades of service, the fleet is showing its age.
1:29.0	The stainless steel fuselage trembles as the aircraft continues its shaky ascent, propellers
1:34.6	churning the air, turbines battling the down drafts.
1:40.3	Inside the cabin, Captain George Burke sits slumped over a chart table, his head resting in his folded arms.
1:48.0	Conditions might be a little rough, but for an experienced airman like George, it's just another day of the office.
1:55.0	The 28-year-old's eyes are closed and he's on the verge of drifting off when suddenly.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NOISER, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NOISER and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.