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Richard Clayton

Richard Clayton is a 20,000-hour professional pilot with a career spanning more than 35 years. He lives with his wife in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

In 2007 the author and crew relied on his 15 years in the DC-8, and their checklists, to survive a night of mishaps. Many DC-8s still remain in service as freighters.

Chaos at 34,000 Feet

On a routine night fight from San Juan, everything suddenly went haywire.