Two days after takeoff, a CIA aircraft finally spotted Ray’s parachute, and men helicoptered in to locate their comrade. The crews cut a road through the sand to schlep out the debris before anyone else found it-and found out about the secret flight. the next day, a helicopter found the plane, strewn across three canyons. “We couldn’t tell our wives where we were at or what we were doing.”Īt 3:25 p.m. “We went up on Monday morning, came home Friday night,” recalls former Area 51 crewmember T.D. Isolated in the desert, the group of about 30 staffers Barnes worked with on the site’s Special Projects felt like family. Many worked on the same mission as Ray: developing planes that didn’t exist in a place that didn’t exist, sometimes risking an accident like this, which also wouldn’t exist. They hoped to hear a transmission from the shortwave radio in his survival kit. Home Plate-as this group of airmen referred to Area 51-began to search. The A-12′s jet engines-so powerful that the director of central intelligence once said they sounded as if “ the Devil himself were blasting his way straight from Hell”-began to fail, then sputtered out.Īt 4:02, Ray sent his final known transmission: He was going to eject. The fuel tank’s low-pressure lights had blinked on. Thirty-eight minutes later, Ray radioed in more bad news. But the altitude change couldn’t cut his consumption enough. He lowered the plane out of the speedy headwinds, hoping to save some fuel. “I don’t know where my fuel’s gone to,” he said. He’d done this many times, having already logged 358 hours in these crafts.Īt 3:22 p.m., Ray radioed back to base: His gas was low. He took off for his four-hour flight to Florida and back a minute ahead of schedule at 11:59 a.m., the sleek curves of the Oxcart’s titanium body triggering sonic shock waves ( booms) as it sliced through the atmosphere. Ray’s last morning on Earth was chilled and windy, with clouds moving in and preparing to drop snow on the nearby mountains. In reality, and in secret, he reported to the CIA. On the books, Ray was a civilian pilot for Lockheed Martin. Set atop the dried-up bed of Groom Lake in the Nevada desert, the now-infamous spot made for good runways, and was remote enough to keep prying eyes off covert Cold War projects. On January 5, 1967, that single space belonged to Ray, a quiet, clean-cut 33-year-old who spent his workdays inside Area 51, then the CIA’s advanced-aviation research facility. On a radar screen, it appeared as barely a blip-all the better to spy on Soviets with-and had only one seat. Among the US’s first attempts at stealth aircraft, it could travel as quickly as a rifle bullet, and fly at altitudes around 90,000 feet. Ray’s A-12 jet, meanwhile, was fast, almost invisible, and novel. My photography is also available to purchase online, should you see something you like.“OXCART” WAS AN ODD NICKNAME for the plane that killed pilot Walter Ray. I explore abandoned structures, in addition to drains, rooftops and also active facilities.į showcases stories in addition to urban exploration photography to anyone interested in abandoned places or cityscape and rooftopping photographyįeel free to navigate the menus above and below to see the many locations I have visited and photographed. Urban explorers must be prepared for the challenges and potential hazards involved, as well as be mindful of the legal and ethical implications of their actions. In conclusion, urban exploring is the act of exploring abandoned places within an urban environment, often for the thrill of discovery and the opportunity to capture unique, hidden locations. This genre of photography, known as abandoned photography, provides a unique glimpse into our past and the impact of time and neglect on the built environment. Urban exploring can often involve photography, as explorers capture the beauty and decay of the structures they discover. It is also important to understand the legal and ethical implications of urban exploring, as many abandoned places are private property and may not be open to the public. Urban explorers need to be prepared for the challenges of exploring abandoned places, such as navigating unstable terrain and dealing with potential safety hazards. Urban exploring is often done for the thrill of discovery and the opportunity to see and capture unique, hidden locations. This can include abandoned buildings, factories, power plants, and other structures that have been left behind and forgotten. Urban exploring, also known as urban exploration or UE, is the act of exploring abandoned or off-limits places within an urban environment.
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