To fly again

To fly again
Injured Army National Guard helicopter pilot holds fast to her dream

By Mary Ann Fergus
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 12, 2005


WASHINGTON -- Two weeks after a grenade blew off her legs and shattered her right arm, Army National Guard Maj. Tammy Duckworth set a goal: to fly again.

It is an ambitious dream; there have been only a handful of amputee pilots in military history. She says she knows of none with an injured right arm.

Perhaps the most famous is Douglas Bader, a World War II fighter pilot and double amputee with the Royal Air Force. Air Force Lt. Col. Andrew Lourake, who has visited Duckworth, returned to flight status last year after he lost a leg in a motorcycle accident.

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Tammy Duckworth