William Henry Rankin, a U.S. Marine Corps pilot, survived a fall from nearly nine miles high after ejecting from his jet in 1959 following a catastrophic equipment failure. His survival was extraordinary, but the true peril was the massive, churning weather system directly beneath him. His descent took him through one of the most violent environments on the planet, raising questions about the specific nature of the storm cloud that nearly claimed his life.
The Incident: Ejection and Freefall
Lieutenant Colonel Rankin was flying his F-8 Crusader at approximately 47,000 feet over the Carolina coast when the single-engine jet suffered a sudden and complete failure. After the engine seized, he ejected at an altitude dangerously high for human survival. The temperature outside was an estimated -50 degrees Celsius, and he was not wearing a protective pressure suit.
The immediate consequence of ejecting into the thin atmosphere was severe decompression. The rapid pressure change caused internal fluids to vaporize, leading to extreme abdominal swelling and causing bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He suffered immediate frostbite on exposed skin but managed to secure his emergency oxygen supply as he fell toward the cloud mass below.
Identifying the Cloud Type
The cloud William Rankin fell through was a Cumulonimbus cloud, commonly known as a thunderhead. This classification represents the most vertically developed and powerful type of storm cloud, often growing into a cumulonimbus incus, or anvil cloud, at its peak. The cloud tops reached high into the tropopause, the boundary layer between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
Cumulonimbus clouds are defined by their immense vertical scale, typically towering from a base a few thousand feet high to tops exceeding 40,000 feet. This structure indicates the presence of intense energy capable of supporting massive internal circulation. Vertical growth is fueled by powerful convection, where warm, moist air rises rapidly to high altitudes. The cloud’s structure housed the full spectrum of severe weather phenomena, making the fall uniquely dangerous.
Inside the Storm: The Physics of Survival
Once inside the thunderhead, Rankin’s descent was dramatically slowed and complicated by the cloud’s internal forces. The central mechanism of a cumulonimbus is the powerful updraft, a rising column of air that can reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour. These updrafts repeatedly caught his parachute, which had deployed prematurely due to the chaotic barometric pressure. He was thrown up and down by as much as 6,000 feet at a time, extending his fall from a few minutes to an astonishing 40 minutes.
The dense water content and solid ice particles contributed to his survival by slowing his overall rate of fall. He was pummeled by hailstones and subjected to intense turbulence that caused violent spinning and vomiting. He reported seeing lightning that appeared as thick, blue blades, and the rain was so heavy he had to hold his breath to avoid drowning. The combination of massive updrafts and the storm’s dense material prevented him from plummeting to the ground.