David Steeves

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David Steeves (1934-1965) was a U.S. Air Force lieutenant in the 1950s who was unjustly accused of giving a Lockheed T-33A trainer jet to the USSR during the Cold War.

Lieutenant Steeves was ordered to fly the jet from Hamilton Air Force Base near San Francisco, California to Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama in May 9th 1957. Steeves and the jet disappeared, and he was declared dead after a search turned up nothing. However, Steeves appeared out of the Sierra Nevada the following July, saying he parachuted after something blew up in the jet and He hadn't eaten for two weeks when found a ranger's cabin in Kings Canyon National Park where he found fish hooks, beans and a canned ham.

When the Air Force could not find any wreckage, Steeves was accused of giving the jet to Russia or shipping it piecemeal to Mexico. Even though no charges were brought against the lieutenant, he requested discharge from the Air Force, which was granted.

After returning to civilian life, Steeves found work flying experimental models of new aircraft and designing his own craft. In 1965, Steeves was killed in a demonstration flight of a new aircraft.

In 1977, while some Boy Scouts were on a hiking trip in Kings Canyon National Park, they came across a cockpit cover. The serial number on it matched the missing T-33A jet that Steeves had piloted.