Surprise jet arrival left lasting legacy in town
THE ground was still damp from a slight overnight frost when Captain Ruben Ocana stepped out of the Gulfstream II executive jet he had landed a short time earlier on the five furlong straight at Mallow Racecourse.
“I will be out of here once the ground dries out,” he told me, but, of course, that was not the way it worked out. He and his crew were stranded in the town for 39 days as a runway was laid to get the 15-seat luxury jet airborne again. As the days and weeks passed, I got to know Captain Ocana well. We talked about aviation and military history and shared stories about the cultural differences of his native Mexico and Ireland. It was a friendship that continued to the day he died. He was well versed in the Irish men… Continue Reading (6 minute read)