In March 1969, USAF Captain Kris Mineau was flying an F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft on a training mission over England. Near the town of East Dereham, disaster struck without warning. A mechanical malfunction locked the controls and sent the aircraft into a vertical dive towards the ground at the speed of sound.
Unable to regain control, Mineau ordered his weapons officer to eject and initiated the automatic ejection sequence. The rear canopy blasted away and the weapons officer’s rocket seat fired as intended, but Mineau’s own canopy and seat did nothing.
He repeatedly pulled the ejection handles, but nothing happened. By now, the aircraft was well below the minimum altitude for a successful ejection. With less than a second before impact, Mineau screamed, “Please God, help!”
Instantly, his canopy released and the rocket seat fired, throwing him clear of the aircraft. But there was another problem: there wasn’t enough time for his parachute to open.
Mineau was below 1,000 feet and hurtling towards the ground at around 1,280 feet per second. The automatic system normally needed three to four seconds to open the parachute. His opened in just half a second.
Against all odds, he was alive.
Below him, his aircraft crashed into the earth at around 750 miles per hour, creating a violent explosion. Mineau realised his parachute was taking him directly towards the fireball. He tried to steer himself away, but his arms were useless. Amazingly, the parachute veered away from the flames.
As he approached the ground, Mineau tried to brace his legs for the landing, but the supersonic wind had broken all of his limbs. He hit the ground like a rag doll. Helpless but alive, Mineau believed his survival was a miracle, something the original account states was documented by the USAF accident investigation board.
From Miracle to Devastating News
For four months, Mineau lay in traction and a body cast. He was confident that his own determination and inner strength would allow him to recover and fly again within a year.
But when the body cast was removed, he received devastating news. His fractures had not healed and radical surgery was now required to save his limbs. Doctors doubted whether he would ever walk again, let alone fly.
Overcome with grief, Mineau found himself asking, “What did God save me for? Who can I turn to for help?”
No sooner had the doctors left his room than a USAF chaplain walked in. Mineau told him about the crash and the miraculous circumstances surrounding his survival.
“So you believe in God,” said the chaplain.
“Of course I do,” Mineau replied. “Do you think I am a heathen?”
The chaplain then asked, “But do you believe in Jesus Christ?”
Mineau replied that he believed Jesus was a very good man. The chaplain challenged him to consider why, if Jesus was simply a good man, He had been executed in such a horrific way. He asked Mineau whether he had ever considered that Jesus had willingly gone to the cross for him, knowing and loving him as He hung there.
A Life Changed Through Faith
Mineau’s mind suddenly filled with the image of Jesus suffering on the cross. Quietly, in his heart, he said, “This is the truth, this I believe!”
He experienced what he described as the reality of Jesus, accompanied by complete forgiveness, assurance and peace. Mineau felt as though he had been “born again.”
He came to believe that Jesus truly was the Son of God, one with the Father, who became a man, was crucified and buried, and rose again. Mineau ultimately committed his life to God, praying:
“Lord, I no longer want to do the things I want to do. I want to do the things You want me to do. I want to live my life for You.”
Following extensive surgery, Mineau was eventually able to walk again, amazing his doctors. His recovery was not immediate, however, and it took another five years of surgery and therapy before he was completely restored.
During those years, Mineau devoted himself to studying the Bible and Christian fellowship. He and his wife found the joy and fulfilment they had long been searching for through their faith.
Then, exactly six years to the day after the crash, Mineau returned to the cockpit. He went on to fly the F-15 Eagle and eventually rose to the rank of full colonel. After retiring in 1992, Mineau and his wife went on to serve the Lord through international Christian ministries.
Miracles Are Not Enough
Mineau had survived an accident that should have taken his life, but the message of his story is that experiencing a physical miracle was only the beginning.
Christianity teaches that there is only one way to Heaven: through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father but by me.”
Although Mineau had experienced what he believed to be the miraculous power of God, his life was ultimately transformed when he came to faith in Jesus Christ.
His story is not simply one of incredible survival. It is a story of faith, forgiveness and discovering a new purpose for life.
Physical miracles are not enough. As Jesus said, “You must be born again.”
Do You Know Where You Are Going?
Do you know where you are going? All who want to go to heaven “Must be Born Again.” Jesus talked about heaven, and He said, “In my Father’s House are many mansions.” Also He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me.” (John ch.14 v.2,6)
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Saviour there is.
If Jesus is right (and He most certainly is), then all other ways are wrong! Religions are a waste of time; they cannot save you, only Jesus can. God did not create the religions of the world; man did, to satisfy his conscience! Man is “forever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy ch.3 v.7)
This is not Religion, it is Life!
Do you know the one who died on the cross for you?
When Jesus came He told us something that no religion has ever thought of, and which contradicts the basic principle of all religions. He said, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John ch.3 v.3).
Jesus said that He is the only way to God the Father, and the new birth is the only way to heaven.
What did he mean? He meant a spiritual birth whereby a person is able to confess his sins to Jesus Christ, accept Him as Saviour, and receive a new life. This is the Gospel.
Look and Live. Out of Religion, and into Christ!
May we offer this prayer as your first step?
Salvation Prayer
“Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you died for me. I acknowledge that I am a sinner. Please come into my life and forgive my sins. And save me. Amen.”
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