Well… it was 1974 in the Philipines. I was flying out of Subic Naval airstation in a P-3. I always liked to get a window seat and today’s draw was over the right wing. Crap, vision obscured by a couple hundred square feet of shiny aluminum. At least I was flying. We taxied out and I debated reading or watching the take-off. The engines revved up and as usual my eyes locked outside as the landscape began to rush by. The nose lifted and we were in the air. I watched as we climbed to about 500 feet. I had just about turned away when my mind was riveted to a sight just feet away from where I sat. The inboard engine was belching a mix of black, brown, white, and red liquids that flowed down the wing and turned into a grey mist in the turbulence. The plane lurched toward the side I was on and simultaneously the propelleor was feathered and came to a standstill. Perhaps 30 or 40 seconds had passed and I just didn’t have time to feel afraid. (I also knew that three other tuboprops were milling away at METO power and we actually sped up!) The pilots flew a big 180 turn and in a couple of minutes we landed without incident. So anticlimatic. I talked to the pilots after we had landed and the furor had ebbed. “Pretty hairy up there, huh?” He peered over his aviator shades at the geek in his way, “Nah, same engine did that a couple weeks ago”
I slunk away.