n 1957, Robert Caplan was serving as a plane captain on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Forrestal. During preflight, he was pulled head first into the engine intake of an FJ-3 Fury jet fight plane revving at full power. Just months before, he had playfully posed for a photograph in the same intake.
He received last rites and experienced an extraordinary, acutely aware state of being, separated from his physical body.