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Baltic Plunge: NATO Pilots Fight The Fear
NATO pilots have been given a freezing cold crash course in how to escape their aircraft if they are forced to ditch.
More than 70 pilots, co-pilots and loadmasters took part in an air crash training exercise in the Baltic Sea.
The NATO exercise was designed to test the entire search and rescue system as well as the pilots.
Helicopters were scrambled to rescue the airmen who were strapped into a training cage and dropped into the water from the side of a ship.
Captain Gintautas Ciuoderis of the Lithuanian Air Force explained:
"The cold water does damage to you, to your health, to your mind. You're starting to panic. This exercise is mostly based on how to deal with your fear, how to deal with yourself."
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