USA In 1956, Thomas Fitzpatrick did the unthinkable: flying an airplane in New York and landing on Manhattan streets, all for betting.

Thomas Fitzpatrick was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York in 1930. He served in the US Marines, operating on the Pacific front during World War II. Fitzpatrick later joined the Army and served in the Korean War. After being wounded on the battlefield, Fitzpatrick was awarded the Purple Heart Medal and discharged.

He was the one who "never sat still". "There's a crazy side to Fitzpatrick," said Fred Hartling, his former neighbor. Hartling said his brother is Fitzpatrick's best friend and the two boys are from "a rebellious group of friends".

Fitzpatrick was interested in flying and he enrolled at Teterboro Aviation School in New Jersey. At age 26, Fitzpatrick worked as an airplane mechanic.

September 30, 1956, after drinking at a bar on St. Boulevard. Nicholas, Washington Heights, Fitzpatrick drove to school when he was drunk, boarded a single-engine plane and flew back to the bar.

Fitzpatrick initially tried to land at a nearby park but it was too dark. So he decided to board the plane at about 3 o'clock on St. Boulevard. Nicholas.

When people woke up, they were surprised to see a small plane parked in the middle of the road. "He made a bet with someone in the bar that he could go back to Washington Heights from New Jersey in 15 minutes," said local resident Jim Clarke. The improvised landing made Fitzpatrick appear on the front page of local newspapers such as New York Daily News and Democrat and Chronicle.

Local resident Sam Garci initially thought things were not true. "I thought they were taking the plane, put it there to set up a prank. There was no way someone landed on that narrow road," Garcia said.

Although Thomas Fitzpatrick acted recklessly, it was undeniable that he made a spectacular landing: flying through narrow streets with tall buildings, cars and lampposts. The New York Times calls this an "aviation feat." Even the police are impressed. Harold Behlings, of the aviation police force, said the successful landing rate in this case was 1 in 100,000.

Fitzpatrick was charged with theft of high-value belongings and violated regulations prohibiting aircraft landing on the streets. However, the owner of the aircraft proposed to withdraw the allegation first so Fitzpatrick was only fined 100 USD.

It was not Fitzpatrick's last reckless affair. On October 5, 1958, he landed the Cessna 120 aircraft on Amsterdam Boulevard, Manhattan. He had been drinking before and a drinking buddy from Connecticut didn't believe him when he heard Fitzpatrick talked about his landing in 1956. To prove himself, Fitzpatrick and his friend drove to Teterboro, where Fitzpatrick sneaked on a plane one engine on the runway.

However, this time Fitzpatrick landed at 1 o'clock and some witnesses saw it. Carpenter John Johnson was riding a motorbike and had to brake quickly to avoid colliding with the aircraft. Bus driver Harvey Roffe sat in the parked car as Fitzpatrick passed by. He instinctively sank to the floor, afraid that the plane would tear the roof of the bus.

Unlike the first, Fitzpatrick escaped from the scene. He then went to the Wadsworth Avenue police station, told officials that he happened to be in the neighborhood and heard that the police wanted to talk to him. Fitzpatrick pretended that he was not the pilot who took the stunt at dawn and confessed only after some witnesses identified him as the pilot.

Fitzpatrick was charged with theft of large-value items, using dangerous and reckless aircraft, illegally landing in the city, violating the regulations of the Civil Aviation Department for not having a flight permit. Judge John A. Mullen was sentenced to 6 months in prison.

"If you had repented after the first time, this wouldn't have happened a second time," Mullen said.