CIA/Air America pilot will be in Key West to present “The Last Plane Out of Cambodia”

Air America pilot Capt. Neil Hansen began his aviation career ominously enough as a pilot for the disappeared Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa.  He later spent more than a decade in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War era as a captain for the CIA’s airline that operated there during the Vietnam era and the ‘Secret War’ in Laos.  Post-Air America, his adrenaline addiction took him to a flying job in Cambodia.  He could not have known at the time that his lust for excitement would nearly cost him his life.  He escaped Cambodia mere hours before the murderous Khmer Rouge marched into the city and closed the airspace.

Neil Hansen has spoken to groups throughout the U.S. about his time flying with Air America and his adventures and misadventures in the years that followed.  He and Key West writer Luann Grosscup have detailed Neil’s time in the sky in his book “FLIGHT  An Air America Pilot’s Story of Adventure, Descent and Redemption”  (History Publishing Company, 2019).

As the 45th anniversaries of the falls of Southeast Asia are approaching in April, Capt. Hansen is quick to point out, “That chopper pictured in that iconic photo of the fall of Saigon, “The Last Helicopter” by photographer Hugh van Es  —it wasn’t  a military helicopter, as most people believe.  I’m proud to say that chopper was flown by two of my colleagues at Air America.” 

Neil Hansen will be in Key West with his presentation “The Last Plane Out of Cambodia” on two dates, both open to the public.  He will be at the VFW on Friday, April 3 at 6P.M., 2200 N Roosevelt Blvd, Key West, (305)-294-9968, and on Wednesday, April 8, at 6P.M. at the Monroe County Public Library, 700 Fleming Street (305)- 292-3595.

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