Born To Fly Where The Air Is Too Thin

This guy really got it bad.

Navy pilot Shane Osborn seeks state post

OMAHA, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Navy pilot Shane Osborn, whose spy plane was forced to land on a Chinese island in 2001, wants to be Nebraska's next state treasurer.

Osborn said he had been considering a run for the U.S. Senate but said his wife and two young children weighed on his decision to seek a state office instead, WOWT-TV, Omaha, reported.

Osborn, 31, will face incumbent Treasurer Ron Ross in the May 2006 Republican primary. He currently works as an aviation insurance broker.

Osborn made headlines in 2001 when his EP-3E spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea. He landed successfully on Hainan Island with 23 crew members and then endured 11 days of captivity and interrogation until the Bush administration was able to secure their release.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.