Pilots for Hire

Just as first dawn lighted Cuba's northern coastline one morning last week, a Piper Comanche droned in at 200 ft. over the coastal highway 70 miles east of Havana. One of Fidel Castro's army patrols, carrying a .50-cal. machine gun, opened fire, riddling the plane with bullets. The plane landed hastily just off the road, and out stepped two Florida pilot-adventurers: William Shergales, 34, and Howard Lewis ("Swede") Rundquist, 33, whose foot was gushing blood. Demanded Shergales: "Take me to Fidel Castro."

The Cubans were certain at first that they had shot down one of the clandestine planes that fly from Florida to drop incendiary bombs on sugar fields or make similar mischief. Only 200 ft. from where the plane came down, the Castro soldiers captured a carload of Cubans, who could have been waiting for a pickup. But after Shergales turned up at Havana police headquarters, well dressed and confident, Castro's newspaper, Revolution, dropped the whole story. One theory was that the flight was faked to give Castro one more small-plane yarn to howl about; another, that it was double-agentry.

Whoever is currently paying Rund-quist's and Shergales' bills, both men rank high among freebooting Florida pilots who will fly anywhere for anybody if the price is right. The U.S. Immigration Service border patrol knows who they are, and last week passed out to Florida plane-rental agencies a blacklist of 29 pilots (including one adventuresome, red-headed girl).

The top half-dozen of these adventurers might have come out of Steve Canyon. They keep their rendezvous over martinis in the swank Clipper Club at Miami Airport or at Murray's Mau Mau Lounge in the Green Mansions Hotel, make as much as $5,000 for a Cuba flight. Typical is Arkansas-born Jack Youngblood, 29. He once flew for Castro, now claims that an anti-Castro group owes him $16,000. Romantically fond of danger, girls and uncomplicated poetry, Youngblood says: "I have no loyalties. I just work for money." Can the U.S. stop these mercenaries? The border patrol last week brought in 90 extra agents, and the Bureau of Customs offered $5,000 rewards for usable tips telephoned to Franklin 7-1495 in Miami. The Federal Aviation Agency opened a Miami office to check on small-plane flight plans. But, says Youngblood: "'Who can stop a private aircraft from taking a joyride? Those law-enforcement agencies are too jealous of each other."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.