California Capital Airshow Welcomes "Glacier Girl"

Sacramento County, CA - The California Capital Airshow is excited to announce that Warbird expert Bob Cardin and "Glacier Girl" will be joining the already impressive line up of over 125 aircraft on static display, from a 1920's bi-plane to the F-22 Raptor of today's modern Air Force. Glacier Girl's visit to the California Capital Airshow is her only stop in Northern California and should not be missed.

Glacier Girl's story began on July 15, 1942, when a United States Army Air Corps Squadron, made up of six P-38F's and two B17 Bombers, departed the east coast of the United States on World War II aid mission "Operation Bolero" to support U.S. allies in the war torn European theatre. Halfway between Greenland and Iceland, the squadron encountered severe weather, including thick fog and icy conditions. They turned around to head back to Greenland, only to run into worse weather. They were extremely low on fuel, and had drifted off course, when all eight aircraft were forced to make an emergency landing on an ice cap located on Greenland. All 27 crew members of the eight aircraft survived the crash landing uninjured. Nine days later, the aircrews were rescued and evacuated. All eight aircraft were left behind and were slowly engulfed in snow and ice, gradually becoming a part of the growing glacier.

Fast-forward 50 years. A team of adventurers, lead by Warbird expert Bob Cardin ventured onto the ice to recover one of the P-38's of "The Lost Squadron," as it became known. Ten expeditions later, Cardin's group battled blizzard conditions and -20 degree temperatures to finally succeed in retrieving a partially-crushed P-38. The aircraft was excavated from 268 feet of ice through a 4'x4' hole to the surface. The team transported the disassembled airplane on a ski-equipped DC-3 to the port of Kulusuk, Greenland and then by ship to Savannah, GA. Ten years and $4 million in restoration expense later, the P-38, now affectionately known as the "Glacier Girl," took to the sky for the first time since that ill-fated day in 1942.

Purchase tickets for the 2009 California Capital Airshow, and learn more about the event, at www.californiacapitalairshow.com . General admission tickets are available for $15 ($20 at the gate) and children ages 12 and under get in free. Reserved seats are available for $40 ($20 for children 12 and under) and Exclusive Governor's Club tickets that include VIP parking are available for $175. All advance tickets include free transportation on Sacramento Regional Transit Light Rail trains, and a bus ride from the light rail station at Mather to the show gate.