The the facts behind a great myth usually prove it isn't true. Such is the case of "The Rocket Car versus The Mountain" myth. For nearly fifty years, there’s been a story of a young man mounting JATO rockets, normally used to help heavy planes take off on short runways, to his aging Chevy Impala. After hitting the trigger on a long dark road somewhere in Arizona, he met his end when the rockets forced the Chevy into the air and then sadly the road, making a hard left just as the car departed earth. Graphic versions of the story include looks at skid marks from his locked-up tires in an effort to slow the Impala down. The flight, as told by some (and we’ve heard several versions of the myth), was longer than the original Wright Brothers flight before coming to a sudden fatal halt against a mountain side some 350 feet (thirty five stories ) up. Great stuff and surely the kind of stuff great myths are made of. However, this one is totally untrue.
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