Media and Press

Janine to Get a Jet Ride of a Lifetime
Malcolm Brown, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 Oct 1998

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Janine Shepherd, 26, whose life hung by a thread two years ago when she was run over by a utility, will soon achieve the dream of a lifetime - a ride in an RAAF F/A-18 jet fighter.

Miss Shepherd was Australia's top cross-country skier and was training for the Winter Olympics before the accident broke her neck and back in seven places. She now has a slight limp and can walk only short distances.

At the Bicentennial Air Show at Richmond yesterday, the Minister for Defence Support, Mrs Ros Kelly, wished her the best of luck for her fighter ride.

Miss Shepherd was in buoyant spirits as she inspected one of the F/A-18s on display.

She said that after the accident she spent four months at Prince Henry Hospital and was not expected to live.

"When I got out of hospital I could not walk unless I was helped by two people.

"So I decided to take up flying. I thought, seeing I could not walk I might as well fly."

Her determination gained her a private pilot's licence, then a commercial licence. She is now a qualified flying instructor, flying four-seater aircraft from Bankstown two or three days a week - spending the rest in rehabilitation for her injuries.

"About a year ago, I got the dream of flying an F/A-18. I wrote to the group captain at Williamtown who wrote back saying they could not put me up in one but invited me to come and fly a simulator."

After spending two days at Williamtown she asked the Ministry for Defence if she could fly in an F/A-18 fighter.

"I received my reply last week from Mrs Kelly who said she was impressed by my spirit and motivation and if it was all right on medical grounds she would be most pleased to grant me a ride.

"I was so determined I said I was willing to sign the indemnity.

"Life is full of risks and what I have learnt is to live each day as if it was the last."

Flight Lieutenant Rick Hughes, pilot of an F/A-18 who met Miss Shepherd at Williamtown and gave her a tour of the base, said he admired her pluck.

He said: "It would be a pretty harassing experience to go up in one, particularly for a person who has not had any experience of jets."

* The number of visitors to the Bicentennial Air Show has already easily surpassed forecasts, even before the public days today and tomorrow.

About 53,000 trade visitors have already visited the show and organisers are ready for huge crowds this weekend.

Top