Marine pilot plays waiting game before flight line engagement proposal

In the back seat of his F/A-18D Hornet, Maj. James Corrington smelled jet fuel.

Feud 7-1, Corrington’s flight of four Hornets, refueled in the air as it cruised toward Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. When his Hornet’s fuel probe connected with the tanker plane’s boom, a little gas leaked out and streaked across his canopy.

It happens. Nothing to worry about. As he listened to the air traffic controllers’ radio chatter on March 15, he was just happy to be flying over land.

He watched the oil fields of Texas and the Mississippi River pass by during his four-hour flight from San Diego to Beaufort. His unit, VMFA(AW)-224 — The Bengals — was returning from a seven-month deployment in Japan. He’d first flown to Hawaii, then to California. Now, the official homecoming.

Corrington, 36, from Burlington, N.J., thought about the box that bulged in the right-lower-leg pocket of his flight suit. He’d made sure the engagement ring was zipped inside the pocket. He’d even fastened a strap over the pocket in case the zipper failed. He was nervous.

Four hours was a long time to think about the proposal. And now, as Feud 7-1 neared Beaufort, a snag. One of the Hornets had a caution light, an issue with its landing gear.

Corrington’s flight might not be able to land.

First-timer

Jennifer McGlenn stood behind the concrete barriers near the flight line at MCAS Beaufort.

McGlenn, 37, a San Diego native, was with her longtime friend Keri Bell. Bell held a camera. Bell’s husband, a member of Corrington’s sister squadron, went inside to check Feud 7-1’s status.

“(McGlenn) had never experienced what it’s like to see the jets fly over and land,” Bell said Thursday. “The only thing that’s missing … is the fog machine and the ‘Top Gun’ theme song.”

Bell remembers her friend being nervous. It was McGlenn’s first homecoming. Bell told her to wear something nice. McGlenn wore a white dress.

When Bell had first shown Corrington a picture of McGlenn back in December 2014, she’d picked one from her wedding. The photograph showed McGlenn, a bridesmaid, in a red gown. Matching shoes. Rhinestone jewelry.

Before their first date, McGlenn and Corrington talked on the phone. She’d told him she’d be wearing the same thing she had on in the photograph.

“I noticed on the phone he kinda got quiet,” McGlenn said Thursday.

Corrington showed up in jeans and white, collared shirt. McGlenn wore a mid-thigh-length black dress. She’d thought Bell had shown him a different photograph.

Bell continued to play matchmaker for her friends. McGlenn and Corrington continued to date. Corrington informed Bell of his plan to propose at the homecoming.

Near the flight line at MCAS Beaufort, Bell held her camera, waiting to capture the proposal.

Feud 7-1, meanwhile, circled above, waiting for permission to land. The Hornets were burning fuel; there was talk of diverting the flight to Savannah or Charleston.

The plane with the caution light might require an arrestor-hook-assisted landing, which would tie up the lone runway that was operational at MCAS Beaufort that day. The air-traffic controllers wanted to land other flights first.

“It’s Murphy’s law,” Bell said. “On the return from any deployment, the jets just seem to want to have any issue they can to delay the homecoming.”

Waiting game

The plane’s caution light had come on during takeoff, back in San Diego. It was still on as Feud 7-1 orbited Beaufort.

The Hornets were flying slow, so the pilot had an idea. He dropped his landing gear. He retracted his landing gear.

The light went away.

Feud 7-1 was given permission to land. They flew over the friends and family gathered on the flight line. They touched down and taxied to a stop.

Corrington could see McGlenn through his canopy as the Hornet’s engines came to a stop.

“I could see Jennifer; she had this beautiful white dress on,” Corrington said Thursday. “I could see her over there, waving, jumping up and down.”

He opened his canopy. She ran toward his plane. They hugged, kissed.

He took her into the shade cast by his Hornet. He got down on one knee. Maj. James Corrington, call sign “Jerk,” proposed.

McGlenn covered her mouth with her hands.

She eventually said “Yes,” after she finished crying.

For a little bit longer, Corrington had to wait.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Marine pilot plays waiting game before flight line engagement proposal."