Fort Lauderdale police officer gets to fly in F-16 fighter jet
MIAMI - Fort Lauderdale police officer Pascal France has flown in a military helicopter before, but never in a fighter jet.
"Steak and eggs," France said when asked what he ate for breakfast today.
He's getting briefed on what It's like being tens of thousands of feet in the air.
It's part of the Fort Lauderdale Air Show's Hometown Heroes program, where someone who makes a difference in the community gets to fly in a fighter jet with the Thunderbirds.
They're a part of the US Air Force that performs at airshows.
Officer France was picked for Friday's flight because of his actions during a shootout at a Holiday Inn back in March. Police Chief Bill Shultz says officer France helped the officer who was shot during the raid.
"Pascal stood right with him, Pascal stood right with him, side by side and assisted in bringing that and all the officers home safely," Schultz said.
Officer France is a SWAT team sniper and has even beaten cancer. Let's see if he can handle G-force.
He flew in the back seat of an F-16 fighter jet for 45 minutes.
He tells CBS News Miami this was an experience unlike any other. He hit 9.2 Gs in the air, meaning he felt 2,000 pounds of force on his body.
"I felt very heavy very like, I felt like my face was, all my wrinkles just cleared up," France said.
Officer France says this is quite the way to thank him for his bravery.
"I was just doing my job," France said. "What anyone in my department would do. That aspect of it for me is just, it's what we do day in and day out."
