Mike Durant Photo: supplied
Nine to Noon speaks to Mike Durant, a former US army helicopter pilot, shot down over Mogadishu during the United States' disastrous, and short-lived intervention in Somalia in 1993.
The mission was called "Restore Hope" but the US quickly found itself battling local Somali warlords. Mike Durant's Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, all his crew died in the subsequent fire-fight, along with two others. He was held hostage for 11 days before returning to the United States to a clamour of interest from the media.
Mike Durant now lives in Alabama where he runs a company specializing in aviation training and hiring many veterans. He's the subject of a National Geographic documentary to screen here later this month.
