Travis Reyes, a 21-year-old US marine, remembers feeling smug as he sat with his feet dangling out the door of a military aircraft, soaring high above a gulf in the Northern Territory.

Yes, dozens of military personnel had died in these hybrid aeroplane/helicopters over the years. But the take-off from Darwin had been smooth.

Today, senior reporter Grant McArthur on the 23 marines who crashed in the bush, shocking the globe. And the world-first medical experiments by quick-thinking Australian doctors aimed at helping Travis Reyes survive against all odds.

Background reading
Grant McArthur's full story: 'A fiery air crash, a face-eating fungus and minutes from death in the Top End: How The Alfred’s doctors saved this US marine.'

Travis Reyes, a 21-year-old US marine, remembers feeling smug as he sat with his feet dangling out the door of a military aircraft, soaring high above a gulf in the Northern Territory. Yes, dozens of military personnel had died in these hybrid aeroplane/helicopters over the years. But the take-off from Darwin had been smooth. Today, senior reporter Grant McArthur on <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/a-fiery-air-crash-a-face-eating-fungus-and-minutes-from-death-in-the-top-end-how-the-alfred-s-doctors-saved-this-us-marine-20260427-p5zrdx.html?utm_source=omny&amp;utm_medium=podcast_notes&amp;utm_campaign=the_morning_edition&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_term=newsroom">the 23 marines who crashed in the bush</a>, shocking the globe. And the world-first medical experiments by quick-thinking Australian doctors aimed at helping Travis Reyes survive against all odds.
Background reading
<ul>
<li>Grant McArthur's full story: <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/a-fiery-air-crash-a-face-eating-fungus-and-minutes-from-death-in-the-top-end-how-the-alfred-s-doctors-saved-this-us-marine-20260427-p5zrdx.html?utm_source=omny&amp;utm_medium=podcast_notes&amp;utm_campaign=the_morning_edition&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_term=newsroom">'A fiery air crash, a face-eating fungus and minutes from death in the Top End: How The Alfred&rsquo;s doctors saved this US marine.'</a></li>
</ul>

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

A fiery air crash in the Top End – and a miracle by Aussie doctors who saved a US marine

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/88b564ea-a9a6-4751-910a-a5d800019396/clips/3e922fa0-eb5e-4534-94dd-b43d00611fae/transcript