Among all the aerobatic display teams across the world , the U.S Air Force 's C-17A Globemaster III `` Hickam '' is n't the most graceful . `` But it is pretty nimble , '' says Anthony Gurrieri from its flight deck moments before hitting the thrusters and executing a tactical descent that dropped the plane 20,000 feet ( six kilometers ) in just over a minute . Feeling like the most exhilarating roller-coaster ride for those onboard , it is not so spectacular for those watching on the ground at the Singapore Airshow , although it is a maneuver that he and other member of the flight team need to use regularly . `` We 're often in areas that you just need to get out of quickly , '' says Major Mike Pasquino , another of the four pilots of the Hickam . A steep take off and turn was used by the crew recently to escape enemy fire in Afghanistan . `` You just think about your training and nothing else in those situations , '' says Pasquino . Part of the U.S. Air Force 's Pacific crew based in Hawaii , the Hickam 's other less hazardous missions have included transporting dolphins and even a killer whale in the plane 's voluminous cargo hold . It 's been joined in Singapore by display teams from the home nation , Australia and Malaysia , but with all those Type A personalities looping through the skies in national colors , does it lead to competition among pilots ? `` No way , '' says Lieutenant Colonel Mior Nor Badrishah , commanding officer of the Malaysian Air Force 's Smokey Bandits display team . `` Shit happens if you push it . '' Battle for the skies at Singapore Airshow . And he should know . Badrishah gained the nickname `` Ghost '' after a near-fatal training accident over the Malacca Straits . He and other pilots from the Malaysian Air Force were on training maneuvers with the Royal Australian Air Force when an Australian jet clipped Badrishah 's Russian-made Mig 29 , forcing him to bail out at 13,000 feet from the burning jet . `` I blacked out for a few seconds when I ejected . I came to and pulled the parachute and landed in the water . It took over four hours for them to get me out . '' Test your aviation knowledge . Just two years ago at the same event in Singapore a South Korean pilot was forced to cut short his aerial display after getting too close to the crowd . The organizers emphasize the safety measures in place at these displays , but accidents do happen , most tragically at an event in Ukraine in 2002 when 77 people died and hundreds of people were injured . Badrishah 's accident `` was an expensive mistake , '' he says with heavy understatement , but it certainly did n't put him off flying . `` I had two weeks off and was then back in a plane . ''
U.S. Air Force 's Pacific crew go through their paces in the C-17A . Crew recently used sharp maneuvering to escape enemy fire in Afghanistan . Less hazardous missions have included transporting a killer whale .