"The jet's engine thumped and rumbled -- a warning light flashed on -- Col. Rankin had to eject at 50,000 feet! "

"... Most people would be incapacitated by the low atmospheric pressure at that altitude. However, Lt. Col. Rankin was not so lucky. He remained conscious as he descended into a well-developed severe thunderstorm. Although it should have taken him only 10 minutes to pass through the storm, the updrafts kept him inside the cloud for 40 minutes.

During that time he battled for survival in temperatures as low as -57 celsius (-71 degrees F.), all the while being pelted with hailstones, blinded by lightening, deafened by thunder, and soaked by driving rain. At one point, the rain was so torrential that Lt. Col. Rankin thought he might survive everything else only to be drowned. To this day, he may be the only person ever to have survived such an ordeal."

Chp 6, p. 6-42 -- Jeppesen Private Pilot Handbook.