It's one of the most iconic sights to see in Michigan – the mighty Mackinac Bridge stretching across the Straits to link the state's two peninsulas.

Vehicles of all sorts can be found traversing the suspension bridge any time.

But imagine an Air Force B-47 Stratojet bomber zipping underneath the structure.

That's what happened 60 years ago when a pilot had the gall to clear the underside of a suspension bridge, a feat recounted recently by the magazine Popular Mechanics.

Reports found in Detroit Free Press archives offer a deeper look at what led Air Force Captain John S. Lappo to fly a nuclear bomber under the bridge in a daring maneuver.

According to Free Press reports, Lappo flew the bomber underneath the Mighty Mac on April 24, 1959 — a mind-boggling feat — but the act resulted in his court-martial. Lapo, 39, of Muskegon, subsequently was grounded for the rest of his military career.

The Free Press reported on Aug. 26, 1959, that the Strategic Air Command disclosed just the day before that Lappo "piloted a six-jet B-47 medium bomber through the 150-foot clearance between the bridge and the water."

Lappo pleaded guilty at his court-martial. He faced a reprimand and was fined $50/month for six months.

A co-pilot and navigator were also aboard the bomber during the daring swoop but did not face court-martial.

On Aug. 27, 1959, the Free Press reported that the incident "had been kept quiet" until the court-martial.

While Lappo couldn't be reached for comment at the time of the incident, the Free Press caught up with him for an Oct. 17, 1976, article.

Lappo, who had found work as a hospital social worker in Anchorage, recounted what it was like to point the nose of the bomber down and fly under the bridge.

He decided to make his move while peering down at the Straits as "a stiff breeze whipped up the whitecaps" on a clear afternoon, Lappo told the Free Press.

He'd always wanted to fly under a big bridge, and recalled telling the crew: "I'm taking her under."

"When I was flying missions to the Far East, I was a co-pilot, and I wanted to fly under the Golden Gate at night. But I couldn't induce the pilot to do it," he told the paper.

"Lappo leveled out and roared over the water 75 to 100 feet above the ivory spray of the breakers," the paper reported.

"Mighty Mackinac raced up toward the windshield of Lappo's B47."

On that day in 1959, Lappo said there were two vehicles on the bridge — a car and a truck both traveling north.

Lappo insisted everyone else on board the big bomber was excited about his idea to fly under the bridge — except the navigator.

"Yea, the navigator warned against it," Lappo recalled. "Of course, I didn't know at the time that his father was the general and he was gonna go rat on me when we got back."

Lappo died in 2003 at age 83 at his home in Eagle River.

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Contact Aleanna Siacon: ASiacon@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AleannaSiacon.