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

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A fiery air crash in the Top End – and a miracle by Aussie doctors who saved a US marine is an episode from Please Explain by The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.

This episode is 22:53 long.

This episode was published on May 10, 2026.

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