FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rochester Area Prayer Breakfast to feature Supersonic Survivor – Captain Brian Udell

Rochester, MI (12/10/2024) – The Rochester Area Prayer Breakfast Committee announced today that Captain Brian Udell will keynote the 44th annual event on Thursday, April 24, 2025 from 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. at Oakland University Athletics Center O'Rena. Udell is one of the only pilots in history to survive after ejecting from an F-15E fighter aircraft at supersonic speed. He will share his incredible story of survival in the Atlantic Ocean at the annual event.

Brian Udell survived an ejection from an F-15E fighter aircraft over Mach 1 at sea level (roughly 900 miles per hour). The plane had fallen from 24,000 to 17,000 feet before Udell knew there was even a problem. The plane fell another 7,000 feet as he was working out the problem…for a very short amount of time. It was then Udell decided to eject while still flying faster than the speed of sound.

He described the impact of the wind during the ejection as “being hit by a freight train.” The wind ripped his helmet and mask off and broke every blood vessel in his face. With one dislocated elbow, a separated shoulder, a broken leg and ankle, a dislocated knee, broken ribs, and massive open wounds, Brian survived four grueling hours in the Atlantic Ocean at night in 55-degree water, 5-foot seas and 15-mph winds while awaiting rescue.

After six surgeries and months of intense physical therapy, Brian Udell surprised many by not only walking, but also flying fighters again. His 23,000 flight hours began at age nine and includes over 100 combat missions in Southwest Asia. He received the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Aerial Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters for combat missions over Iraq.

Udell candidly credits his face-to-face talk with God for his rescue and survival. He remembered what his grandmother told him. “If you need something, you pray for it,” Udell remembered her telling him, “not for what you want, but for what you need.”

Brian left the Air Force in 1999 and he is currently a Captain with Southwest Airlines, a Competition Aerobatica and Back-country Pilot, and a Motivational and Inspirational Speaker. Prayer Breakfast chairperson Vince Mattina chose Brian Udell as the 2025 keynote speaker because of his commitment to his faith, his family and his country. Mattina went on to say “Udell has an inspiring story on how, after being ejected from his fighter jet, he sustained catastophic injuries but, through prayer and his spiritual belief remained focused on his rescue and recovery.”

The Rochester Area Prayer Breakfast is an annual, non-denominational event held in recognition of the National Day of Prayer, instituted in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress and then President Harry S. Truman.

To make a reservation or learn about sponsorship opportunities for the event, please visit the Prayer
Breakfast website – www.rochesterareaprayerbreakfast.com.