CHICAGO — You don't have to be the World's Strongest Man to pull a commercial plane down a runway — you just need 19 friends.
The Sixth Annual Plane Pull at O'Hare International Airport will bring together teams of 20 to compete for prizes and bragging rights for pulling the more-than-90-ton aircraft, with the proceeds going to nonprofit Special Olympics Illinois.
"It's a unique vantage point to be looking at a plane head on," said Matt Johnson, of Special Olympics Illinois, who tried his hand at the challenge for the first time last year. "It's very big and intimidating, but anyone can do it."
Kyla Gardner says organizers hope to have 80 teams participating this year:
Teams must raise $1,000 ($50 per person) to compete Sept. 27 in one of three divisions: the Open Division, for companies, schools and families, the Public Safety Division, for law enforcement, firefighters and military, or the Hotel Division, for hotel workers.
Each team has to pull the 180,000-pound Airbus 300 a length of 12 feet, with the team with the fastest time moving on to vie for for the title of Grand Champion.
In 2013, the suburban Maine South High School football team took the open division with 9.81 seconds, while the Chicago Police Department won the Public Safety Division with 9.34 seconds.
The competition has been growing every year, Johnson said.
Last year, 63 teams competed in the competition, pulling in $137,000 for Special Olympics Illinois. With weeks to go until this year's competition, 72 teams are already registered.
"While the competitive nature comes out, everyone definitely remembers the reason why they're out there," Johnson said.
Because of fundraisers like the plane pull, 21,500 Illinois athletes compete each year in the Special Olympics free of charge, Johnson said.
For those intimidated by the challenge, Johnson has some reassurance: He said he's never seen a team unable to budge the plane.
"We get groups from every walk of life," he said. "We’ve seen some teams of 20 really surprise us — people who don’t typically look like people who would have success pulling a plane."
The secret?
According to Johnson: "Being in sync with each other," and "really using your lower body."
The Plane Pull is also sponsored by the Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, the Chicago Department of Aviation and UPS.
The Plane Pull takes place 9: 30 a.m. Sept. 27 and will feature food, activities for kids and room for spectators. Teams can walk onto the tarmac the day of the event, but Johnson recommends registering in advance.
For more information or to register a team, visit illinoisplanepull.com.
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