Explanation: The Cold War was fucking wild. The CIA, the foreign intelligence arm of the USA, developed something called the Fulton system, wherein a self-inflating balloon with a hook is released so a low-flying plane can fucking catch it and drag it (and whoever is attached at the bottom) to safety without having to land. Safety being a very relative term. The person was then recovered by being slowly winched upwards towards the plane's hold.
Unlike in the depiction of the video game Metal Gear Solid V, the balloon itself does not pull the passenger.