The related wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_surface-to-air_recovery... mentions use of the recovery system in Thunderball, The Green Berets, and The Dark Knight.

I read (and can't recall the source) that, when they tested this system, they first tried it on a pig. But the pig couldn't use arms and legs to stabilize itself, and so it spun while being winched into the plane. It entered the plane in a disoriented state. When it recovered (?) from that, it attacked the crew.

Good times... ;-)

From https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intellig... : Lifted off the ground, the pig began to spin as it flew through the air at 125 mph. It arrived on board undamaged but in a disoriented state. Once it recovered, it attacked the crew.

Yes, that was it.

Personally this article turned out to be more interesting for me than the original post. I've seriously thought that it existed only as a movie effect and not in real life.

You may be thinking of Ice Station Zebra (1968). The Wikipedia page mentions Project COLDFEET as one of the inspirations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Station_Zebra

Yep, that's it. Thank you!

Wow. I read this book as a teenager.

The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) uses the surface to air system used in this operation as a plot device, I believe.