Posted on 02/07/2022 11:01:56 AM PST by BenLurkin
The PLAT footage on Jul. 20, 1993, shows “Lion 111”, piloted by Lt. Matthew T. Claar “Planet” with RIO Lt. Dean A. Fuller, first aircraft in the recovery cycle, dropping below the approach slope just before reaching fantail. The aircraft strikes the rear of the aircraft carrier (“ramp strike”) at 21:04:33: the rear fuselage explodes in a fireball and the forward section starts skidding along the flight deck trailing burning fuel.
Both crew ejected: the RIO survived as he was ejected into the water off the angle and recovered in a matter of a few minutes by a SAR helicopter. The pilot, Lt. Claar, who sequenced out first, ejected as the airframe was extremely nose-low, impacted on a parked aircraft on deck and died.
The F-14 has started the final approach “slightly high[er]” than the glideslpe and “slightly right” than the centerline. As the aircraft approaches the fantail, the LSO radios “power! power!” shortly followed by “wave off! wave off! wave off! wave off!”. Unfortunately the pilot fails to correct in time.
A similar incident had occurred on Jun. 23, 1951, when Commander George Chamberlain Duncan, commanding Fighter Squadron 51 (VF-51), in the cockpit of a Grumman F9F-5 Panther BuNo 125228 hit the ramp during daylight approach to USS Midway (CVB-41) operating in the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia Capes. Similarly to what happened four decades later to the F-14 of Lt. Claar, Duncan’s Panther dropped below the correct approach slope, struck the ramp and broke in half exploding in flames. The forward section slid down the deck. Duncan, though burned, was quickly rescued.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaviationist.com ...
“Well they splashed a F-35 a few days ago.”
Maybe they had 5G on the carrier (Joke).
I’d like to think the carrier landing accident rate has gone down as technology has improved.
Never heard the term “ramp strike”. Looked it up. NOT pleasant.
Especially in today's "Woke Navy".
The most dangerous times for navy and air force aviation was 1942 through 1955. Wartime training accidents were horrendous, some 15K aircrew deaths.
Transition from props to jets got many seasoned veterans in the 1950s. We would lose one or two a day at Luke when I was a kid there. Funerals and memorial services were daily occurrences.
Heh. I heard he drove a Plymouth Satellite faster than the speed of light.
I thought I followed the Falklands conflict pretty good but don’t remember that about their ballsy pilots.
It was accepted fact several years ago on this thread:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1342535/posts?page=178#178
I can no longer find reference to it using google. Down the memory hole.
“Transition from props to jets got many seasoned veterans in the 1950s.”
Agreed, the US Navy had already lost early jet aircraft and aircrew during their initial workups and training conducted on their converted angle deck CATOBAR carriers. The F-35c aircraft do not have to recreate and relearn all of the lessons that the US Navy endured in establishing its unequaled Naval Aviation capabilities. However, the US Naval aviation effort as demonstrated in this accident, will suffer losses and setbacks that they did not envision.
US Navy Jet transition - 1954
The US Navy and Marines lost 776 aircraft and 535 aircrew in this single year. These were not combat loses but mishaps mainly due to the jet transition as you stated.US Navy Cold War 1949 - 1989
The losses of US Naval aviation, both Navy and Marines during this time period is surprising when looking back from the year 2021. The total loses of aircraft to include helicopters, trainers, and land based patrol planes, in addition to carrier based jets - came to just under 12,000 aircraft and 8,500 aircrew over 40 years, the price the US was willing to pay to dominate the USSR at sea.
dvwjr
Med cruise 1961 on FDR. Plane crashed on another carrier, also in the Med. Can’t recall the ship or type of aircraft.
Plane didn’t hit the round down, but was lower and flew right into the fantail! Pilot and sailors on the fantail died.
About 6 months later the item appeared in the Dallas TX paper when I was home on leave.
A lot of the carrier aircraft losses happened in the late ‘60s-early ‘70s. They were shot down over Nam or lost to accidents aboard ship (remember McCain?).
Love those aviation threads. Thanks.
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