Two Enterprise F-14s Return Safely After Colliding

Navy Newsstand ^ | 2/3/2004 9:22:00 AM | U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- Two F-14A Tomcats operating from USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in the Red Sea collided with each other while conducting basic daytime fighter maneuvers Feb. 2.

No one was injured during the incident, and both aircraft landed safely aboard Enterprise.

One F-14 sustained minor damage to its right wingtip, and the other’s right vertical stabilizer had nearly been sheared off. The Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 F-14s are “Checkmates” from Fighter Squadron (VF) 211, home-based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.

The incident is under investigation, and Enterprise is still able to continue its present mission.

The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

For related news, visit the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, 5th Fleet Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/cusnc.

040125-N-1928O-087 Persian Gulf (Jan. 25, 2004) – An F-14 Tomcat assigned to the “Checkmates” of Fighter Squadron Two One One (VF-211) prepares to land on the flight deck aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Enterprise and Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) are in the Arabian Gulf on a regularly scheduled deployment, conducting missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the continued war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Mark O'Donald. (RELEASED)

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Scary, I'm glad they're OK.

[OXENinFLA]

Wow!

Can't the F-14 fly with only one wing?

[OXENinFLA]

Sorry, that was the F-15.

One-winged landing

In the summer of 1983, an Israeli F-15 staged a mock dogfight with Skyhawks for training purposes, near Nahal Tzin in the Negev desert. During the exercise, one of the Skyhawks miscalculated and collided forcefully with the F-15's wing root. The F-15's pilot was aware that the wing had been seriously damaged, but decided to try and land in a nearby airbase. It was only after he had landed, when he climbed out of the cockpit and looked backward, that the pilot realized what had happened: the wing had been completely torn off the plane, and he had landed the plane with only one wing attached.

A few months later, the damaged F-15 had been given a new wing, and returned to operational duty in the squadron. The engineers at McDonnell Douglas had a hard time believing the story of the one-winged landing: as far as their planning models were concerned, this was an impossibility.

[OXENinFLA]

[Gefreiter]

Any Navy vets care to comment on the frequency/infrequency of such accidents?

I remember the Army would lose people on occasion in the field to all sorts of accidents. Not often, but it happened. Never made the news though.

[grobdriver]

"OK - We're gonna go left, right?"

[Steely Tom]

Uhhh... A little close there, guys, huh?

(steely)

[Blue Screen of Death]

Well, if these things don't have turn signals, I would be glad to manufacture some to milspec and sell them to the Navy for a mere $24,832.87 each.

[Robe]

Note to McDonald-Douglas....
RE:F15/Please add Right wing to Minimum Equipment List

[Gefreiter]

Perfect!
The part request for a US jet would read:

Assembly. Wing. F-15A/B/C/D/E. Quantity: Each. Amount: 1

---

Nothing Follows

---

Ya gotta love the DoD log system.

Hey do you suppose the pilot had to fill out a statement of charges on the wing he lost?

[hchutch]

McDonnell-Douglas didn't believe it... until the photos arrived.

[Pukin Dog]

Any Navy vets care to comment on the frequency/infrequency of such accidents?

It happens too frequently. Way more often than the public ever hears about. Pilots lose SA, which is hard in a Tomcat where you have two sets of eyes, but it still happens. Sometimes, it happens because a couple of hot-shots want to take pictures of each other and get too close. A couple guys lost their wings that way after knocking a Phoenix missile off one of their jets.

Most of the time, you wont hear a thing.

[Robe]

I gotta admit I stole the MEL comment.. That was attributed to a incident involving a B-707 Departing JFK , when the out board engine developed a complete compressor failure, departed from the Aircraft taking with it the right wing from the nacelle outboard.
Returning successfully the PIC made that request to Boeing in the resulting write up
IE: Please add right wing to MEL

[Tijeras_Slim]

ping

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- Two F-14A Tomcats operating from USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in the Red Sea collided with each other while conducting basic daytime fighter maneuvers Feb. 2.

No one was injured during the incident, and both aircraft landed safely aboard Enterprise.

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 *Best fighting force on the face of the earth, ping!  

      
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                                                          ~ *  thanks, Mr. Silverback.

[Yo-Yo]

One F-14 sustained minor damage to its right wingtip, and the other’s right vertical stabilizer had nearly been sheared off.

Hmmm, right wingtip of one aircraft, and right vertical stabilizer on the other aircraft. Either they were going head to head, or one of them was trying to reproduce that scene from "Top Gun."

[OXENinFLA]

Note to McDonald-Douglas.... RE:F15/Please add Right wing to Minimum Equipment List

LOL!

I should let y'all know that I've seen tape of this plane landing.

The History Channel did a special on the F-15 and the story of this plane was in it. They had the Pilot and film from the cockpit before, during and after the crash.

[Pukin Dog]

Either they were going head to head, or one of them was trying to reproduce that scene from "Top Gun."

Doubtful.

More likely, they were on their way to Marshall in a Right Eschelon formation, (Lead left and out front, Wing tucked in right and low).

If Lead decelerates and Wing doesn't catch it, Wing cannot break right, as his left wing would come up into Lead, and they would both likely be dead now.

So, Wing pushes LEFT and low, to go under Lead, and probably caught the starboard tail on Lead's starboard wing tip. It would take a lateral impact to knock off the Vertical stab, so this is probably how it happened.

Fault goes to Lead, if he did not call boards before slowing, or fault goes to Wing, if Lead called it, and he missed it.

[TruthNtegrity]

Is there anyway you can put this post into English so I can understand it? I lost you somewhere between Lead and Wing.

[blackie]

Best fighting force on the face of the earth ~ Bump!

~~ Go Navy! ~~