USS Ronald Reagan FA/18-C Aircraft Mishap

Navy Newsstand ^ | 1/29/2006 2:20:00 PM | U.S. Seventh Fleet Public Affairs

[Paleo Conservative]

Story Number: NNS060129-01
Release Date: 1/29/2006 2:20:00 PM

By U.S. Seventh Fleet Public Affairs

BRISBANE, Australia (NNS) -- A single seat F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 25 and to Carrier Air Wing 14 was involved in a mishap while attempting to land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) approximately 120 miles southeast of Brisbane, Australia, Jan. 28 at approximately 4:17 a.m. (PST).

The pilot ejected safely and was recovered. There were no injuries.

The name of the pilot will not be released until next-of-kin have been notified. USS Ronald Reagan and the embarked airwing remain fully mission capable and ready to respond as required.

VFA-25 operates from Lemoore, Calif. The F/A-18C is a single seat, twin engine, mid-wing, multi-mission tactical aircraft.

The incident is currently under investigation.

For more information about the Navy and Naval Aviation visit http://www.navy.mil.

[Paleo Conservative]

This is the firt aircraft based on the USS Ronald Reagan to crash.

[NormsRevenge]

Glad to hear the pilot is OK, wonder what a Hornet costs these days.

[Paleo Conservative]

If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.

[adamsjas]

Whoop there goes andother billion dollars.

Well at least the pilot is ok.

[Americanwolf]

35 mil a plane at least... good to hear the pilot is safe... never like to hear about a ditching.

[xJones]

Thank God that the pilot ejected safely.

[COEXERJ145]

$29 Million for that particular model.

[NormsRevenge]

estimated 35 million in 2003. Thanks.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/fighter/f18/

[Vision]

[A.A. Cunningham]

Ditched jet to stay on seabed

US jet crashes off Queensland (USS Ronald Reagan)

[AZRepublican]

CORRECTON: was involved in a mishap while attempting a controlled crash landing on the flight deck...

[Americanwolf]

CORRECTON: was involved in a mishap while attempting a controlled crash landing on the flight deck...

Funny...when I was on the flight deck all landings appeared to be crash landings!

[MarkL]

This photo's got to be photoshopped! Is it really possible for a CVN to get this close to shore?

Must be one heck of a drop off of the ocean floor!

Mark

[Vision]

I have no idea if it's been photo shopped. But if that is a major inlet to a port, it's bound to be heavily dredged.

[billhilly]

As P. J. O'Rourke once wrote, "Now that is the way to waste government money."

See this great wmv of the USS Reagan:

http://www.nn.northropgrumman.com/media/video/reaganflightops.wmv

[El Gato]

The pilot ejected safely and was recovered. There were no injuries.

Great!

Airplanes can be replaced. Boeing will be more than happy to build a replacement.

[El Gato]

Whatever the cost of an F/A-18C, it will likely not be replaced by a new -C model. It will probably be replaced, in the overall Navy inventory, by an F/A-18E model. Although I think Boeing is still building the earlier models for other countries.

[dk/coro]

Cheap at half the price!!

To put things in perspective, on one night in the late fall of 1957, operating on the Arctic Circle in the Norwegian Sea, in one midnight deck cycle, the Saratoga lost 3 aircraft and pilots; the Essex, my carrier, lost 2 S-2's in a suspected mid-air, 120 miles from the ship, with the loss of both 4 man crews. (I was airborne at the time -- in an intense NATO war-game against the Russians.

Total Loss in one 4 hour ops cycle: 5 a/c and 11 aircrew fatalities.

Naval Air is alot safer these days; and dollars are relative...when one factors the cost of 9/11 against a realistic counter-terror posture.

[A.A. Cunningham]

It will probably be replaced, in the overall Navy inventory, by an F/A-18E model.

Nah. More than likely a reserve squadron will give up a bird and have it replaced by one from AMARC.

[El Gato]

I have no idea if it's been photo shopped. But if that is a major inlet to a port, it's bound to be heavily dredged.

Exactly, it reminds me a bit of the entrance to Galveston Bay, through the gap between Point Bolivar and Galveston Island. That's the Houston Ship Channel, which is indeed heavily dredged, for big oil tankers. Sort of similar to Corpus Christi bay as well. Both Galveston and Corpus Christi bays are pretty shallow, but both are dredged well up into a major river. The Nueces river in Corpus and Buffalo Bayou in Houston.