[Big Giant Head]

I thought I saw on the History channel that it was McCain’s own aircraft that misfired. It’s been a while back, I don’t remember the details.

[edzo4]

it was his plane that was hit by the rocket, not fired by it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzgV5QM5fi8&feature=related

[Aglooka]

I thought I saw on the History channel that it was McCain’s own aircraft that misfired. It’s been a while back, I don’t remember the details.

I believe an unguided rocket struck either McCain's A-4 or the aircraft next to him. And there is a black and white video of him climbing down the nose of his plane and jumping over the burning fuel surrounding it.

[qman]

The story of the Forestal is an episode of “Caught on Film” disc 3. The missile fired from an air craft taxiing flew across the deck and hit McCains undercaraige. The fuel from the wing tanks spilled out on the deck and burst into flames, spreading under the aircraft parked at the stern setting off munision under the aircrafts wings.

The film show McCain climbing out of his cockpit on to the nose of his aircraft and jumping as hard as he could to clear the flaming fuel spreading out all over the deck.

It was one of the worst disasters ever on an American Naval Ship.

[awelliott]

I thought I saw on the History channel that it was McCain’s own aircraft that misfired. It’s been a while back, I don’t remember the details.

The story I came across several years ago was that McCain wet-started his engine, which was a common hot-dog type stunt. In this case, the flame from his engine reached the plane behind him, causing the missile to launch and hit his aircraft. IIRC, that site also had very derogatory things to say about McCain during his stay at the Hanoi Hilton. Those things were pretty well debunked by Bud Day and others, and my suspicion is that the allegations about his role in the Forrestal fire are also inaccurate.