Posted on 10/06/2008 1:21:38 PM PDT by jessduntno
Mishaps mark John McCain's record as naval aviator
By Ralph Vartabedian and Richard A. Serrano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers October 6, 2008
The 23-year-old junior lieutenant wasn't paying attention and erred in using "a power setting too low to maintain level flight in a turn," investigators concluded.
As a presidential candidate, McCain has cited his military service -- particularly his 5 1/2 years as a POW. But he has been less forthcoming about his mistakes in the cockpit.
The Times interviewed men who served with McCain and located once-confidential 1960s-era accident reports and formerly classified evaluations of his squadrons during the Vietnam War. This examination of his record revealed a pilot who early in his career was cocky, occasionally cavalier and prone to testing limits.
In today's military, a lapse in judgment that causes a crash can end a pilot's career. Though standards were looser and crashes more frequent in the 1960s, McCain's record stands out.
"Three mishaps are unusual," said Michael L. Barr, a former Air Force pilot with 137 combat missions in Vietnam and an internationally known aviation safety expert who teaches in USC's Aviation Safety and Security Program. "After the third accident, you would say: Is there a trend here in terms of his flying skills and his judgment?"
Jeremiah Pearson, a Navy officer who flew 400 missions over Vietnam without a mishap and later became the head of human spaceflight at NASA, said: "That's a lot. You don't want any. Maybe he was just unlucky."
Navy veterans who flew with McCain called him a good pilot.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Well, for Kerry there were consequences, the people decided that they couldn't trust him and he was not elected President. In this case, since the allegations relate to McCains flight skills let's go ahead and say that for the sake of fairness, we not let John McCain fly any more sorties. He's grounded. Okay, that resolves that. Next issue?
Probably. Bambi’s Dad was....who?
Ok, so he lost a couple of Spads, but that doesn't necessarily make him a bad pilot. Most people have no idea what a navy pilot has to deal with. For example, when they think about landing a jet airplane, they probably think of several thousand feet of wide, smooth runway, maybe a nice sunny day with a light wind. That picture's a couple of light years away from what a carrier pilot has. More likely, it's a pitching carrier deck, often at night and sometimes in the nastiest weather you could ever imagine, and more than likely too low on fuel for a go around. There is nothing obama has ever done that could compare to McCain's flying time.
LLS
Ahhhh...okay. Thanks for that link, I wasn’t aware of the jewelry issue. Ayers and Dorhn are vile. I can’t believe they were not prosecuted for treason.
Lets remember Jimmy Doolittle had a dozen or so crashes when he was a pilot and he went on to become one of WW2s greatest Heroes. So STFU LA times.
Buried in the article, one of his mates tells this story..
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“John was what you called a push-the-envelope guy,” said Sam H. Hawkins, who flew with McCain’s VA-44 squadron in the 1960s and now teaches political science at Florida Atlantic University. “There are some naval aviators who are on the cautious side. They don’t get out on the edges, but the edges are where you get the maximum out of yourself and out of your plane. That’s where John operated. And when you are out there, you take risks.”
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Sounds about right. Go John!
My FIL was a Marine fighter pilot, he would agree with you! A special breed.
William Ayers wears a ring made from an american plane shot down in Vietnam! Nice folks eh!
Yeah, like they've never had any mishaps.
Exactly, remember Obama said that he “considered” going in, but that there was no combat going on then.
Obama only wanted to enlist if fighting was insured, and of course we look at his life story and we see huge amounts of physical courage evidenced right?
Meeting Obama in a dark alley.......oooooh, scary.
Gee. . . imagine that. . .a cocky fighter pilot that laughed at danger and explored the envelope of the jet. . . .the dolt writer doesn't know fighter pilots. . .they are ALL cocky, cavalier and test limits.
>>In today's military, a lapse in judgment that causes a crash can end a pilot's career.<<
No, there is a difference between a err in judgment (mistake) and a deliberate violation of rules (crime).
The mistake, if you live through it, may kill you, cause a change in procedure, more training, or at worse,grounding.
A crime results in prosecution and a career ended.
“Obama’s back tire is under inflated (didn’t he tell us about tire gauges?) “
Thanks for the reminder.
Its a hit piece...that makes McCain out to be Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Keep it up fellas. McCain was flying jets while Obama was s#*$$ing yellow!
McCain should embrace this evaluation of his record and past and USE IT to demonstrate that ALMOST NOTHING OF THE VERY LITTLE THAT OBAMA HAS DONE IS AUDITABLE SINCE ALMOST EVERY RECORD FROM EVERY ERA OF HIS CAREER IS MISSING OR LOCKED FROM VIEW.
Was this on the front page of the LA Slimes? It should be, because it is hot breaking news and very very important to this election. Plus it’s totally fact based and excellent reporting. Just like all the outstanding stories in the LA Slimes.
Ayers , you might have heard of him.
It was IIRC the raid on Ploesti(sp?). A pilot describes the most harrowing AA and ground fire of his career and, possibly, of the entire war, as he runs low and slow to the primary target. I couldn't believe he made it any where NEAR his objective through such an unthinkable maelstrom. At the critical moment however smoke or cloud obscured the target. The pilot breaks off and heads for his secondary. As he does so he sees the cover drifting off of the primary target....AND HE TURNS AROUND AND DOES A SECOND RUN UP THE SAME HELLACIOUS CHANNEL.
I was reading it in the comfort of my home fifty years after the fact and it dried all the spit in my mouth and put the fear of God into me.
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