Alert: 8 Sailors hurt onboard The U.S.S John F. Kennedy

ABC Radio News | 04 Feb 2002 | trueblackman

[Trueblackman]

8 Sailor where reportedly hurt onboard The U.S.S. John F. Kennedy CV-67 during a refueling at sea when helm control was lost onboard The JFK.

[Trueblackman]

Just heard this from ABC Radio News following Rush

[hchutch]

This ship has had problems. The CO was releived after majorly flunking an INSURV inspection.

This don't look good...

[Redcloak]

Didn't we just read something about how the JFK was allowed to deteriorate during the Bubba years?

[CA-kgrif]

As an ex-Navy Officer of the Deck, this is a pretty bad accident. You have a supply ship going in parallel to the carrier at about 100 feet. Sounds like most like at rudder/steering failure. I wonder if the carrier sustained damage?

[Trueblackman]

Red you are so right I was in the Navy in the 1990's and The JFK was allowed to fall apart by chicken hearted Naval Commanders and Bubba.

[Mike Fieschko]

I thought the JFK was in Mayport for refit.

[Endeavor]

Isn't it the oldest aircraft carrier in the fleet?

I don't pretend to know how to drive one of these things, but how do you lose helm control w/o having either a major failure or absolutely horrific seas? (I keep my sailing down to the 40 foot vessel range)

[Rustynailww]

is it time to scrap this hulk?

[Trueblackman]

Sir I am not sure but according to the report the two ships drifted away from each other and it sounds to me like some sailors where hit by lines that snapped.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Carrier Refueling Accident Injures 8

The Associated Press
Monday, February 4, 2002; 12:04 PM

NORFOLK, Va. –– Eight crew members aboard the carrier USS John F. Kennedy were injured after a helmsman on the bridge lost steering control during a refueling exercise off the Florida coast, the Navy said Monday.

All of the injuries were believed to be minor, and neither the JFK nor the ship providing the fuel was damaged, Cmdr. John Kirby, spokesman for the U.S. Second Fleet in Norfolk. One sailor was being evaluated for a possible back injury.

The accident happened between 10:30 and 11 p.m. Sunday, about 100 miles northeast of Jacksonville, Fla.

The injured crew members were believed to be line handlers who were holding onto lines rigged between the Mayport, Fla.-based carrier and the oiler USNS Leroy Grumman.

The two ships were side-by-side and had been refueling for about an hour when the helmsman lost steering control and the Kennedy abruptly veered to the left, away from the oiler, Kirby said.

The Kennedy initiated an emergency breakaway, rapidly disconnecting all hoses and lines. It was unclear whether the sailors were injured when the ship veered or during the breakaway.

Subsequent checks revealed no problems with the steering gear, Kirby said.

"They're looking into how he lost steering control," he said. "We don't know whether it was equipment malfunction or human error."

Both ships remained at sea after the accident, and the Kennedy was expected to finish the sea trials Monday afternoon, Kirby said.

The Kennedy went to sea Sunday morning for two days of sea trials following repairs it needed after it did poorly on an inspection in December and Capt. Maurice Joyce was relieved from its command. Contractors and sailors worked nonstop trying to ready the ship for departure.

The repairs delayed the Kennedy's planned January deployment to the Persian Gulf.

The Norfolk-based carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt cannot leave the Persian Gulf region until the Kennedy arrives to replace it. The Roosevelt had been expected to return home in March after a six-month deployment.

On the Net:

USS John F. Kennedy: http://www.navy.mil/homepages/cv67/

© 2002 The Associated Press

[Trueblackman]

The U.S.S. Kitty Hawk CV-63 forward deployed out of Japan is the Navy's oldest ship and carrier.

[Rebelbase]

Yikes! I hope the Navy never pairs the Kennedy with the Greenville in any type of deployment. It could be disasterous.

[cva66snipe]

It happens to all ships but at while refueling could be a major problem indeed. It's pretty tight quarters between the ships. But that's why we practiced Emergency Break Away. The tanker I imagine hit a hard starboard turn when the hoses came down.

[Endeavor]

Thank you, sir, for your timely information.

[Trueblackman]

Thanks for the update buddy BUMP

[Non-Sequitur]

No, there are actually three carriers older than the JFK including the Enterprise. The difference is that the other two conventional carriers went through about a three year overhaul called a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) and the JFK did not. The reason she was passed over for this is because she was supposed to become a training carrier and then a Naval Reserve asset but the continuous commitments that the government keeps getting into meant that she had to stay an active carrier, regardless of how broken down she was.

[Redcloak]

I think that I did read that she's the oldest carrier. As to losing control of a ship that big, that's likely an indication that something broke and caused a rudder to swing full over. Either that or she completely lost power to one screw.

[cva66snipe]

Isn't it the oldest aircraft carrier in the fleet?

No the CONSTELLATION, KITTY HAWK, and ENTERPRISE are older. It is the newest conventional powered aircraft carrier.

[Aric2000]

Not a fun deal, lines snapping on huge ships like that are lethal if they are allowed to fly around like that.

A friend of mine's father worked an Aircraft carrier deck during Vietnam, one of the stop cables for the airplanes snapped while the craft was landing. My friends father found himself on the deck, with his legs cut off just above the knees. Those cables are dangerous, whether from lines holding ships together, or planes landing.

This is dangerous work, I just hope none of the injuries are too serious.

To those sailors, WE APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO, thank you for serving your country. The sacrifices you make on our behalf are more then mere money can repay. Thank you!!

[Trueblackman]

Yes my fellow shipmate that is why we did drills following each unrep, but this proof to me that The Kennedy is not ready to put to sea let alone deploy she need real repairs and The Navy is worried about losing face during a time of war. Putting a group of ill trained kids on a ship that is falling apart around them is not right at all.