Apart from accidents during take off, landing and Buccaneer XT269 which fell of the flight deck of Ark Royal in 1971. Does anyone know of other ground handling incidents where an aircraft was lost over the side of a ship?
In 1975 whilst on Ark Royal I witnessed an incident on the flight deck where the result could have been another Buccaneer over the side. The aircraft was under tow when the ship listed heavily, the towing tractor lost traction and jack-knifed snapping the towing arm. the brake man in the A/C cockpit pulled the parking brake and lept to the deck. The aircraft slid across the deck and was prevented from falling over the side by a parked Phantom. Considerable damage was caused to both aircraft.
I heard a rumor of a Westland Lynx falling off a deck in the ’80s or early ’90s!
By: jkaposi - 20th April 2010 at 03:13
A-4 Skyhawk overboard.
I was an aircraft handler aboard HMAS Melbourne ’77-79. We lost an A-4 over the side during very heavy sea’s. I was part of the deck crew attempting a re-spot out of fly1 when a huge quartering swell rolled us savagely causing a tiedown chain to break and the nose gear to tear away from the tractor’s towing arm. I was sitting on the stbd mainwheel at the deck edge when it happened. The aircraft flipped over me and landed on its roof in the gun tub, then slid off the bofors to land in the sea wheels down. The brake rider climbed out throught the broken canopy suffereing severe lacerations and was picked up by rescue swimmer from a trailing DD.
Joe
By: Hawkeye - 18th April 2010 at 00:13
One apparently lost deliberately as part of a training video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBfqiKukVps&feature=related
By: Z1pp0 - 13th April 2010 at 01:44
Didn’t Illustrious or Ocean lose a towing vehicle off the side of the carrier and have a merlin pretty much hanging over the water on the edge of the flight deck? Last year or the year before, in the vicinity of Suez from memory?
It was in Istanbul on 14/05/08.
Here is Flight Globals report
PICTURE: Royal Navy Merlin helicopter survives freak deck mishap
This dramatic image shows how close the UK Royal Navy came to losing one of its AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin HM1 multirole helicopters in a freak deck-handling incident in Istanbul on 14 May.
www.flightglobal.com -:-:- picture-royal-navy-merlin-helicopter-survives-freak-deck-mishap
By: StevoJH - 13th April 2010 at 01:08
Didn’t Illustrious or Ocean lose a towing vehicle off the side of the carrier and have a merlin pretty much hanging over the water on the edge of the flight deck? Last year or the year before, in the vicinity of Suez from memory?
By: planeman_ - 12th April 2010 at 05:13
This doesn’t qualify, as it’s landing, but illustrates slippery decks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3DtAMmDg4Q
By: Jonesy - 10th April 2010 at 12:50
In Corporate one of 801sqdns Sea Harriers was lost over the side of Invincible with Cdr Mike Broadwater aboard following an ‘ethusiastic’ turn to port.
This prompting the legendary comment to Invincibles boss, Capt Black, ‘teach you to handle this ship like a f*cking speedboat, sir!!!’ from, iirc, CO 801!
By: mabie - 10th April 2010 at 08:37
Didn’t a Tomcat fall off a carrier deck a long time ago and the USN had to mount a major salvage operation to keep its Phoenix missile system out of SOviet hands?
By: suflanker45 - 10th April 2010 at 08:29
In the 70’s an F-14 Tomcat fell off the flight deck of a US carrier and there was a frantic search for it because the US was worried that the Soviets would find it. We were able to find and recover it.
By: djcross - 10th April 2010 at 00:14
It is worrisome to watch a pilot taxi slowly on the flight deck under director control, then see him lock the brakes yet the airplane continues to skid because the deck’s anti-skid coating is worn away. Airplanes do not stop well on bare steel deck plates.
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April 9, 2010 at 11:08 pm