ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 57174
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| Date: | Saturday 24 February 1996 |
| Time: | 12:05 |
| Type: |  Grumman EA-6B Prowler |
| Owner/operator: | VAQ-135, US Navy |
| Registration: | 163531 |
| MSN: | P-158 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Pacific Ocean, 150 miles off California coast, near San Diego -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) off coast of California |
| NAS Miramar, San Diego, California | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
EA-6B Prowler BuBo. 163531/NH-624 of VAQ-135, US Navy, based on board the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). Crashed February 24 1996 into the Pacific Ocean during a training exercise 150 miles off the California coast near San Diego. Two of the four crew were killed: pilot, Lt Thomas R. Francis - Missing, Presumed dead. ECMO-1 Lt Cmdr. James M. Dee killed. Lt Charles E. Luttrell and Lt Derrick J. Busse - ejected. According to a contemporary newspaper report:
"THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996
NAVY PROWLER CRASHES; 1 KILLED ONE CREW MEMBER IS MISSING AND 2 ARE INJURED AFTER A JET GOES DOWN OFF CALIFORNIA.
Even as the Navy was in the midst of a three-day safety "stand-down'' for its fleet of F-14 fighters, a warplane of a different kind crashed into the Pacific Ocean, leaving one crewman dead, two injured and another missing. The crash of the EA-6B Prowler occurred at 12:05 p.m., 150 miles off the Southern California coast.
The plane was part of Carrier Air Wing 11 aboard the San Diego-based aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. The plane's squadron is based at Whidbey Island, Wash., but was at Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego for training. All EA-6B Prowlers are based on the West Coast.
Two crewman were rescued by helicopter about 40 miles from the carrier and were examined aboard the ship. Their conditions were not immediately known. A fourth was still missing, Navy Cmdr. Gregg Hartung said. There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash. The names of the crew members were being withheld pending notification of relatives."
Sources:
1. Flight International 4-10 June 1997
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20171103001143/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/a6_prowler.htm
3. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries22.htm]l
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jan-2009 11:55 | ASN archive | Added |
| 20-Mar-2011 15:28 | harro | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Apr-2016 20:57 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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