ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 57273
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| Date: | Friday 11 November 1977 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Grumman EA-6B Prowler |
| Owner/operator: | VAQ-137, US Navy |
| Registration: | 158809 |
| MSN: | P-30 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Aegean Sea off Souda Bay, Crete -
 Greece
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS America (CV-66) Aegean Sea, off Greek coast |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
EA-6B Prowler BuNo 158809 of VAQ-137, US Navy was destroyed when it crashed whilst in the circuit for a final approach to the USS America (CV-66), whilst the carrier was in the Aegean Sea off Souda Bay, Crete. According to an eyewitness report from one of the crew (Captain - then Lt Commander - James C Kennedy):
"The reason [for the crash] was a double flame out as the pilot pulled the throttles back in the overhead pattern in preparation for landing [on the USS America (CV-66)]. The accident board determined that both throttles were pulled back to the “idle cut off” position. A failure of the RAT (Ram Air Turbine) prevented obtaining the required electrical power to re-start either engine. Ejection was at very low altitude and the only injury was two compressed vertebra to my upper back. Trust me, I was there."
All three crew - Lt F. C. Philipsen, Lt Commander J. C. Kennedy and Lt (JG) T. C. Gardner - ejected safely. The USS America has begun operations in the Ionian Sea on November 7 1977, and anchored at Souda Bay, Crete, two days later. She operated locally in these waters until November 12, when she sailed for Kithira Island, Greece, anchoring there on November 19 1977. Reports that EA-6A BuNo 158809 was destroyed when it was involved in a collision with F-14 Tomcat 159451 are incorrect, as proved by the above eyewitness testimony from one of the aircrew of the Prowler.
Sources:
1. http://web.archive.org/web/20171103001143/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/a6_prowler.htm
2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/23844657226
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries20.html
4. http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/CARRIERS/USS_AMERICA/uss_america.htm
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_America_(CV-66)#Crisis_in_Lebanon
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 27 July 2003 | 158800 | VAQ-135, US Navy | 0 | Arabian Gulf, off the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) off Bahrain |  |
w/o |
Media:
Grumman EA-6B Prowler 158809 VAQ-137 USS Enterprise at NAS Alameda CA October 10 1975:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jan-2009 11:55 | ASN archive | Added |
| 17-Mar-2016 18:45 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 17-Mar-2016 19:17 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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