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| Date: | Wednesday 5 March 1941 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat |
| Owner/operator: | United States Navy |
| Registration: | 1844 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Norbeck, Maryland -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | NAS Anacostia |
| Local |
On 5 March 1941, Lieutenant Seymour Anderson Johnson, 37, of Arlington, Virginia, took off from Naval Air Station Anacostia for a test flight with the F4F-3 Buno 1844, the first production F4F-3 Wildcat. Johnson took off at 1040 Local for a rated power climb to service ceiling for the purpose of conducting a temperature survey on the engine. He was using a demand type oxygen regulator and a mask. By means of a throat microphone, he was broadcasting readings to avoid the inconvenience of copying them himself. With no explanation, the broadcasting from the airplane stopped in the middle of a series of readings 20 minutes after commencing the climb. The altitude was between 30,000 and 31,000 feet by estimate of the previous times of climb. Shortly afterward, observers saw the plane dive into the ground at high speed. Several witnesses stated that at high altitude, after a long dive, the nose rose some as if the plane started to recover, but it immediately rolled over and dove on in, striking the ground at about a 45-degree angle.
He had more than 4,000 hours in various naval and Grumman aircraft. Born in 1904, he graduated from Goldsboro High School in 1920 and was enrolled at UNC from 1920 until 1923, when he transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy. After graduating from the academy, Johnson was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy and entered flight training. He received his pilot's wings in 1929 and went on to serve as a pilot in various U.S. ships. In 1937, he volunteered for duty as a test pilot, which was normally a two-year assignment. He was assigned to Anacostia Naval
Sources:
https://wreckchasing.websitetoolbox.com/post/f4f3-crash-norbeck-md-030541-9955671
https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/49239008/seymour-anderson-johnson
http://accident-report.com/USN/aircraft.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbeck,_Maryland
http://www.maplandia.com/united-states/maryland/montgomery-county/norbeck/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Sep-2015 19:03 | TB | Added |
| 06-Mar-2021 07:57 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 14-Nov-2024 08:33 | LTDANN61 | Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, ] |
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