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| Date: | Monday 15 January 1962 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Douglas A3D Skywarrior |
| Owner/operator: | United States Navy |
| Registration: | 142243 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Oviedo, Florida -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | NAS Sanford, FL |
| Unknown |
On January 15, 1962, Navy Lt. Charles Hodgate took off on a training mission in his A3D Skywarrior out of Naval Air Station, Sanford, FL. The aircraft settled back onto the runway after wheels were raised, causing damage and a fire to one engine. The aircraft experienced engine failure and began to loose power and altitude. Lt. Hodgate attempted to return the plane to Sanford. He was just over Oviedo barely above tree top level when suddenly the Oviedo School came into his view only 600 yards directly ahead.
The school was a traditional two-story brick structure (now demolished) with about 400 students in grades 1 to 12 (no K at that time) mostly under one roof. He realized that in only seconds he would hit the school and it was reported that he could see the students on the ground. There was no way to clear the two story school and crashing short was impossible as the playground was also directly in his path and full of children. Without hesitation Lt. Hodgate veered the plane sharply causing the plane to cartwheel and crash less than 100 yards from the school property in what was known as the Ward grove (SW corner of Lake Jessup and Clark St).
If it were not for his heroic action and sacrifice of his own life, it is likely that hundreds of school children would have died in an inferno of blazing jet fuel. Two of his crew members AO3 John Bush and ATR3 Horace Marks also died in the crash. PH1 Delton Wilson had successfully bailed out at the last second.
Oviedo honored the sacrifice with a memorial that is placed at the site of the crash near what is now T. W. Lawton Elementary School.
Sources:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune 16 January 1962, p5
Oviedo, FL historical marker.
Narrative from other airmen based at NAS Sanford.
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jan-2019 17:31 | TB | Added |
| 21-Jul-2022 06:39 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 07-Jul-2024 22:32 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Operator, ] |
| 15-Sep-2024 05:18 | CJT | Updated [Registration, Source, ] |
| 25-Nov-2024 09:21 | Larry | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 03-Dec-2024 07:05 | Larry | Updated |
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