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Date: | Wednesday 3 May 1989 |
Time: | |
Type: | McDonnell Douglas AV-8B-10-MC Harrier II |
Owner/operator: | VMA-542 USMC |
Registration: | 163185 |
MSN: | 512108/102 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Parris Island, South Carolina -
United States of America
|
Phase: | Take off |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | MCAS Cherry Point (KNT/KNKT) |
Destination airport: | |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:1st LT. JAMES T. RICHARDS JR.
Call Sign: Bullet Died: May 3, 1989
Richards apparently didn't set his AV-8B's nozzles properly during a short takeoff and lost control during the complicated maneuver. He tried to eject but the plane was in the process of flipping.
The lead investigator found that Richards made mistakes because he was "task overloaded" and feeling rushed by his recent transfer from a training squadron to his new flight squadron.
But the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing later rejected that finding and called Richards, who had flown only 77.9 hours in the Harrier, "a competent, though inexperienced pilot." The crash was attributed to pilot error.
Sources:
Scramble
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries22.htm]l
http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6725
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
07-Sep-2010 14:30 |
ASN Archive |
|
18-Aug-2011 22:21 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
11-Feb-2020 17:08 |
Iwosh |
Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator] |