ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 185948
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 June 1975 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Grumman KA-6D Intruder |
| Owner/operator: | VA-85, US Navy |
| Registration: | 152918 |
| MSN: | I-258 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Mediterranean Sea, near Palma de Mallorca, at 38'40 -
 Spain
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS Forrestal (CVA-59) Mediterranean Sea, off Spain |
| USS Forrestal (CVA-59) Mediterranean Sea, off Spain | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Grumman KA-6D tanker 152918/'AA-511' of VA-85, US Navy on board the USS Forrestal (CVA-59) was destroyed in a Mid air collision at night with EA-6B Prowler BuNo 158814/'AA-611' of VAQ-134 on night of June 25, 1975.
Both aircraft were lost in the Mediterranean Sea near Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Unusually the EA-6B was carrying a crew of three instead of four, and all three - Lt William Bruce Bierbower, Lt Commander Joseph "Joe" R. Capute and Lt (JG) Robert "Bob" W.McConchie - ejected safely and were recovered. Both crew members of the KA-6D tanker also ejected: pilot Lt (JG) Lloyd T. Hunt ejected safely, but the navigator - Ensign Brian L. Cardiff - ejected and was not recovered, presumed killed. According to the official history of the carrier for this period:
"25-28 Jun 1975: USS Forrestal stood out of Palma de Mallorca for flight operations in the western Mediterranean . Shortly before nightfall on the 25th, 'BUCKEYE 511', an A-6E (BuNo 152918), Lt (JG) Lloyd T. Hunt and Lt (JG) Brian L. Cardiff of VA-85, collided in mid-air with Aircraft No. 611, a Grumman EA-6B (BuNo 158814), crewed by Lt. Commander Joseph R. Capute, Lt William B. Bierbower and Lt (JG) Robert W. McConchie from VAQ-134.
Although the crew enjoyed a mostly clear evening, lookouts reported some haze. The aircraft launched by 1855 but flew separate missions: the Prowler crew investigated a shipping contact during their submarine and surface surveillance coordination plan, and the Intruder flew spar bombing and "basic airwork practice." As the two aircraft completed their runs and returned to the USS Forrestal, they turned into a 30° left bank turn toward the inbound heading and slammed into each other, near 38-40-N, 4-30-E, at 2001.
BUCKEYE 511 rolled three to five times to the left and 611 pitched down and rolled left, at which point the crew ejected. Although searchers rescued the other men they could not recover Lt (JG) Cardiff, and despite an exhaustive search overnight they terminated further efforts and declared the naval aviator "lost at sea" at 17:40 on the 26th. The crew held a memorial service for their fallen shipmate two days later as the ship transited the Strait of Messina".
Sources:
1. http://web.archive.org/web/20180422222159/http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/A-6.html
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries19.html
3. http://web.archive.org/web/20171103001143/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/a6_prowler.htm
4. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/f/forrestal-cva-59.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Mar-2016 13:45 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 15-Apr-2019 16:18 | Anon. | Updated [Location] |
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