ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 85108
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| Date: | Monday 5 November 1951 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Republic F-84E Thunderjet |
| Owner/operator: | 154th FBS, 136th FBS, Arkansas ANG, USAF |
| Registration: | 50-1168 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Chwachen-ni, 8 miles North of K-9 Pusan East AB, Haeundae, Busan -
 South Korea
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | K-2 Taegu AB, Dong District, Daegu, South Korea (RKTN) |
| K-9 Pusan East AB, Suyeong River, Haeundae District | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
Republic F-84E-20-RE Thunderjet 50-1168, 154th FBS, 136th FBS, Arkansas ANG (Air National Guard), USAF: Written off (destroyed) November 5 1951 when lost (failed to return) from combat operations. Low on fuel, unsuccessful bail out near Chwachen-ni, 8 miles North of Pusan East (K-9) Air Base, adjacent to the Suyeong River in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea. Pilot Col Albert C Prendergast, USAF (Service Number: AO424133) was killed; he bailed out of his plane at too low of an altitude and his parachute failed to open.
According to the following excerpt from the pilot's biography:
"His last combat sortie occurred on November 5, 1951, in which he led a flight of F-84s to Sinan-Ju to bomb railroad lines. After the mission, Colonel Prendergast led his flight back to Taegu Air Base, South Korea. Unfortunately, the base was obscured by low clouds, forcing Colonel Prendergast and his airmen to another field, where he ordered them to land first although he was critically low on fuel. When he was finally able to approach to land, however, his aircraft exhausted its fuel supply and he was forced to bail out of the stricken aircraft. Although his parachute opened, he was too close to the ground for his parachute to break his fall and was fatally injured. Not realizing that he had been killed, an Air Force rescue helicopter launched from the base to pick him up. The rescue crew recovered his body, which was returned to Texas for burial.
After his death, Colonel Prendergast was posthumously honored by the Texas Senate, which published a memorial resolution in his honor. The resolution praised his military service and his efforts in helping to establish the Texas Air National Guard. The resolution described Colonel Prendergast as “unswerving in his interpretation of a citizen’s duty to his country” and lauded his skill at building the 136th into “a hard-hitting combat force whose esprit de corps and effectiveness were second to none.” Finally, the resolution noted that his portrait would be placed in the Senate chamber in “appreciation of the honor that he has bestowed on the citizen soldiery of Texas”.
Note: Published sources give the crash location as either "eight miles north" or "twelve miles east" of Chwachen-ni
Sources:
1. http://forgottenjets.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/F-84.html
2. https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1950.html
3. https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/rptAF55.asp?RecID=73706
4. http://www.accident-report.com/Yearly/1951/5111.html
5. https://www.koreanwar.org/html/23989/korean-war-project-texas-ao424133-col-albert-calvin-prendergast
6. https://www.koreanwar.org/dpaa/korwald-all.pdf
7. https://www.geni.com/people/Colonel-Albert-Prendergast/5567124255240038444
8. http://phorum.dallashistory.org/read.php?2,47576
9. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/prendergast-albert-conoly-jr
Revision history:
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