Clint Eastwood AD-1Q accident report October 1951 ...

[Mark Allen M]

... off of Point Reyes North of Drake's Bay near San Francisco. Why? ...

Wiki "In October 1951, Clint Eastwood was aboard a Douglas AD-1 Skyraider (I've heard it said it could have been a TBM as well) military aircraft that crashed into the Pacific Ocean north of Drake's Bay near San Francisco. The aircraft had departed from Seattle, bound for Mather Air Force Base at Sacramento. When the intercommunications system failed, the aircraft was forced to ditch in the sea two miles off Point Reyes. Eastwood escaped serious injury, and swam to shore using no help. The crash was headline news on October 1, 1951 in the San Francisco Chronicle.[17] He later reflected on his thoughts during the crash, "I thought I might die. But then I thought, other people have made it through these things before. I kept my eyes on the lights on shore and kept swimming." Eastwood fought against the investigative hearing, and this kept him from going to Korea with the rest of his unit."

More here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_life ... t_Eastwood

Any of you talented accident report finding dudes working your magic would be mucho appreciated. (sorry not much to go on but that's why I'm asking you experts, you know who you are)
Eastwood's in town this weekend in Santa Ynez for some jazz festival. Maybe if I see him in the crowd I'll make a paper airplane out of his report and throw it his way.

M

(Guess I can change the thread title now)

Last edited by Mark Allen M on Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:38 am, edited 2 times in total.

[mike furline]

It's in the National Enquirerer, so its gotta be.......

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebri ... nfidential

[Mark Allen M]

Been there, done that ... Like I said, experts only apply
BTW am I the only one on WIX who after proof reading my posts, go back and read it again after posting to find annoying spelling errors. What's up with that? The WIX spell-checker seems to have a mind of it's own. Example; 'crowd' turns into 'crown' , I know what I typed and it changes anyway. crazy!!!

[Stoney]

and why was he on it?

[Mark Allen M]

and why was he on it?

Eastwood was drafted into the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Ord in the Carmel, Monterey CA area in the early 50's. He hopped on a transport flight to Seattle to see his parents. He then hopped a flight back on an AD-1 or TBM. I'm leaning toward an AD over the TBM, but I have read it could have been either or.

[K5DH]

According to the referenced articles, Clint Eastwood was a Corporal in the Army, serving as a swimming instructor at the time of the alleged ditching. Was he an Army pilot? Could a Corporal even be an Army pilot? He'd have to have been a pilot in order to be "aboard" an AD-1, since that's a single-seat aircraft. Did the Army have any AD-1s? I thought only the Navy used them. And why would failure of an intercom system in any aircraft necessitate a ditching? I don't buy it. And if he was aboard a multi-place aircraft, what happened to the other people who were aboard?

This whole thing smacks of

[Mark Allen M]

This whole thing smacks of BS

Ah not so fast my man!!! ... hense why I'm looking for an accident report. This bit below mentions AD's but not an AD-1 so who knows maybe it wasn't an AD-1. I'm not a Skyraider guy so what other types are single seat that have the small back door area? Read the few pages of the link below as it seems to be quite comprehensive as to the logic and circumstances. It seems legit to me. And why not?

http://books.google.com/books?id=mspMFW ... ng&f=false

You gonna argue with this guy? lol



... And NO!!! even with the avatar thing going on I have no 'man-crush' on Eastwood. I like some of his movies and met him a couple times that's all

Last edited by Mark Allen M on Tue Oct 22, 2013 4:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Mark Allen M]

Looks like there's some room in there ...

http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.o ... p?p=254906

[Cubs]

...... And if he was aboard a multi-place aircraft, what happened to the other people who were aboard?

One article I just read (google search) was that the pilot was named Anderson and also swam to shore.
Various articles give the distance anywhere from 1 to 3 miles.

[SaxMan]

I'm thinking in '51 that it would have been a TBM, since they were still being retained in utility/transport/COD role, and they had plenty of extra seats. The Skyraider was still the front line attack plane. I"d find it hard to believe a Skyraider would be used for an Army guy to "deadhead".

[Mark Allen M]

I'm thinking in '51 that it would have been a TBM

Yes, but if you read the link I posted above it sure sounds like an AD by the way it's being explained. A TBM wouldn't have been a problem for even two extra guys would it? The article states a sliding canopy as well a few times. Also as you read wouldn't it make more sense that Eastwood was held back from going to Korea for possible testimony because of the fact that a relatively new AD was lost instead of an older TBM and why it was lost? Not for me to know but with what little to go on I could piece together a logical explanation that this story could, and probably is, legit.

I guess the old saying "a little research goes a long way" will be put to the test as I'm quite interested about the validity of this story. maybe I should try asking the man himself lol

[Adam Kline]

The AD4n was the night attack version of the Skyraider. It held two seats in the back for the radar operators. Probably stuff that anyone on this website already knows. What I find interesting is the distance to shore. Without floatation 1 mile is a long way. Point Reyes water temp would also figure in to the equation. I would want to ask him if he did it with a life vest on or not. I made the mistake once while delivering a sailboat in the Sea of Cortez of trying to swim to shore. I wasn't in trouble or anything like that, I just wanted to take a look at a beach I had anchored off of. I was young and estimated the distance a 1/2 mile. Needless to say I barely made it and I was a fit young man back then. It was as it turned out more then a mile. I am skeptical that even with floatation you could get very far (3 miles) unless you had a lot of adrenaline kick in. Just my 2 cents

[Jim MacDonald]

Mark,

Here you go. You were right on the money, AD-1Q. Still working the VF-11 scans for you.













Mac

[Mark Allen M]

ありがとうございます. Jim

[K5DH]

OK, OK...

call rescinded.