Warbird Information Exchange

Thanks Turtle.

Did it say in the report that Alkire sank with the Cutlass still strapped into his ejection seat?

Also a couple of other questions I have;

What is the BuNo. of this Cutlass?

Where was the Hancock when this accident occured?

And finally was the LCDR's remains ever recovered?


It's interesting how much disinformation is out there on the internet. Besides the previous mention of the other crew members dieing I did read one site say that Paddles was killed.

And on the opposite side of the spectrum.

http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/media/approach/issues/dec99.pdf

This issue of "Approach" shows several stills of this accident and in the caption states the pilot survived.


Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

Date was 14 July 1955 during workups for the upcoming Hancock deployment. Location was off San Diego (32 degrees 50 minutes North; 118 degrees 10 minutes West). BuNo was 129595. Alkire had made one arrested landing and been launched. On his second approach he radioed a fuel state of full mains and 1,600 pounds in the transfer system. "A series of 'low' and 'come-on' signals were given by the Landing Signal Officer, follwed by a 'wave-off' when the aircraft did not answer the signals."

"LCDR Alkire did not appear to immediately initiate a wave-off. A very slight port turn was made and the afterburners were used several moments after the 'wave-off' had been given, which placed the aircraft in very close proximity of the fantail of the ship." (The implication is that he applied afterburner too late to take the waveoff and not strike the ramp, if in fact afterburner would have dug him out of the hole he had put himself in.)

"The cockpit section broke from the fuselage and fell in flames over the side of the ship. No sign of life was observed by ship's personnel in rescue craft in the debris on the water, which continued to burn for approximately 10 minutes after the crash. The pilot was not recovered."

"A total of eleven men and officers were treated in the sickbay aboard the USS Hancock for minor burns and abrasions following the accident."

Alkire had 939 hours of flight time and 96 carrier landings. He reportedly had 145 hours in the F7U-3.

The person on You Tube who passed on that info apppears to have lifted it verbatim
from a webpage of the Association of Naval Aviators San Diego Squadron, here...
www.johnfry.com/pages/CutlassRampStrike.html

I've yet to see a photo of LCDR Alkire and "Jake" Jacard who maintains a USS Hancock
website is seeking a good photo of him and any further info about this accident, here..
www.usshancockcv19.com//gallery7/faulkner.htm

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People who see the pictures or the video find it hard to believe that no one else was hurt. Here's a picture from the excellent series of Grumman photos being posted by ArmyJunk2 that show how it was possible:

Note the seaman ducking into a passageway in the lower left of the picture.

Good eyes Turtle

I've always wondered how these areas changed after the Angled deck conversion. The Hanna, specifically being decommisioned less than a year later for this modification.

Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

Vought built an incredibly strong airframe--notice that nearly the entire airplane was intact after hitting the fantail and then went over the side. Only then did the fuselage buckle and double back on the center section. As hard as he hit, the LCDR likely never knew what happened.

Scott

Thanks for the link to this thread Shay.

Are those the engines coming out of the aircraft in photos 8 & 9?!

What a tragic event...

That's what they look like to me. Also of note in 9 and 10 you see what looks like the SAR helo off in the distance. Seems a long way off to me, unfortuanately for the Cmdr..


Shay
____________
Semper Fortis

Its chilling to actually see the pilot in the "open" cockpit as it is happening to him in those photos and video. The most chilling of aircraft crashes I have seen. Poor guy.

As for the deckies clearing out of harm's way, I've been told by one who was in a similar situation on another carrier that "we could clear the deck and side walks FAST!"
Seems like a good idea to have a hole nearby while planes are coming in. just an opinion.

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