1973 A7E aircraft crash photo

[Vincennes]

Here is an interesting photo I got at the flea market today. The information printed on the reverse is attached below the photo.

 

If you plot the latitude and longitude listed as the crash site on the back of the photo it plots in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, so there is obviously a problem since the photo shows the crash on land. I have no information yet on the crash.

 

Paul

[Paulruss]

Location could be where the pilot ejected/was picked up

[gwb123]

Looks like the landing gear was extended.

[Vincennes]

UPDATE: I have been in touch with the VA-12 Association (http://www.va12.com/) and they have provided some additional information. Tracking the Navy Bureau Number they know the aircraft was transferred to VA-86 in 1975 and destroyed in a crash on Jan. 17, 1978 while aboard the CVN-68 Nimitz in the Mediterranean when the pilot (Lt. Cdr. Kent Ewing) ejected.

 

But they have been unable to find anything on this 1973 crash or why the Lat. and Long. location of the crash on the reverse of the photo plots in the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Paul

[AustinO]

The entry on Baugher's site: 157584 (MSN E307, VA-86) w/o Jan 17, 1978.

 

They didn't know who was flying it when it crashed in 73?

[Vincennes]

AustinO,

 

Several sites state the w/o in 1978, but http://archive.is/UPmWa shows the plane in VA86 in the Med aboard USS Nimitz and that LCdr Kent Ewing ejected from it on 17 January 1978..

 

We know who was the pilot in the 1973 photo because it is listed on the back of the photo (LCDR Spear). Since the plane continued to fly until 1978 it was obviously reconditioned after the 1973 crash and put back in service. Perhaps it only ran off the end of the runway upon landing in 1973?

 

But that still does not explain the crash location problem.

 

Paul

[hink441]

I wonder if the lat long is where the flight originated?

 

Carrier based local OPs and flight had to bingo to the beach and overshot the runway, or landed short of the runway.

 

I also noticed he has a aerial inflight refueling store (BuddyStore) on his port outboard pylon, the hose is still deployed. Maybe the pilot was unable to retract or guillotine the hose and he was directed to bingo to the beach.

 

Just thinking out loud.

 

Chris

[Bill Larimore]

After two tours flying A-7s and FA-18s out of NAS Cecil Field in the 1980s and 90s, the lat-long N30-13 W080-52 looked very familiar, very similar to one burned into my memory from all the instances of initializing the aircraft onboard inertial navigation system prior to each flight.  Except I remember the lat-long being N30-13 W081-52; I suspect it was just recorded wrong in this instance.  Sure enough, I plotted the latter position, and it was at/just off the end of runway 09R at NAS Cecil Field, which is located west of Jacksonville Florida (see attached photo).