Incident | |
---|---|
Date | December 5, 1965 |
Summary | Pre-flight human error |
Site |
Philippine Sea[
citation needed] 27°33.2′N 131°19.3′E / 27.5533°N 131.3217°E[ citation needed] |
Aircraft type | Douglas A-4E Skyhawk |
Operator |
Attack Squadron
VA-56
[1] Carrier Air Wing Five |
Registration | BuNo 151022 [1] |
Fatalities | 1 Pilot ( LTJG Douglas M. Webster) [2] |
The 1965 Philippine Sea A-4 crash was a Broken Arrow incident in which a United States Navy Douglas A-4E Skyhawk attack aircraft carrying a nuclear weapon fell into the sea off Japan from the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga. [3] [4] The aircraft, pilot and weapon were never recovered. [5]
On 5 December 1965, 31 days after Ticonderoga's departure from U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines, [3] the attack jet was pushed backwards over the side, off the number 2 elevator during a training exercise while being rolled from the number 2 hangar bay to the elevator. [2] The pilot, Lieutenant (junior grade) Douglas M. Webster; the aircraft, Douglas A-4E BuNo 151022 of VA-56; and the B43 nuclear bomb were never recovered [6] from the 16,000 ft (4,900 m) depth.[ citation needed] The accident was said to occur 68 miles (59 nmi; 109 km) from Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. [7]
Ticonderoga had aboard Carrier Air Wing Five during this cruise, with two squadrons of Skyhawks. The lost aircraft was part of Attack Squadron 56 (VA-56); VA-144 was the other. [8]
Though most sources state that a single weapon was involved, a document from Los Alamos National Lab indicates that two weapons were involved. [9]
It was not until 1989 that the United States Department of Defense revealed the proximity of the lost one-megaton H-bomb to Japanese territory. [10] The revelation inspired a diplomatic inquiry from Japan requesting details. [11]
The National Archives hold[s] deck logs for aircraft carriers for the Vietnam Conflict.
Incident | |
---|---|
Date | December 5, 1965 |
Summary | Pre-flight human error |
Site |
Philippine Sea[
citation needed] 27°33.2′N 131°19.3′E / 27.5533°N 131.3217°E[ citation needed] |
Aircraft type | Douglas A-4E Skyhawk |
Operator |
Attack Squadron
VA-56
[1] Carrier Air Wing Five |
Registration | BuNo 151022 [1] |
Fatalities | 1 Pilot ( LTJG Douglas M. Webster) [2] |
The 1965 Philippine Sea A-4 crash was a Broken Arrow incident in which a United States Navy Douglas A-4E Skyhawk attack aircraft carrying a nuclear weapon fell into the sea off Japan from the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga. [3] [4] The aircraft, pilot and weapon were never recovered. [5]
On 5 December 1965, 31 days after Ticonderoga's departure from U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines, [3] the attack jet was pushed backwards over the side, off the number 2 elevator during a training exercise while being rolled from the number 2 hangar bay to the elevator. [2] The pilot, Lieutenant (junior grade) Douglas M. Webster; the aircraft, Douglas A-4E BuNo 151022 of VA-56; and the B43 nuclear bomb were never recovered [6] from the 16,000 ft (4,900 m) depth.[ citation needed] The accident was said to occur 68 miles (59 nmi; 109 km) from Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. [7]
Ticonderoga had aboard Carrier Air Wing Five during this cruise, with two squadrons of Skyhawks. The lost aircraft was part of Attack Squadron 56 (VA-56); VA-144 was the other. [8]
Though most sources state that a single weapon was involved, a document from Los Alamos National Lab indicates that two weapons were involved. [9]
It was not until 1989 that the United States Department of Defense revealed the proximity of the lost one-megaton H-bomb to Japanese territory. [10] The revelation inspired a diplomatic inquiry from Japan requesting details. [11]
The National Archives hold[s] deck logs for aircraft carriers for the Vietnam Conflict.