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| Date: | Thursday 5 September 1963 |
| Time: | 17:01 |
| Type: |  North American A-5A Vigilante |
| Owner/operator: | United States Navy (USN) |
| Registration: | 148930 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 2 miles south-southwest of New Smyrna Beach, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | NAS Sanford, FL |
| NAS Sanford, FL | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Crashed. Pilot Lt Cmdr Robert H. Lovelace (34) ejected safely. Aviation Mechanic LC Charles Kelsey (30) killed in ejection.
Inflight fire/explosion at cruising altitude and breakup.
With VAH-3 the crew was on an Instrument Familiarization Flight for A-5 qualification. Approximately 14 minutes out of NAS Sanford, at cruise and 20,000’, there was a muffled explosion aft of the cockpit followed by violent pitch oscillations. Electric flight and augmentation systems were secured by means of the Kill button. Shortly after the aircraft experienced No. 2 hydraulic failure. The crew turned back to Sanford. The No. 1 hydraulic system then went to zero pressure. They radioed for a planned field arrestment and utilized the RAT but the control stick froze in the center, slightly nose down, and could not be moved. The aircraft pitched down violently with an estimated 1.5-to-2 negative G sustained force. Ejection was accomplished at 12,000’ just as it became supersonic. The pilot and BN landed about 900’ apart about 3 miles from the crashed Vigilante. The pilot received minor injuries. The BN was dead on arrival at the hospital. The aircraft had entered a number of unusual attitudes and partially broke apart in air. The vertical and horizontal stabilizers separated and fell 1.5 miles from the crash. The port wing was on fire and folded upright about ¼ mile from the crash.
The main crash site was in a pasture beside a house. The crew ejected into the Florida Shores neighborhood of Edgewater.
Apparent cause was fire originating in the wing box area and BLC ducting or crossover but the US Navy report is censored. Unclear if it was an engine or bomb bay fire. There is no mention of fire warning lights illuminating in the cockpit.
Both crew separated from their seats and both had streaming parachutes but the BN’s cause of death is not specified.
Pilot Lt Commander Robert H. Lovelace
Bombardier/Navigator ADJ1 (Jet Engine Mechanic) Charles R. Kelsey
148930 had been manufactured on 30 January 1962 and accumulated 380.4 flight hours.
Sources:
http://www.forgottenjets.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/A-5.html
Lakeland Ledger 6 September 1963, p2
US Navy accident report.
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Jan-2022 20:47 | TB | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Jun-2024 10:21 | ChrisB | Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Photo] |
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