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| Date: | Wednesday 22 July 1970 |
| Time: | 15:14 |
| Type: |  North American RA-5C Vigilante |
| Owner/operator: | US Navy |
| Registration: | 156611 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Aircraft missing |
| Location: | USS Independence, 57 miles SW of Anzio, Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea -
 Mediterranean Sea
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS independence |
| return after mission | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Little or no information is available |
Lost at sea during operations with USS Independence in the Mediterranean Ocean, when the cable end of the tailhook broke upon landing from what was later determined to be a stress fracture. Later a Bavy Bulletin was issued to check all A5 tail hooks. When the hook broke, the momentum of the plane had it rolling forward. The pilot went to full power (AB) and left the angle deck. Slowely started to gain altitude almost at sea-level when he started a turn (left I believe) and lost his lift causing the wing to hit the water and roll the plane. I saw the RIO eject into the water.Both crewmen were killed. Divers were in the water befor the plane sank and I heard only part of one helmet was recovered. A sad day to be sure when all you could do is watch and pray.
Following a 90-minute, daytime photo mission this Vigilante suffered a tail-hook failure while landing on the USS Independence and went into the water where the aircraft with crew was lost at sea.
First 2 approaches were bolters (VFR—clear WX with some haze, Sea State 1). The first being a hookskip on the four-wire. The second touchdown was past all 4 wires.
On the 3rd landing the hook engaged the #1 wire dead center, pulled it out 2/3s of the stopping distance, and the tailhook failed and broke off releasing it from the pendant. The Vigilante continued off the angle-deck at about 60-80 knots and into the water by the port bow, wings level in a flat attitude, where it remained intact, losing only the nose radome, then turned upside down and floated by the ship. It then sank in 600 fathoms of water (3,600’). PLAT film coverage showed the pilot had positioned the horizontal slab at or near full leading edge down.
The hook remained on deck.
The hook shank fractured 3 inches from its aft end. There was a heat treat, crescent-shaped crack 15-16 inches long by 1/16 inch deep at the rear, right-hand attachment bolt hole (inboard).
An immediate search by destroyers and helos was negative. All that was recovered was some aircraft parts and both crew “hardhats”.
Crew was with RVAH-11 on a Mediterranean cruise.
Pilot Lt Commander Richard Karr
RAN Lt Commander William Pullinger
This Vigilante only had 71 total shipboard arrested landing since acceptance. No field arrested landings and zero maintenance performed on the tail hook assembly since new. 156611 was accepted by the Navy on 3 July 1969 and had flown 407 total hours.
Sources:
http://www.forgottenjets.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/A-5.html
US Navy accident report
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Mar-2022 07:45 | Jjones | Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Damage] |
| 31-Mar-2022 06:47 | Jjones | Updated [Phase] |
| 15-May-2024 07:30 | DEER HUNTER | Updated [Narrative] |
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