That Time My A-4 Went Convertible in Flight
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- Ward tells the story about when he was flying in the backseat of a VF-43 TA-4J in 1990, launching out of NAS Oceana on the way to Andrews AFB to interview John Glenn for a feature in APPROACH magazine, and the canopy came off at 230 knots over a residential area in Virginia Beach.
He also reveals a special offer for channel viewers on his best-selling novel about the F-14 Tomcat and those who fly it, "Punk's War," which is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in May. As a result, the publisher, USNI Press, is offering a 90% discount at www.usni.org/p....
You forgot to tell your airplane that it would get to meet John Glen, and the canopy took it personally.
It just HAD to be an Army conspiracy as that was too much techno for a Gi-Reeene to sabotage. Their idea of sabotage is get an entire company of thems in the Corps and 30-40 Near Beers in thems each and then they write their squadron's name in the Pensacola Beach's beach sand.
As a retired Army helo Vietnam aviator, I can attest to the importance of a SAFETY mindset by everyone, including maintenance. I credit the “wrenches” for getting me home after every mission. Great channel Ward.
John Glenn’s reaction is exactly what I expected from a test pilot. I really enjoyed the story. Thank you.
Yep. Reminiscing on old times, helping the next generations to be safe but deadly fighter pilots otherwise their just useless. As Ward said Glenn just had an ice afternoon off from the usual shit fight of politics.
Hi Ward, great story. I am a retired Lt. Col. and had the same thing happen to one of my TA-4s at H&MS-31 at MCAS Beaufort in early 1982. I was a Captain at the time serving as the squadron Maintenance Officer. I had 5 TA-4s that were used in dissimilar training against the F-4 squadrons.
A pilot was flying solo in one of my Ts. His canopy came off just as advertised if the rifle bolt wasn’t locked. He claimed that he had it locked but...
He quickly landed. My QA Chief quickly jumped on board an pinned both seats. The face curtain was flapping and deployed about 12”. The rear seat was set in command eject meaning that the back seater could eject both front and rear seats. I was told that if the upper handle had deployed it would have ejected both seats. My Maintenance Boss at Group quickly seized all the maintenance logs! My superiors said that aircraft was going to be down for 6 months until a new canopy would be ordered, received, and installed. At that time canopies came from the NARF in Pensacola.
I got Admin to cut me set of orders to go to Pensacola. I went to the NARF and talked with the staff in charge of the line and explained my situation. He looked at me and said that no one had ever come to the NARF line and asked for help. He then took my requisition from the back of the line and put it up front. About a week later a big truck showed with the canopy. At that time the Commanding General was briefed on any A/C that had not flown in 30 days. We got her up on the 29 day. I didn’t want her to turn into a hangar queen. This AMO job was one of my favorites.
It got much harder trying to maintain 12 F-4s. Ward, I really like your UA-cam channel. I am long since retired. I fondly remember serving in Fighter squadrons. I had the privilege of serving with some of the best. I always thought a 2 person fighter was better than a single seat.
I served with John Cummings “ Little John “ a Rio in VMFA-333 who shot down a MiG in 1972 while serving on the boat. Quite a feat for a Marine aircrew since most of the ground squadron had only Air to Mud missions. I think Little John had 4 “ Martin Baker” seat rides. Very Respectfully, Semper Fi, Birddog Agent
Fantastic stuff, BA. And 4 ejections for Little John plus a MiG kill? Wow!
Sir, I was in your squadron when that canopy blew off. I was an avionics tech with HMS 31 in MCAS Beaufort. The ejection seats were pinned by Cpl. Jon Engel, a good friend of mine. The pilot that had the mishap tried blaming a “no tone” in his headset. I checked the deadbolt system with another TA-4F parked next to us with the engine running to simulate the noise. The tone was quite audible when the deadbolt was moved to the unlocked position.
I was attached to the AIMD seat shop at H&MS -31 when this happened. I went down to the flight line and checked on the seats and the rifle bolt. It was not in the locked position so I walked into the OMD seat shop and told the Sgt in charge about it. He and I talked about what will be involved in the repair of the systems, I let him know that the system was “ hot” due to the aft initiators being fired. Amazing the memories flooding back. Thank you Sir.
What a great story with connections from the past! I can’t express enough the importance of corroborated stories and the valor that comes from the service that beats any desk job with excitement and risks involved. Thanks for the vlogs Mooch! Zone 2; bye bye baby & 4 wire traps...
Semper Fi, Marine!!
Not many people get to be laughed at by greats like Glenn. Now that's good memories. How you describe him is basically how I imagined he would be. No way he could achieve so much without a massive passion for it.
there are a few interviews with him on here and he comes across as a very likable guy with a lot of i guess you'd say senatorial dignity at the same time
Funny and true John Glenn story from my mother.
Back in the early 60's my mother worked as a nurse in a hospital in Ohio, one evening there was a buzz that someone famous was headed to the hospital because of an accident, after a while she had to go from one floor to the other in the hospital and lo and behold there's Glenn on a gurnee in the elevator, turn's out he'd slipped in the shower and busted his head open.
My mother said she looked at the intern who was moving him on the gurnee and said "Figure that one out, the man goes into outer space and comes back ok just to slip in the tub and wind up in the hospital".
I'd heard that story ever since I was a little kid in the early 70's, a few years ago I was shocked to find out that for years I was one of the few people who knew about that, seems the US government didn't want people thinking less of one of it's heroes (especially during the cold war) so they'd come up with some kind of cover story about why he was taken out of the astronaut flight rotation.
From our time in HI, we learned of the importance in their culture of 'talk story', which is basically informal conversation; passing along/down history or family stories or any other personal experience. Your episodes feel like 'talk story' time to me - informal, personal accounts of your journey to this point in your life. Love it.
Love the comparison. Thx.
@@WardCarroll Your cartoon @1:10, ... LOL ... killed it!👍✔👍✔👍
Oral traditions need a comeback.
Indeed, storytelling is eroding away now. People would rather text than be in person. Sad.
There seems to be an ever greater focus on "shorter is better". Twitter, TikTok, now UA-cam Shorts, people competing to see who can get the most likes for a short "witty" comment instead of sharing real knowledge and personal experiences. It feels like a vicious cycle, this sort of condensed conversation shortening people's attention spans. Click, LOL, click next thing, repeat. I still very much enjoy seeking out long form content and settling in with a coffee or a beer to learn a thing or two. Ward's channel is great for this.
Okay, not to come off as rude, but you're like the grandpa I never got to have. My great-grandfather was a air force pilot. He flew the P-51 mustang, and the P-47 thunderbolt. He, sadly, passed when I was less than five years old, but my oldest memory of him was one of his pilot stories. I forgot much but it first ignited the flame of my heart for military aviation. My step-dad was in the army. The 82nd airborne division back around near the Korean war. I don't really have a military vet grandfather. In a sense, you kind of fill that void. I love hearing the war stories of vets. And hearing yours fills a certain place in my heart that I didn't know I had. Thank you so very much for your service, sir. You're a true inspiration.
I was able to meet John Glenn in 2000. It was such an honor to meet an American hero and great man.
25 year Air Force vet (maintenance) and your way of articulating stories is awesome. I start watching these videos and two minutes in I’m hooked till the end!
I was a young parachute rigger in VF-43 during the time of this mishap and I remember it quite well. Listening to your story about the mishap brought back a lot of memories of being in that squadron. Unfortunately, yours was not the only canopy we lost during my time in the squadron. If my memory is correct, we has a non-aviation officer flying in the backseat of a T-2 and he jettisoned the canopy at the end of the runway just prior to takeoff.
A small world! My dad was Commodore of TACSUPWING 1, 1983-1985, which comprised of all the support squadrons such as VF-43. After my winging in P-Cola at the Aviation Museum, I flew up to Norfolk for my dad’s change of command and retirement. Years later, I flew Senator Glenn out to the carrier in the back seat of an FA-18 while I was attached to VFA-106 as an instructor and phase head of the Carrier Qual LSOs. I did get to cross train in the F-14 at 101 in 1988.
Great story Ward! I always liked your work in the Log as well!
Shipmate , I was a Surface Sailor working Engine Rooms on Small boys and reading the Safety center magazine on watch , Loved them !I have said said many times that the aviation community does a great job learning from past mishaps, because the ability to share So effectively. You have saved lives in you writing. Chief USN retired.
Sometimes the best stories are the mishaps , told firsthand by the mere fact you survived. And you still got your interview w/ Sen. Glenn.
Id argue ALL the best stories are where shit goes tits up and you made it through. Every war story, every story of the race you survived, every story where you should have lost and some how won by pure luck or happenstance are the absolute best stories. Nobody cares about the story that you went 180 on your motorcycle, but everyone will listen intently of the time you were going 100, lost it, flew off a cliff and walked away.
@@mattnsac Yup ... like in the modern idea of what news is, 'If it bleeds, it leads ...'
Great story! John Glenn was one of my first heroes - I was glued to the TV during his Mercury flight. My dad was stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time - and as you might guess, the Marines were in a tree about all of it.
Had a canopy loss at a much lower speed - in a Puchacz SZD-50 sailplane. Front seater was a SEL-rated airplane driver, FAA engineer who sadly, couldn't fly his way out of a wet paper sack. I was instructing from the back seat.
The Puch has big canopy latch handles which stick up above the rail even when locked. This gentleman always wore long sleeved shirts. We were doing a lcl flight & practicing slips, among other things. His sleeve placket caught the handle and moved it forward - to the unlocked position. I did not notice.
The canopy is hinged on the right. During the next left slip, the relative wind lifted the canopy. I grabbed at it as it went up but before I could overpower my student's rudder input, the canopy popped the braided steel ground restraint. The frame stayed on the aircraft but the transparency carried away over the right wing.
It missed the horizontal stab, thank God. We were about 3500' AGL and, unusual for a sialplane operation in the US, we had AND WORE chutes for every seat in club aircraft. If we had to jump I wanted to do so while we were high enough. Craned around to peer over my shoulders; the tailplane appeared OK so I carefully tested control inputs. The aircraft responded normally in all three axis but above 60 Knots the airblast was severe (Ray-Bans weren't a lot of protection). Below about 45K it didn't want to fly - drag from the open cockpit and plus turbulent air roiling over the fuselage resulted in REALLY sloppy response.
Went to about half spoiler and trimmed for 50 knots & headed for the airfield. I wanted on the ground.... Flew a tight pattern - fortunately not a lot of pattern traffic - and landed slightly long as I kept my airspeed about 10 knots fast ` til we were about 10 feet AGL.
The canopy frame got straightened; we fitted a new transparency and fixed a couple of gouges in the top of the right wing left by the somersaulting piece of mostly intact plexiglass. Two or three years later a farmer brought us a 6x9 inch piece of weathered canopy. That was 15+ years ago; if he or anyone found anything else they didn't share it with us. No housing developments or shopping centers near a rural gliderport and we didn't bomb a farmhouse, barn or herd of cows.
The engineer eventually made a check flight with the Director of Operations and got separated from the club for consistently being a mile behind the aircraft. Difficult with a 40-100 knot operating envelope but he managed it. Before we replaced the Pooch's with ASK-21's I reflexively checked the canopy handle MANY times during each flight.
Not the same as loosing a canopy when you're burning kerosene but not an experience I'd care to repeat. Enjoy your posts! Former students include an active A-10 pilot (career AF), couple C-130 aviators and some folks flying for the airlines.
When I was stationed at NAS Oceana in VA42 as a plane captain I lived in a brick duplex at 1838 Ego Dr not far from the runways and got our windows rattled a lot by aircraft taking off, but we never had anything fall out of the skies near us ! Talking about Naval Flight Safety, when our squadron was leaving NAS Oceana in a Navy C9B for a bombing detachment to Fallon the aircraft had a tire on the main landing gear blow ! We had to fly around in the area for some time to use up fuel to land back at Oceana ! We were instructed to lean forward with arms around legs & head down for the landing ! The landing was a little rough but uneventful ! Just one of my Navy adventure stories ! I am reminded of the Navy recruiting messages at the time I was in the U S Navy ! ( It’s not just a job it’s an adventure) !
Great story. Well told.
Holy heck it’s AvWeb.
Good to see Paul here.
Flying in the military made me want to contribute into flight safety.
About 9 members of my land survival course (of about 20 attendees) died in crashes whithin about 2 years...quite sobering to be honest.
After my military career I became an Aviation Safety Inspector as well a Flight Safety Officer (NCO) in the German Airforce Reserve...
there's something to be said about this. We had in the days of tornadoes guys buzzing the town what felt like everyday, but it was a lot and being a MOD low level training area, was always something that happened once in a while, but not daily. One of the pilots had his fiancee living in the town, she was a friend of a friend, and so we all just said "its their way of saying hello". A news cycle later we hear about an accident further south UK a training mission involving 2 RAF pilots, who flew into one another. Had no idea who it was or any other news pending the usual, but it wasn't until a couple weeks later we found it was this girls fiancee, and it was then I thought "the skies above the town have been silent since." and that felt strange, that deep rumbling that tickles your gut was no more.
That’s one of the greatest aviation stories I ever heard. John Glenn is one the most amazing Americans who ever lived, and to have the opportunity to meet and talk with him must have been a life experience to remember. This channel that just stumbled on a couple of weeks ago is quickly becoming a favorite.
I love your stories. My dad was an F-4 driver in the pre revolutionary Iranian Air Force and your stories remind me of when he’d tell us stories.
He’s still around, but he’s really really old and can’t remember much anymore.
Thanks a lot.
There goes the canopy - great title and story!!
Tell us more details about your "encounter" with IRIAF P-3F Orion.
Great story Ward! As a pilot I love a good flying story. Keep the hits coming!
Thank yo SO much for posting this! John Glenn was a one of a kind man! I enjoyed this so much! Thank you again! Looking forward to your future posts.
I so enjoyed this story...Thanks Ward, awesome story teller...
I’m an infantry guy myself but my family is very heavily involved in aeronautics, and I’ve always been very intrigued by naval aviation. I absolutely love hearing about legends like John Glenn. Thank you for your content, and I look forward to continuing subscribing to it.
Love you infantry guys, Dylan. Thx for watching.
This man's really how I wished my life went
In the early 80's I was stationed at NAS Lemore - VA-127. I was an AD1 when I was selected to be a back seat troubleshooter in the A4.
My 1st flight/ briefing was w/the skipper.
He briefed me on canopy separation and the procedure to survive it.
Unfortunately the program shut down because an enlisted died during water survival training. I was slated for the next class.
Thanks for the memories.
I remember Approach magazine from my time as an Army Helicopter pilot in 1970. Every Army Aviation unit had this magazine in its library and I couldn’t wait to read the next issue. A lot of the info was about fixed wing but all of it was valuable for any pilot. What impressed me was the very dangerous environment the Navy and Marine pilots had to fly in. Often they were in areas where they had no familiarity and weather over water could be treacherous and surprising. It gave me respect for the Navy and Marine pilot’s mission. Always great stories and always great lessons.
“Approach” is one of the best aviation safety tools around. It’s unfortunate the publication isn’t more widely known or recreated outside the NA community. ALPA and NATCA should have similar magazines.
I always enjoyed reading the articles. Spent many nights alone in the ready room after flight Ops as Assistant Squadron Duty Officer. Our squadron on deployment allowed E4’s but back to Lemoore it went back to E5’s. Even after being out over 20 years I still enjoyed reading the online edition. I am airline dispatcher but some of the articles and scenarios can be common to both types of operations (commercial/military). A lot of procedures are common to both or any aircraft….Ex….Engine Fire on a F/A-18 QRH procedure is common to any aircraft. The only difference is no ejection seats on a 737…..Gove me a few years….I am working on it…LOL!!
I worked as a contractor at AFRL for 12 years. We got the call every time there was a nighttime mishap (we were in charge of NVG Training and lighting). The best mishap stories are one where nobody dies.
Totally agree with that.
This is my second favorite "Holy Crap" video of Ward's.
Number 1 has to go to "F-14's Radome Smashes Into Pilot's Canopy". I know this particular story didn't happen to Ward and his pilot, but they were in holding pattern when it happened.
I don't know how that pilot was able to not only continue flying, with shards of canopy in his eyes, but he continued to do flight tests and landing practices in prep for carrier landing, all while having no comms with the carrier! And THEN, was able to land his Tomcat!
Incredible! Simply incredible!
Former SH-2F AW who spent my first 6 months (waiting on A-School) in the fleet on the Eisenhower (1982-1983). My last deployment was a WestPac/IO/Persian Gulf cruise on the USS David R. Ray DD-971 as part of the Enterprise battlegroup (1986). The F-14 has always been my favorite plane. I really enjoy your videos!
I had a friend who was a former air force mechanic who shared me a couple of stories of pilots flying their F-86s after losing their canopies. They were given two-rank promotions, one pilot was promoted from 2nd Lieutenant to Captain, & the another pilot from a 1st Lieutenant directly to a Major, & they flew the same fighter jet that John Glenn flown in Korea while on exchange. The fastest open canopy flight was the one that Jackie Cochran flew on.
Great story, you tell them very well, keep em comin!! ... TFOA, "Things falling off aircraft". Love it!
I forgot about Mech magazine. I was an AD in VT-24 and went to Barksdale AFB in I think 1979 maybe 80 along with another mech, an AME, an electriciam and a couple airframes guys. It was a instructor solo x/c flight and the canopy came off. Everything on the glare shield went down the intakes, the canopy made a big hole in the vertical stab leading edge, and the rear seat face curtain was out. The seat did not go amazingly enough. They said another inch it would have. The canopy was found in a field near Houston. He had been in flight an hour before the canopy departed. He was way high and trucking when it happened. We fixed it all, changed the engine, repaired all the damage to the airframe, pulled the back seat and repaired it, new canopy, everything. I high powered it without a hold down, just 2 B-52 chocks. It was an adventure.
Love this tale! Retired Navy PR-1, 1992 AMD Oceana Retired. Stationed with the Blue Angels 84, 85, 86. Yes I was at Niagara Falls when the Crash took the life of LCDR Gershon😢😢😢 Love the way you bring back the memories of the F-14 Tomcat. We were doing maintenance on one of the Blue Jets while they were filming the hangar scene. Could not run the jet up to military power and definitely out of focus during that scene .
Great video! Thanks for sharing that story. Anybody who has squeezed into the narrow canopy rails of a TA-4 should really appreciate this story.
Naval Aviation News , the Grampaw Pettibone section is a great read for anyone interested in learning from near misses and accidents
Fun fact: I was Grampaw Pettibone for five years.
Good stuff. That might a justify a video -
5 important lessons learned from Grampaw
There have been times I wished I had recorded while talking to folks about life experiences. It's so important to get this stuff on tape,film or paper. Great stuff.
Ward, you definitely have the BEST Site on UA-cam!! I'm a military aviation geek! Live near Richmond, Virginia, and have gone to many airshows since 1989, at Norfolk NAS, Oceana, Langley, and Andrews AFB. Can't wait to get Punk's War. Thank you very much!!
Ward, I am absolutely enjoying your video stories on UA-cam. As an ex employee of Grumman, and having worked on the best fighter the F-14 , I can't tell you how cool it is to hear from a Navy pilot how it was to fly in them. I am ordering the Punk book also. Keep these videos coming!
You’re a great story teller, thank you very much Sir!
Wow! I can't believe I saw this story! I was stationed at NAS Oceana from 1976 to 1980 (first as an A-4 and S-2 plane captain in the Line Division then in Powerplants Branch as a mech) in the old VC-2 (disestablished in September, 1980 and used to have spaces right next to VF-43 in Hangar 200, Bay "B"), . During that time, we had this exact same incident happen to one of our TA-4J's around 1977 or '78. It was a two bird morning flight, solo pilots in each aircraft. A LT(jg) was in one and a LT in the other. As the LT(jg) was climbing out, the canopy departed the airframe and, in so doing, struck the vertical stabilizer, cutting through it right back to the rudder hinge line (but fortunately the rudder remained in place and functional). The LT immediately called to make sure the LT(jg) was still conscious and able to control the aircraft, then did a full visual of the exterior of the damaged airframe. After alot of back-and-forth radio calls with the squadron Safety and NATOPS officers, the LT(jg) did manage to very cautiously and carefully return to NAS Oceana and land safely. Afterwards we heard that the rifle bolt had disengaged (possibly by the wrist opening of the pilot's flight suit snagging on the bolt handle), causing the airstream to pull the canopy off. I don't recall if the canopy was ever recovered. Needless to say, the bird was "down" for quite awhile and, as a "Hangar Queen", was cannibalized pretty extensively for parts to keep our other birds up. Great story, CDR, and thanks for the memory!
Just a General Aviation pilot, but I can relate to wind blast and cold.
As a 18byear old with a PPL I decided that I wanted to do a "real" cross country and fly to New Orleans from my home near Dallas. My steed was going to be a rented Cessna 172 thatbI had about 60 hours in. My total flight time at this point was 93 hours. To say I was green would be an understatement, but I was too young and too dumb to realize it. Don't get me wrong, I was well trained, but book smarts and experience aren't the same.
The flight down to KNEW was uneventful, it was the flight back that got me. I had planned a fuel stop/lunch/stretch the legs stop at Alexandria. I did this and departed for the DFW area. About an hour into the flight the latch that holds the passenger side window broke. The window now wouldn't stay closed and no amount of cabin heat was helping me. It was late January and ground temps were about 25F, at altitude it was around 10F. After about 15 minutes I was able to rig up something using the wrist strap from my camera to hold the window closed. Cool, I can fly back home.
That only worked for about a half hour. The stress tore the strap and the window was now open again. As I am flying an older airplane without autopilot, only have a jacket (not a full coat), and am going numb from the cold, I elected to divert to the nearest airport that might have maintenance facilities and a Cessna parts supplier, which was Tyler, TX. The 40 minutes from that decision to Tyler were some of the longest in my life. I have been to the timber line on Denali, seen -25 in Duluth; I have never been as cold as I was on that flight. No clue how I landed that plane as well as I did. I then spent 6 hours in a pilot lounge getting feeling back in my hands.
Great story. Thanks for putting it down here.
I remember when that happened. I also remember when Lynhaven mall location was being discussed in city council the Navy advised the city it wouldn't be a good idea to build a mall in a major flight path of the base.
Don't tell that to the folks at Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth, TX.
Awesome Sea Story! I love these, I was V1 Crash in 1989-1992 on the Forrestal, and then I transferred to Whiting Field from 1992-1995 where I was OLF PO. Saw a lot of amazing things as a Crash Crewman that people can just never relate to no matter how you try to embellish the severity of what you were encountering. #gonavy #flynavy #ab4life
I was stationed at NAS Pensacola 1981-82. Read Approach,Mech and Naval Aviation News religiously. Used to have a huge stack of the publications. I got out in 1986 became an airline tech. Navy training did me well.
Safety is the most important thing ever in aviation. As im gearing up to start my first internship as an aircraft mechanic and working on getting all my exams done and my certificates, getting the AML and the associated type ratings, the number 1 thing in my head has to always be "is this safe?".
I loved the Approach magazine. I was a Crew Chief on A-10's in the MD ANG and most of the pilots in my squadron knew I was a airplane nut and would save them for me.
Was that outta Hagerstown?
What was it like working on the A-10?
@@Tigershark_3082 awesome! I was a Crew Chef for 22 years, Engine troop for 5 and 3 up in maintenance control
@@UncleDiddles Glenn L. Martin Airport
@@CraigBaumer It does sound like it would be awesome. It's been my dream to work on military aircraft
From a GA guy in the UK 🇬🇧 I really enjoy your channel, keep up the fantastic work and fascinating insights 👍🏼
Thanks, Paul!
Mr Carroll you are wonderful story teller, your repertoire of stories must be endless. You are easy to understand even with all the military terms you use. Great stuff!.
I met John Glenn one time and it's the only time I was tongue-tied meeting someone famous. Childhood hero.
Wow, what a great story. Thank you for sharing.
Great story and you tell them so well! Keep them coming!
Awesome story...something magical about those Pioneering men in aviation...and other fields...great story no one hurt and that story will age like a fine wine... As a kid 10 to 17 years old we lived out in the Palmdale ..Lancaster area from 1963 to 1970 after living in San Fernando , Calif ...Edwards Air force base was not to far away from our home in Saugus and the X 15 and the men that flew it and the others...wonderful times then ....
I joined the Marine Corps in 2002 and was originally trained as a mechanic on the H-1 platforms before transitioning to avionics on the V-22. Throughout my time in the Corps, I was always looking for another issue of Approach and I would read them cover to cover. It wasn't always easy finding them because I was not the intended audience, but I learned a great deal from them anyway. I don't think I ever saw a single issue of Mech, but while I was in the Avi schoolhouse, I was essentially a fleet returnee and senior to some of my other classmates. I used this seniority once to have them read a particular article in Approach where the mishap was investigated down to a tiny piece of FOD no larger than the leg from a staple. The aircrew fought the aircraft back to the ground, but they very nearly lost the plane and potentially their lives, all due to such a tiny piece of FOD. That was a good article for maintainers to see and to understand why FOD control is so crucial.
Dude, your life story just gets better and better. I love to read so I hope you can get a 3 pack deal going. Much love and thank you for the stories. I wish when I was a kid I would have recorded my grandpa and the guys he went off to WW2 with. These are pure gold. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thanks, Ibby.
Just found your channel recently. Great story! When I was a Marine Capt. I was an instructor at VT-21 NAS Kingsville. We were giving Midshipman rides in the TA-4J. A buddy was taxiing for take-off and the middle in the back seat asked him if he should pull the safety pin on the canopy jettison handle now. Confused because that should have been pulled by the plane captain, he said "yes". Well, the safety pin had been pulled by the plane captain, so the middle pulled the jettison handle! It worked as advertised! Luckily they were still on the ground.
Looking forward to perusing more of your channel.
Gary Murphy
My husband was also in VT-21 REDHAWKS. What year were you an Instructor there?
@@beckyumphrey2626 I was there '82- '86.
@@garymurphy6980 Small world. I am husband. AT2 Reid Umphrey. I think I flew backseat with you before. I was there 81-85. What was your call sign? I flew with Lt Young"Juice" a few times. Amazing she was the right seater in the movie Sully.
Wow, yes small world! I don't remember flying with you, I'll have to check my log books. My call sign was "Sword". I did have the job of Avionics Officer for a while. I do remember the name though. I probably need to apologize, I remember I tended to be kind of a jerk that tour. Good to hear from you. Did you ever fly with Capt Owen (short skinny Marine) He was a PMCF pilot.
@@garymurphy6980 LOL no apologies needed Sir, you were a Marine. :) I do not remember a Capt Owen. I was Squadron Sailor of the Month in July 84. I did my 4 years and then went to Embry Riddle to finish my Degree in Aeronautical Engineering. I had intentions to go back in and fly but got got married and went to work for Lockheed. Still at Lockheed. :)
Absolutely wonderful video. Would love to see more of this. Thank you
I love hearing your stories, Ward. Thank you for this channel.
Keep up the good Vids! Always enjoy hearing piloting stories.
Great story Ward! I found your channel a couple of weeks ago, and am spending a lot of time catching up. Thanks for doing this.
I have enjoyed all of your UA-cam episodes. You have given this old Air Force First Sergeant & aeospace Engineer a much better understanding about Navy patriots and their planes. Thanks!
P.S. I was abord a commercial airliner and was due west of Cape Canaveral when I saw John Gleen's Mercury Friendship 7
come out above the clouds on take off in 1962. After retirement I worked for Aerojet, the company that made the OMS engines that brought John Glenn and all the other astronauts back. The always worked.
bye bye canopy . that would wake ya up a bit . be safe W.C. that would be a blast to talk with John Glenn so much info
I dreamed of being a naval aviator my parents got me a book called The Cutting Edge by CJ "Heater" Heatley. One of my all time favorite books.
I'm glad the UA-cam's algo suggest your video. Your channel is amazing. Thank you for sharing your experiences as a fighter pilot. Hope your channel keeps growing. BTW, in light of recent events, I believe it would be interesting if you could comment on any UAP sighting you may have experienced or heard of along your career. Wish you success.
These stories, priceless.
Thanks for watching, Barry!
I was a marine hydraulics mechanic working on the flight line in Willow Grove navel air station Pennsylvania. A plane returned and the pilot wrote up " little man hammering outside canopy during flight'. On the F8 Crusader there is a hook and strap used to keep the canopy from over extending. When the pilot closed the canopy he did not secure the hook and ended up flying with it outside the aircraft. Our response was " took hammer away from little man".
Great story, really enjoyed it. 👍❤️
All I can say is that I'm damn glad I found this channel. Just ordered the book. Thanks !
Thx, James! Appreciate it.
Just finished Punks War and am about half way through Punks Wing. Both are outstanding and have made my hour long commute to and from work very enjoyable.
I loved this story...
I am super late to the party but can completely relate to the story. I as prior USGC pilot I was also the PAO for the Air Sta. (Air Station Atlantic City 2000-2007). Pro tip, when talking to the press; know precisely what you are going to say and repeat it again and again. The sliding doors on the HH65 would jump the track from time to time. While out on a case, one of our aircraft had the door jump the rail, the mech tried to grab it and it was swimming. We were unable to locate it and the aircraft returned to base.
Fast forward 24 hours and a fishing boat picked it up. They notified the press and followed the direction of the stencil on the door... "If lost, return to..." They thought it interesting that this would be stenciled on the door perhaps pointing at the achilles heel of the design. So here is the PAO talking to the press "Well, the doors fall of the helicopter all time and it still flies just fine..."
You have to be careful when talking to the press, they will quote you.
On a side note, I now work as a Nurse Prectitioner and also did accident investicgations for the USCG. So, now slowly, I am tying to work on bring some of the principals of CRM into the culture of medical practice. Currently, medical error is the 3rd leading cause of death and I firmly believe we can curb that with better CRM like practices in medicine. Understanding how humans error is the first step toward mitigation.
I also will add I just started Punks war and will add I was up to 4 am reading... Really enjoying it. So Ward I am watching what you are doing and taking notes hoping I might be able to emulate a little of what you are doing.
John
Just purchased your book can't wait to read it.
Thanks, Bob! Let me know what you think!
@@WardCarroll I know you are working on getting the books republished, what are the chances of an audiobook version?
@@allanjude High. We’re working on that part too.
My Dad was a crew chief on A20's and A26's at Eglin during WWII. They flew systems tests most days. He had his half of an A26 canopy fly off shortly after takeoff while flying in the copilot's seat. Hat and sunglasses, mission papers all flew out. After landing, he found his headset wrapped around the top turret 50 cals.
John Glenn, a personal hero to me, Naval aviators for the most part are true heros some like you, Snort, Cunningham till his scandal, still is for the fly/fight abilities.... Keep the stories and books coming.
I was a tower supervision in Oceana from 72-73 saw a lot of things happen there. We mostly had F4.s but all types were stationed. love your stories have bought 1 of your books, great reading.
If anyone's wondering what TFOA stands for, as seen on the cover of Mech Magazine, it's Things Falling Off Aircraft. Cool story Ward! I've always been a John Glenn fan, because I was born while he was orbiting Earth. Back in the day, Dads weren't as involved in birthing as they are now. Dad was in the waiting area outside the maternity ward watching coverage of Glenn's space flight while Mom was doing the heavy lifting!
As a former Special Agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) and Transportation Controller, among other things, I can only imagine the train loads of Red Tape overload for Base Ops, as well as for you and Trucker on the A-4 Canopy mishap!!! I’m sure you had to use your Double Motrin-Size Excedrin Tablets for that headache!!! I’m sure you and Trucker both went through a lot of antiperspirant while sweating out the Investigation Report and final Flight Status!!!! Somehow, all the kind words of friends and fellow crewmen never seem to be enough while waiting and wondering, even though you knew it wasn’t your fault!!!! I’m so glad it all worked out in your favor!!!
I’m new here, but even paper airplanes catch my attention!!! I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to your stories of what seems to be a great career of flying, as well as your career as an Editor!!!!
I really like your channel and I’m looking forward to the next awesome adventure!!!!! Thank you for all you do to help correct the crazy notions of some and for your stories which keep me and many others riveted to the edge of our seats!!!!
SALUTE!!!!
The presentation is real casual....it's no different to going around to pop's house and calls out " did I tell you about the time I flew my fighter jet in convertible mode?" It's very relaxing,and your more than cool mooch.
Your career is so very interesting and you tell these stories amazingly!!!!! Putting all of these stories on UA-cam will hopefully keep your legacy alive for many many more generations!!! Thank you again for your amazing service to this country!
Great story, thanks for sharing!
I witnessed a canopy mishap myself a couple of years back - its the kind of thing that gets your attention for sure. In my case I was readying to launch my sailplane at the same time some aerobatic practice was going on. Guy in an Extra or an Edge taxis out to the run-up area. Being a desert-like environment, he had his canopy unlatched so he could get a little breeze through the cockpit while taxiing. I turned away to pay attention to my own pre-flight as he did his runup, but as I heard him advance the power to pull onto the runway I squinted back over to watch this hot ship take off. From several hundred yards away I looked and thought "wait, is his aft canopy not flush with the turtledeck?" right as he yanked back on the stick to begin a 30-degree climbout. The negative pressure over the canopy sucked it off the plane and shattered it in an instant! The pilot had a bad startle response as he got hit with the 100-knot wind in the face (no forward windscreen) and both rolled the bird nearly 90-degrees while continuing the pitch-up to well past 45-degrees. Two things saved his ass: 1) He had the presence of mind to keep the power on, and the bird had a high-enough power to weight ratio to almost hang from the prop. 2) One of the aerobatic observers/judges got on the radio with the calmest voice you can imagine and said "Just fly the airplane". The pilot was able to regain forward airspeed and circle around for a landing, but never got more than about 300 feet off the deck.... Like I said, it got my attention! Ever since that day, whenever I latch my canopy I raise my hand next to my head and bump the canopy with the side of my fist a couple of times - just to be sure!
Thank you for talking about the canapy ejection. Must have been wild in the wind blast. Yes that mila second that you see, the latch/ base not connecting, must have been one of those issues in your time as a pilot, that is a life long memory
Great to hear a story like this that has a happy ending, even for the poor canapy.
Ward, I spent 23 years as an Enlisted in the Navy, and I always read both copies of Approach and Mech when they came out. It was enlightening to see both sides of Pilot and Mechanic. Thank you for your service.
Ward, good to see you upright and in the fight. If fighter ready rooms had campfires we would have all been circled around them listening to your stories. I actually experienced the same thing while at VF 43. Lost the canopy on takeoff from Oceana “in March”. I was headed out for a Friday 1V1 in a A4-F against Flash Gordon. The canopy landed on Oceana. Turned out to be a cable problem. Bad enough when you have a windscreen protecting you, can’t imagine being in the back seat.
Nice job on this channel.
Boz
Boz! I was just telling somebody the story about how we called you from P-Cola looking to start VF-101 early and you were like "Come on up!" and Class 03-84 was born! Hope you're well.
I watched the canopy come off an A-7 during a cat-shot. It went straight back and broke in two when it hit the vertical stab. It cause a massive hydraulic failure on the A-7. He circled the ship until we recovered all the birds that were due back after the launch. We manned the "net" but did not need it. He landed it back on the ship no problems. But for us maintenance guys it was quite a site to see this guy just flying really slow with an open cockpit for like 20 minutes. This was in 88/89 on the Nimitz, CAG 9, on station in the I.O.
My dad was based in Pensacola in the USCG, as the Chief of the USCG base in the 1950's. There was no was to Santa Rosa Island then except by boat. I wasn't here back then, but my older brother was. He was born on 52, I was born in 64. Thank you for your service, and keep up your great work!
Thumbs up to indicate highest level of understanding.
I could listen to these all day
I love these stories so much
I’ll never forget Miramar was socked in with early morning fog or June gloom. We were under a Tomcat dropping a tank when a Tomcat flew directly over us. This was bad because the VF-1 flight line was in line with all the hangers. I looked up and saw the cat descending on hanger 2 home of Sundowners and Black Knights. At the last second he punched it and climbed above the hanger. In my six years at Miramar I never saw a pilot that far off the runway. I remember it like yesterday seeing that Tomcat barely avoiding disaster.
Glad everything worked out with TFOA. I don't know if you ever spoke about any Bird Strike mishaps. We had an F-14 with double engine bird strikes when on the JFK, landed ok, the squadron pulled the engines and then pushed them over to us in IM2 (Jet Shop). We canned them up and shipped to NARF. Birds can do some awful damage to those Compressor blades. Thank You Ward for telling us your Stories.
ANOTHER GREAT STORY! So sorry to learn about Snort... Your friend Snort was TOTALLY Top Gun! I watched a couple videos of him... What an emissary for Naval Aviation. I have to believe that Ive seen him fly in an air show somewhere over 40 years. THANK YOU!
Thanks for all you do for Naval aviation!
"I'M STILL HEEEERE!!" Hahahaaaa.. Best line ever. Big Ward you're like everybody's favorite cool ass uncle. I love your videos and storytelling style. Keep up the good work brudah.
Can’t make that shit up, sir. Unreal. Glad no one was hurt. What a story. Just sitting down to read my copy of Punk’s War.
Was a Lance Corporal in a TA-4F Squadron at Yuma during 67/68. I checked in during September of 67 and there was a crashed TA-4F sitting in the squadron parking lot out behind the VMT-103 hangar. The story was the canopy came off hit the tail and lost hydraulics. Instructor in the back seat and student in the front -- Instructor and student punched out. -- If my memory is correct that happened at least once, maybe twice again during my 10 months with the squadron. (The other one or two aircraft were able to land safely.) The rifle bolt business must have been installed because of these and related incidents. No rifle bolt during late 67/ till August of 68. Thanks for the story, Pilots during that time period didn't talk much with the Junior troops -- Most everything we got was hearsay.
I am really enjoying your youtube site. Spent a year plus on the John F. Kennedy as a radioman/teletype repair in the 1972 and occasionally would go into the pilot ready room to fix the printer. Enjoyed the atmosphere of the pilots waiting for whatever. Being in the operation division allowed me access to the island so I could get a close up view of fligh ops. The big dog of course was the Phantom. Sexy! This led me to get my pilot's license when I got out. I still wish I could have seen the F14 in operation! I am reading Punk's War right now. I picked up the Kindle edition to read on the plane to Key West for vacation. Good read! Thanks for your service and your time on this channel.
Great story, it reminded me of an event that happened in 1962. I was fresh out of Boot Camp and got a signed to V F-191 at Miramar. A month later we went to Yuma To do some air gunnery, our CO was making a pass on the banner and as He pulled off, his Wings separated from the Aircraft(We had F8U-1 Crusaders).He said it was kind of puzzling at first until the other pilots told him his wings just separated.
We are so lucky to have had you in the air. What a story. Not a lot of room for error in your line of work. I’m going to enjoy your channel. Also….great taste in music and gear. Guitars are my saving Grace….especially old prewar Gibson OO’s. I’ve gotten too lazy to plug-in.
The resemblance between young John Glenn and young Ed Harris that portrayed him in "The Right Stuff" is extraordinary.