Grumman A-6 Intruder Crash

[thestructureguy]

Interesting trivia is that the pilots brother was Navy also and killed at the pentagon on 9/11

[dustoff499]

This is sad. It's difficult to comprehend with all the training prior to this landing attempt (on the carrier) this was the outcome.

[wkwhite74]

This happened back in October 0f 1989. The student pilot, Ens. Steven E. Pontell, 23, of Columbia, MD was making his first landing attempt on The Lexington. It was reporyrd he was "low and slow" before his T-2 BUCKEYE crashed on the Lexington, killing him and four others, 19 others hurt.

[popceed]

see the canopy's flying into the air as two other pilots eject rather than be burned alive.

Nasty accident.

[nightwriterou812]

@popceed These pilots did not eject. They jettisoned their canopies to abandon their aircraft by ground egressing (quickly unstrapping and climbing out of the cockpit).  The student pilot in the mishap aircraft DID attempt to eject inverted at the very last second as you can see his canopy jettison and his ejection seat fire. Due to being inverted just mere feet above the carrier, the ejection was futile.

[vikingfan7777]

Female rookie pilot in a t-2 trainer.....sad!

[1691if]

@vikingfan7777

Actually, it was a male. Was a squadron from Meridian, MS in 1989. Maybe you were thinking of the F-14 crash that was similiar that did have a female aviator at the controls who lost an engine.

[1691if]

@vikingfan7777

was a male

[KARMA2369]

Someone Should Really study up!..... Even before it came into Clear View it didnt look or Move like an "A-6" ( Info F A I L )

[veejayp1]

As others have pointed out, What you show as an A-6 Intruder is aT-2 training jet. Look it up!

[19Truth53]

That was a T-2 Buckeye Trainer.

[Mhorse1234]

The Air Boss (CDR Denny Major) was knocked to the floor on the impact and he told me that he thought that he was going to die. The student pilot flying the T-2C Buckeye was killed on impact. It was his first attempt to land. There is much more to this story but out of respect for his family I'll leave it at this. (The Air Boss died a few years ago)

[vr0lijK]

poor pilot

[datzfast]

ejected into the deck? thats a mess

[James1toknow]

Stalled the wing, this is sad to see.

[chaiwatkom]

It should be F-9 Cougar or F-2 Banshee!

[montea6b]

This happened in 1989. The wreckage was in the hangar when I visited in the Fall just prior to going to AOCS in Jan 1990.

[BattleBornJackalope]

Air Boss I bet was screaming FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE ON THE FLIGHTDECK!! and yeah that wasnt an A-6 but dramatizing video none the less! I worked on the Stennis for over 4 years and every flight was something to "keep your head on a swivel" thanks for posting!

[SuperCurrahee]

Hell I was an Army Paratrooper in Vietnam and Cambodia (101st. Airborne Division'Screaming Eagles and even I KNOW THIS WAS NOT AN A-6 Intruder crash!

[usnavyman132]

Thats a T-2 Buckeye, my dad could tell you all about them. He was on the lady lex.

[usnavyman132]

Thats a T-2 Buckeye, my dad could tell you all about them.

[navairdavea6]

T-2C Buckeye on the Lexington! I to worked on A-6's! This was a trainer! And a sad way to loose the lives of others.

[mgrande11]

Tip stall like a mother effer.

[danieldeibler]

I thumbed this video down and flagged it as spam because after more than a year of people telling him he's wrong about what aircraft it is, he still hasn't corrected it. It stopped being just wrong a long time ago. It's a lie now, and there are already far too many of those on YouTube.

[MrHabybaby]

Someone knows their planes...not!

[brent52]

Wow!!! when did this happen 70's, 80's ???? he/ she was screwed after going inverted. If he/she ejected...then.....he/she went quick!!

[spins321]

@brent52 This happened in the early 90's... around 90 or 92 I believe

[TrueCourse]

I'm surprised that the title hasn't been corrected until now. There's more than enough comments correcting the A-6 misnomer. Guess I'll say it again.... it's a T-2C Buckeye :) Unfortunate incident. Thanks for sharing.

[Racing600RR]

A-6 ... hahahahaa ok...

[jazzbo1974]

Holy shit when did this happen..

[ryanspeed]

That was a T-2 Buckeye, not an A-6!

[livinlvis]

How did they post the video without knowing what type of plane it was?

[aviationwingnut]

I was on nuclear submarines and have always followed USN aviation. That was NO A-6. T-2 is more like it. From all else I've read on this accident, it was a new "nugget" working on his carrier quals and it killed him and some others on the flight deck.

[jonesy97]

He ejected while upside down right onto the deck. Splat! He was doomed either way. I bet that has been shown as a training tool a million times.

[gtc1961]

T-6 Buckeye...USS Lexington, flown by a new pilot in training,

[307OLDS]

@gtc1961 It's a T-2 Buckeye. A T-6 is a Texan or Harvard (depending if it's navy or airforce) trainer from WWII. I

[gtc1961]

@307OLDS I stand corrected!  Yep, mistyped that, it is a T-2 not a T-6....although I really would like to see a T-6 deck launch on a carrier.

[WMuckaMW]

神風 камикадзэ

banzai =))

[taksan102]

That crash took place on the USS Lexington and it was a T-2 Buckeye with a student pilot driving during tail hook school!

[Dogmeat1950]

CHANGE the title it's not a A-6

[TheEvilAmerican]

I'm pretty sure it's a Panther.

[AnPmechanicpilot]

OMG That was an awful Buckeye crash!

[spchalupa]

T-2 buckeye

[MiGSweep]

Clearly this is not an A-6 Intruder but a McDonnell Douglas 747 on approach to the Hong Kong airport. After the crash you can see a shit load of chinks running around.

[aviationwingnut]

That wasn't an A-6 Intruder. It was one of those training Buckeye planes they use to qualify new nuggets.

[jonesy97]

Looks like the pilot(s) tried to eject before rolling over. Looks like a canopy separates right before impact. Were any of the deck crew killed?

[thedreamdealer]

Yes - quotes from this video on a Yahoo site:-

" I was also on board when this happened and was on the mess decks with Tim, Brian and Lisa that morning. This still gives me nightmares of when we had to carry the bodies to medical.

"I was a yellow shirt in V-1 on emergency leave when this happenned. The names are Timmy Garroute, Lisa Mayo and BURNETTE Kilgore. Brian is pretty close to Burnette after 20 years, just that he was one of my best friends."

[thedreamdealer]

October 29, 1989Gulf of MexicoA pilot making his first touch-and-go attempt aboard the LEXINGTON crashes onto the flight deck, killing five and injuring 19 crewmembers.

[jonesy97]

Wow, first attempt. 2 pilots, 3 deck crew. That sucks. They didn't stand a chance. Lives up to it's reputation, being one of the world's most dangerous occupations/ locations. Thanks for that info.

[red34111]

i worked on a-6's and that was no a-6!!!!!!!!!!!

[meetsouder]

@red34111 ummm no offence but ur age says 19, ur voice sounds like ur 6 on ur dog vid, and u make lego vids.... i REALLY doubt u have worked on an a-6 let alone any aircraft carrier... unless you have been through some major maturity issues sorry

[freakyflow]

@meetsouder Hey leave him alone i seen the A-6's he worked on and there the best red blue green white yellow A6's Legos you ever seen lol

[ryanspeed]

Someone can't tell an A-6 form their asshole!

That was a T-2 Buckeye!

[thedreamdealer]

Does it really matter - I would NOT have found this vid if I searched for T-2 buckeye! I came across it during an Intruder search

[ryanspeed]

Does it matter?

Well, yea....I guess it could matter, depending on who it matters to!

[feednicole]

FAKE! This isn't an A-6!

[sydbernice]

Not an A-6, but not fake. It's a student pilot in a Buckeye trainer.

[feednicole]

My "Fake" comment was in jest...I was alluding to the fact that the plane (the T-2) wasn't an A-6 as listed in the description.

[jkaposi]

Obviously have no idea about naval aircraft, this is a T-2 Buckeye crashing aboard Lex.

[keminva]

@jkaposi Yep, that's exactly right. This is likely among the pilot's first few attempts to actually land aboard the aircraft carrier.

[frogfoot21]

@keminva and his last...