I don't know what brought it to my mind the other day. Does anyone remember the Cpls name that took off with the A-4 one night?
It was the mid or late 80's and I was working night crew with VMA (AW) 121. Someone yelled out that a (I think) plane capt. with one of the A-4 Squadrons (I forgot which one) took off with a Skyhawk. I remember standing on the flightline and watching this guy doing touch and goes.
The story went that he was a licensed pilot and applied to fly for the military and was turned down. I remembered that he was court martialed and got off. I thank he was gen. discharged and served no time.
Originally posted by JARHEADJOE42: I don't know what brought it to my mind the other day. Does anyone remember the Cpls name that took off with the A-4 one night?
It was the mid or late 80's and I was working night crew with VMA (AW) 121. Someone yelled out that a (I think) plane capt. with one of the A-4 Squadrons (I forgot which one) took off with a Skyhawk. I remember standing on the flightline and watching this guy doing touch and goes.
Does anyone else remember this?
LCpl Foote
I was a MP there at the time working days. I remember coming in to work and the entire PMO was going fu(king crazy. "A LCpl took a fighter jet on a joyride". I remember thinking to myself, "Yeah right, what next want me to get you some jet blast."
He took one of them yellow trucks with the flashing "FOLLOW ME" signs on the back and drove right past flight line security.
The sentry on that post had called in to the desk Sgt and recieved permission to make a head call. The desk Sgt failed to send someone out to cover the post. Good luck or good timing on Footes part. The desk Sgt got burned on this.
I took Foote to the brig that morning at Pendelton.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: davecerami1965,
Yeah it was Lcpl Foote. I was stationed at El Toro when that happened, word says his last words as he was hauled away were something like this "I told you you dont need a F%$#@ing degree to fly one"
HELLO YOU FELLOW JAR HEADS, I WAS STATIONED AT EL TORO FROM 1968-1969 I WAS IN CRASH FIRE RESCUE WE RESPONDED TO A CIVILIAN PLANE CRASH NEAR THE SANTA ANA AIRPORT WHERE WE ENCOUNTERED 29 CASUALTIES MEN,WOMEN&CHILDREN. WE HAD TO PICK UP ALL THE PIECES OF BODIES AND PUT THEM IN BAGS.WE WERE NEVER THE SAME SINCE THAT DAY. EVEN IN VIETNAM WAS NOTHING COMPARED TO THAT.I NEED TO GET WITH ANYONE THAT REMEMBERS THAT DAY TO VERIFY THAT IT DID HAPPEN. IF YOU KNOW OF THIS PLEASE CONTACT ME AT chillyman53@yahoo.com.THANKS AND SEMPER FI.
You just told us it happened, did it or not? That is one thing with the air wing, you end up doing police call in weird places. In 95 there was a small turbo prop that tried to cut to Carlsbad airport through DZ tank park and hit the hills just North of MASS 3. We were doing 1 skids to drop guys in all day. I think there were 6 people on that plane, needless to say there was a marine layer in the a.m. they crashed at 0700.
I was reading the last two posts concerning crashes in the El Toro area. That brought to mind two crashes that I witnessed back many years ago at El Toro. I was a member of AIRFMFPAC Flight Section and we shared the hangar with VMCJ-3. At the time I was an R4D Crew Chief, I was standing out by my aircraft. We were located at the last hangar towards Irvine. My ears caught, could still hear in those days a jet engine going from T/O power to ground idle. I looked up and there it was, a TV-2 from VMT-2 an instrument trainer. In other words he had a flame out on take off. He passed over Irvine, turned to the left, stalled out and went in from about 300 ft. or so. The Flight Jacket reported about the crash and the deaths of two majors.
The second at El Toro was for me an AD-4 from VMAT-10. This time it was an air show. The aircraft were rolling in from the West pulling up and heading towards Saddleback Mountain. The Ad was in a dive and it looked like his engine cowling unhooked, hit the canopy and the aircraft dove into the orange groves behind Irvine. Here again the El Toro Fight Jacket Newspaper reported that the crash and pointed out that the pilot a Captain as I recall had been a tanker in Korea before becoming a Naval Aviator.
Two things in this life has always bothered me........Crashes and Ship groundings and Sinking's.
Anyone remember the Major who was flying a brand new F4D and had a flameout over El Toro at about 12-15,000 ft. It was in the spring of '56. I was on my bird at the 323 flight line at the time. I watched him bring in the bird looking like a falling leaf going from side to side while floating down. He came in hot but made it. I remember watching and thinking am I going to see a heroic pilot die? I have often wondered why he didn't eject. Semper Fi Lowball
Lowballfred I did'nt know there was such a thing as a new F4D, I was with VMFT10-MTG10. Everything we had was used and abused by the swabjocks, before we repainted and made a Marine out of ours. Semper Fi ,Plane Capt,54/57
Your F4D story reminded me of another early F4D crash, perhaps you might remember this one. The CO of VMF-115 Lt.Col Flickenger was killed on or near the runway. If I remember correctly he'd had a flame out and was making an emergency landing. I didn't witness the crash, but what was called the Class C hangar, this is were the aircraft was put. As I was in the hangar next door, I had a look. The cockpit broke off at the leading edge of the wing. Considering the plot lost his life the remainder of the aircraft didn't look all that bad. The reason I recall his name was, before he took over VMF-115 he was on the AIRFMFPAC Staff and use to come down and fly my R4D every so often. As I remember him, he was a good R4D driver and a very nice person.
This is for you Ford fellows. Taken from “A History of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115.” I enjoyed reading your recollections of that era in El Toro. S/F.
Much excitement was generated on 20 April 1956 when Lieutenant Colonel John S. Flickinger flew in the first Douglas F4D Skyray (not to be confused with the McDonnell F4B Phantom II) from the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. VMF-115 was the first Marine squadron to receive the new plane called “the hottest thing on wheels.”
Unfortunately, as is common with a new plane, there were problems with the F4D--the most significant of which were a balky fuel transfer system, compressor stalls, and structural weaknesses in the wing stores. A crash caused by an engine flameout during a landing approach killed Lieutenant Colonel Flickinger on 8 May. The squadron’s executive officer, Major Leslie E. Brown, took charge until 18 June, when Lieutenant Colonel Ralph H. Spanjer became commanding officer.
On 18 July, while at 40,000 feet, the engine in Major Joseph O. Lynch’s F4D began to run extremely rough. When the fire warning light came on, he secured the engine and was left to choose either an ejection or a “dead stick” landing. Picking the latter option, he was able to get the plane safely back to base--the first time this had been done by a F4D pilot in an operational squadron. With severe maintenance problems such as these, the structural faults let to periods in the latter half of 1956 when all F4Ds (nicknamed “Fords”) were grounded.
vanmac tnx for thc story about ltcol flickenger i came back to eltoro with vmf115, we set sail on the uss princeton out of iwakuni may55 and broght back the f9f5 , eventually we recd the f4d (f6) later changed.. i was there when he went in short of the runway and major brown took over , the late col. had a wife and young girls the part abt the nose is correct it broke off and i remember his shute debloyed over the canopy.. were you there when we had a new f9f5 fm o/r and a mech started it up on the flight line, the trotle linkage was disc by the parachute shop they replaced a oxygen bottle, the engine went to full power broke the tiedown cable went down the side of the hanger and hit a 6x6 headon then went into a f9f5 that me and an marine from the metal shop were working on to this day i dont remember how i got away and found myself near the runway,,.. bob bogdan former metal shop vmh115 ps i stii have some pics anyone remember that incident tnx for the memory smpr fly....
I was working NORS watch at H$MS-37 group supply one night in late spring/early summer 1968 and saw a F4 hit the runway and 2 seats deployed. Looked like the landing gear struts went thru the wings. Pilot and RIO both ejected safely and the plane burned merrily for a long time. The leftovers were given to crash crew to practice with. Semper Fi
I'd say LCPL Foote's defense attorneys, Michael J. Naughton & Capt. Brad Garber saved his butt. I do remember all this since I was assigned to EL Toro from 1985-1988. I wonder whatever became of Foote?
