A MK43 free-fall nuclear weapon on a handling dolly
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| Incident | |
|---|---|
| Date | December 5, 1965 |
| Summary | Pre-flight human error |
| Site | Philippine Sea[citation needed] 27°33.2′N 131°19.3′E / 27.5533°N 131.3217°E / 27.5533; 131.3217[citation needed] |
| Aircraft type | Douglas A-4E Skyhawk |
| Operator |  Attack Squadron VA-56[1]Carrier Air Wing Five |
| Registration | BuNo 151022[1] |
| Fatalities | 1Pilot (LTJG Douglas M. Webster)[2] |
The 1965 Philippine Sea A-4 crash was a Broken Arrow incident in which a United States Navy Douglas A-4E Skyhawk attack aircraft carrying a nuclear weapon fell into the sea off Japan from the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga.[3][4] The aircraft, pilot and weapon were never recovered.[5]
On 5 December 1965, 31 days after Ticonderoga's departure from U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines,[3] the attack jet was pushed backwards over the side, off the number 2 elevator during a training exercise while being rolled from the number 2 hangar bay to the elevator.[2] The pilot, Lieutenant (junior grade) Douglas M. Webster; the aircraft, Douglas A-4E BuNo 151022ofVA-56; and the B43 nuclear bomb were never recovered[6] from the 16,000 ft (4,900 m) depth.[citation needed] The accident was said to occur 68 miles (59 nmi; 109 km) from Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.[7]
Ticonderoga had aboard Carrier Air Wing Five during this cruise, with two squadrons of Skyhawks. The lost aircraft was part of Attack Squadron 56 (VA-56); VA-144 was the other.[8]
Though most sources state that a single weapon was involved, a document from Los Alamos National Lab indicates that two weapons were involved.[9]
It was not until 1989 that the United States Department of Defense revealed the proximity of the lost one-megaton H-bomb to Japanese territory.[10] The revelation inspired a diplomatic inquiry from Japan requesting details.[11]
The National Archives hold[s] deck logs for aircraft carriers for the Vietnam Conflict.
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Aviation accidents and incidents in 1965 (1965)
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|---|---|
Jan 4 Jan 16 Feb 6 Feb 8 Mar 7 Mar 8 Apr 14 British United Airways Flight 1030X May 5 May 20 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705 Jun 28 Jul 1 Continental Airlines Flight 12 Jul 6 Jul 8 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21 Jul 10 Jul 20 Cambrian Airways Liverpool crash Jul 23 Aug 16 Aug 24 Hong Kong US Marines KC-130F Crash Sep 17 Sep 19 Oct 20 Philippine Air Lines Flight 741 Nov 2 1965 Argentine Air Force C-54 disappearance Nov 8 Nov 11 Nov 11 Dec 4 Dec 5 | |
