Re: Lost another Seawolf and LIFE Member in Illinois

Posted by CDRMB on
URL: http://navy-seawolves.73.s1.nabble.com/Lost-another-Seawolf-and-LIFE-Member-in-Illinois-tp7813p7814.html

Dan - I was flying the HS-7 plane guard that night when the VA-75 skipper and Grady Jackson crashed.  My copilot and crew were Charlie Andrews, POs Dick Mooberry and Charlie Aklin (swimmer).  Saratoga was well into the deployment and the launch was a midnight scramble to attack a convoy coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  CDR Ernst's A-6 was the first bird off the starboard bow cat.

We had just finished checking out the auto approach/hover system and were hovering on the starboard quarter waiting for the first bird.  We knew what the normal night launch looked like in terms of the attitudes of the anti-collision lights when the stiff wingers went off the bow...normally a relatively flat climb out.  In this case, the lights did a very vertical pitch up immediately followed by a flash off the starboard side. I called the tower and asked if they had a plane in the water before they had a chance to call us and tower confirmed an A-6 in the water.

We flew over to the general area, went into a hover and turned on the landing lights to help our rescue crewmen find any survivors.  After a few minutes, the rescue crew sighted one and Charlie Aklin was lowered into the water to help him (Jackson) into the rescue sling and into the helo.  We continued to look for the second A-6 crewman (Ernst) and called the tower to get a second helo to assist in the search.  In the end, we we were not able to find CDR Ernst, just his flight helmet.

The accident investigation later determined that the A-6 was undergoing maintenance on the big TV screen used to fly low level.  In the chaos of the scramble, it was not secured and on launch, came back forcing the stick into Ernst's lap resulting in the vertical pitch up off the cat.  Jackson said Ernst was trying to right the bird but to no avail and did not eject.  He left a wife and children.  Just one of many tragedies in the war.