A-4C Skyhawk Crash Site

December 31st 2018





Summery :

 The Douglas A-4C is night/adverse weather capable version of A-4 Skyhawk lightweight attack aircraft for US Navy and Marine Co.
This US Marine Co. A-4C (#148474) was belonged to VMAT-102 and stationed Yuma, Arizona.
On April 24, 1969, a student pilot Lt. Graham E. Tharp experienced his aircraft flamed out during the flight.
After unsuccessful attempts to restart the engine, the instructor advised him to eject.
He made an attempt to eject, but nothing happened. It seems the bottle on the side of the canopy bungee was empty.
Then he tried the canopy ejection handle and the manual seat separate handle to bail out, but both failed too.
At about 8,000 feet MSL the canopy separated from the aircraft, but he was too low to bail out.
As he was quickly losing altitude, he has decided to set the plane belly landing down in the open desert.
The crash shock made the seat ejected. Unfortunately he didn't make it since he wasn't attached to the seat.


    
Description



Manufacturer:
McDonnell Douglas
Base model:
A-4
Version:
C
Nickname:
Skyhawk
Designation System:
U.S. Navy
Designation Period:
1956-2003 (U.S.Navy)
Basic role:
Lightweight Attack
Serial Number:
148474
Crash Date:
1969/4/23
Cause of Crash:
Engine Failure
Fatalities:
1




Specifications



Length:
41'3"" 12.6 m
Height:
15'" 4.6 m
Wingspan:
27'6"" 8.4 m
Wingarea:
259.0 sq ft 24.2 sq m
Empty Weight:
10,450 lb 4,750 kg
Gross Weight:
18,300 lb 8,318





Propulsion



No. of Engines:
1
Powerplant:
Pratt & Whitney J52-P408 turbojet
Thrust:
11,200 lb





Performance



Max Speed:
645 mph 1,038 km/h 560 kt
Ceiling:
38,698 ft 11,795 m


    
Other A-4 Link :
 Wikipedia Link : McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
    



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