Date December 5, 1965 | Summary Pre-flight human error | |
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Fatalities Pilot (LTJG Douglas M. Webster) Operator Attack Squadron VA-56Carrier Air Wing Five | ||
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 from the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga.
Contents
The accident
On 5 December 1965, 31 days after Ticonderoga's departure from U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines, the attack jet fell over the side during a training exercise while being rolled from the number 2 hangar bay to the number 2 elevator. The pilot, Lieutenant (junior grade) Douglas M. Webster; the aircraft, Douglas A-4E BuNo 151022 of Attack Squadron 56 (VA-56); and the B43 nuclear bomb were never recovered from the 16,000 ft (4,900 m) depth. The accident occurred 80 miles (130 km) from Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
Ticonderoga had aboard Carrier Air Wing Five during this cruise, with two squadrons of Skyhawks, the other being VA-144.
Revelation
It was not until 1989 that the Pentagon revealed the loss of the one-megaton bomb. The revelation inspired a diplomatic inquiry from Japan requesting details.