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Accident & Crash Reports '95 - '99

Accidents & Crashes listed by date:

1970 - 1974 | 1975 - 1979 | 1980 - 1984 | 1985 - 1989 | 1990 - 1994 | 1995 - 1999

BuNo	Type	Unit	Modex #	Date
?	F-14D	VF-31		13.01.1995
	The two F-14Ds collided over the Pacific Ocean some 60 miles southwest of San Diego forcing all four crew members to eject from their aircraft. All four were rescued.
?	F-14A	VF-14		23.03.1995
	The a/c crashed about 75 miles off the coast of Virginia while conducting a routine training mission. The 2 crewmembers were rescued.
?	F-14A	VF-213		23.04.1995
	The F-14A, deployed aboard USS Abraham Lincoln, crashed in the Pacific Ocean. Both crew members ejected successfully and were rescued uninjured.
?	F-14A	VF-21		18.04.1995
	Two VF-21 aviators ejected from their F-14A aboard USS Independence whem the nose wheel slipped off the port side of the flight deck as they were taxiing inot position for launch. Both crew members were rescued uninjured. The F-14 was recovered from the edge with only minor damage.
?	F-14A	VF-213		20.09.1995
	A/C crashed during routine training operations about 55 miles from USS Abraham Lincoln, which was 800 miles west of Guam at the time. Both crew member were rescued.
?	F-14A	VF-213		29.01.1996
	The Black Lions F-14 crashed in a suburban area near Nashville, Tenn. The Tomcat had just taken off from the Air National Guard's Berry Field for its return to NAS Miramar, as part of a routine airways navigation training flight. Both crew members plus three more civilians on the ground were killed.
?	F-14D	VF-11		18.02.1996
	The F-14D crashed in the Pacific Ocean about 120 miles off the California coast during operations with USS Carl Vinson. Both crew members were killed in the crash.
?	F-14A	VF-24		22.02.1996
	While flying from USS Nimitz, the F-14A crashed in international waters during flight operations in the northern Persian Gulf. Both crew members were rescued with only minor injuries.
?	F-14B	VF-101		17.04.1996
	The VF-101 F-14B crashed in a heavily wooded area south of NAS Oceana while returning from a routine reconnaisance training mission. Pilot and RIO were rescued.
?	F-14A	VF-154		18.05.1996
	A/C crashed in the Pacific Ocean about 500 miles west of Guam after suffering an engine malfunction. Both crew members ejected safely.
?	F-14			1996
	The following happened during carrier air wing training. The weather during this night recovery training was bad and deteriorated quickly. It became so bad, that incoming aircraft had problems finding the ship. The involved F-14 began its first approach at a fuel state of 7,500 pounds. The first pass was a large overshoot and was waved off. On the second approach, the crew called the "tanker state" and was waved off again and headed for the waiting A-6 tanker. Due to the bad weather, the joinup with the A-6 occured some 60 miles away from the carrier, where clouds broke up and both aircraft were going in and out of dense rain clouds. After plugging, the F-14 crew waited for the green light to confirm the A-6's buddy store was working. Fuel state was now down to 2,100 pounds. The nearest divert airfiled was 230 miles away, so the only option was to land on the carrier. The F-14 engaged multiple times the tanker's buddy store in case it was a temporary F-14 refuelling probe problem. Which is wasn't. Having confirmed this, the crew called the carrier to launch an alert tanker ... But unfortunately the alert tanker had shut down already! It would take some 15 minutes to restart and launch the KA-6 tanker. Fuel state was at 1,200 pounds. The F-14 continued towards the carrier to expedite the rendevouz with the alert tanker. The tanker launched earlier than expected and joined up with the F-14. Both were flying in and out of clouds with thunderstorms. As the F-14 pilot passed the lead to the tanker, lightning struck both aircraft. As vision returned to the F-14 pilot, the fuel state was down to a mere 800 pounds and finally the tanker was visible in the clouds. The F-14 closed in on the tanker but lost sight again in the thick clouds. Fuel state was down below 600 pounds. When the clouds broke up again, the tanker was right ahead of the Tomcat and the basket was close to the refuelling probe. Ten more seconds and they would be receiving fuel from the tanker. But then due to a lack of remaining fuel the F-14 engines flamed out, one after the other. The F-14 was lost. There was not a lot left to do: After a position call, the crew punched out and was rescued by helicopter after an hour in the water.
?	F-14A	VF-201	"AF113"	1996
	Immediately after a touchand-go during an FCLP (Field Carrier Landing Practice) hop from NAS Dallas, Tower told Hunter 113, "You've lost your mainmount!" LCDR Hodge (RIO) asked LT Hume (pilot) to check the hydraulics, which were holding steady at 3,000 psi. They also had 7,000 pounds of fuel, giving them time to consider their options. The crew decided to fly to a local field with the widest runway. They asked for an LSO and had their short-field arresting gear derigged. Overhead Fort Worth, they discussed the best configuration and potential landing problems. The LSOs arrived on station and suggested the F-14 crew burn down their fuel to 1,500 pounds. LCDR Hodge and LT Hume agreed to try landing on the far right edge of the runway with a minimum sink rate. They would hold the left stub off the runway as long as they could. LT Hume would engage nosewheel steering after touchdown and try to compensate for the anticipated left drift. The crew flew a flat, low-sink-rate approach, landing precisely on the right runway-edge line, holding the left stub off. After the stub touched down, the aircraft began pulling let, but LT Hume countered with nosewheel steering. The Tomcat stopped 5,000 feet down hte runway with minimal damage. Inspection revealed a failed inner-wheel bearing, which allowed the tire to separate from the main-landing gear strut.
?	F-14B	VF-143		12.08.1997
	The pilot of the F-14 was accidentally ejected from the aircraft during a landing aboard USS John C. Stennis. He was recovered from the water by helicopter. Stennis personnel rescued the RIO from the pilotless aircraft as it sat on the flight deck with engines still running.
?	F-14	VF-101		02.10.1997
	The F-14 crashed off the coast of North Carolina. The RIO was rescued unhurt by helicopter, the pilot was not found.
?	F-14B	VF-102		21.05.1998
	The two-man crew of the Tomcat ejected safely after take-off from MCAS New River, N.C.
?	F-14	NAWC		06.07.1998
	The aircraft crashed at NAS Fallon, both aircrewmen ejected safely.
?	F-14B	VF-103		31.07.1998
	Two F-14Bs operating from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower collided over the Mediterranean Sea. The crew of one F-14 ejected over water, injuring the RIO and killing the pilot. The other F-14 returned safely to USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
?	F-14B	VF-32		08.08.1998
	The F-14, operating from USS Enterprise, went down in the Atlantic Ocean near the Virgin Islands. Pilot and RIO ejected safely and were recovered by USS Thorn.
?	F-14D			1998
	A section of F-14Ds was on a "photoex," taking pictures of each other. A goal was to photograph the underside of a fully loaded Tomcat in vertical flight. The aircraft maneuvered in close formation and entered vertical flight with a 3.5 to 4.0 G pull. While the lead F-14 maintained a steady pull, the wingman maneuvered to take the photo. In vertical disposition, the lead F-14 rolled 90 degrees with the wingmand close aboard. Then, the formation pulled into a loop culminated by a vertical fan break with 90 degrees difference in heading at the maneuver exit. Following this successful maneuver, the flight made a second attempt. But this time the leader pulled up with only 3.0 to 3.5 Gs. This resulted in a slower airspeed at the top, which created a proverse yawing tendency. The wingman had maneuvered inside and under the leader, who executed an oblique pull over the top, aggravated by the proverse yaw. This shifted his aircraft right into the wingmans's. A catastrophic collision occured with the lead F-14 inverted and 40 degrees out of the vertical. Both aircraft became uncontrollable after impact. All four crew members ejected successfully.
?	F-14A	VF-154		15.05.1999
	A/C was lost following a mechanical emergency while operating from USS Kitty Hawk in the Arabian Sea. Both aircrewmen ejected safely.

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