The REAL Truth About Kara Hultgreen's F-14 Tomcat Mishap 

The best advice I ever got in VT-2 was: "It'll take 5 seconds to realize you have a problem. It'll take 5 seconds to BELIEVE you have a problem and it'll take 10 seconds to deal with the problem. In that third of a minute, you will be the first one to the crash site. Do your best to shorten the time involved."

Ward, I am a retired fighter plot with 24 years in the F106/F15 aircraft, and you just demonstrated the attitude, demeanor, and professionalism that is absolutely necessary to advance safety in flying aircraft, well done sir!

Excellent presentation!! My brother was an F4 pilot in Vietnam era. Later was flight instructor in Pensacola A salute to Lt. Robert M. Dallas (1944-2016)!

Flew with dad privately many times. Had 2 situations come up over the years with wind shear on landings.. watching him work it, and as fast as he did all that left me in awe. He was a navy aviator in his day

I feel I have just spent 15 minutes trying to memorize a procedure that under no foreseeable circumstance am I ever going to use. Still worth it.

Physics is unforgiving, I'm afraid, and the split second decision making required to fly these beasts is way beyond what is normally required of a human. In awe, I salute all of you.

Short version seems to be: you have about half a second to stop your natural reaction to what a close to stalling airplane is doing and follow that checklist, if you don’t you’re dead --no matter who’s at the stick. Great stories, Sir. I think this important work you are doing

I love simulators. From all the learning I did in 38 yrs of drawing a paycheck, the simulators led the way in prepared me for my one real emergency. Nice post. RIP.

Nobody should be upset by recording history accurately, especially if it can prevent mishaps in the future. Well done.

Firefighters have a similar saying: Every rule is there because somebody died.

Just saw this. I’m a retired Navy pilot and was flying during this time. Subsequently became a RAG skipper then operational CO. Very objective analysis, reasoning, and presentation of lessons learned. I second the fact that physics doesn’t care who you are. Great take-always and lessons learned. Hyjack, out….

Great video sir. I'm a retired RMCM '77. I am the father-in-law of a great Tomcat/Hornet driver (Rhino) who left us much too soon at age 57 due to cancer. I made the last westpac cruise on the old 27-Charlie carrier Hancock in '75 when we evacuated Cambodia and Saigon. It was a pitch dark night - no moon. I remember well the loss of the two Marine pilots flying plane guard duty as the big HM-53's were circling and off loading refugees. All I could see was their running lights. I was on the signal bridge with WO Ramsey when I saw their aircraft drop out of the circular formation and head toward the water at about a 45 degree angle. I said to Ramsey, "They are going down!" Then the bright flash. The two crewmen were thrown clear out the rear open hatch. Both had severe injuries but survived. I sent out the message stating, "Pilot space disorientation as the cause." After the evacuation ops we brought back aboard our fixed wing aircraft and did normal carrier ops with our A-4's and other aircraft. I was in the radio shack listening to the UHF flt ops radio when LTJG Bruce Carrier was lost. I shall never forget the long and valiant attempt by flt ops and our skipper, Capt. F. G. Fellowes to get LTJG Carrier back on board safely. It is a long story starting with the A-4 only able to lower one of its landing gear. The later loss of his refueling nozzle, ejection seat failure and eventually ordered to fly inverted level with no canopy and manually drop out of the aircraft. He went into a spiral dive the first attempt but regained control and went back up to about 10,000 feet and tried again. He again went into a spiral dive and crashed. The Golden Wrench Award was subsequently given in his honor. Lt CDR "Bug' Roach and I became great friends during that cruise along with ABCM Trueluck. We had a long talk about that loss. For example, a barrier arrested landing was disallowed by NATOPS because LTJG Carrier could not get his air speed down low enough. We tried several barrier landings and because of the one wheel down and the one wheel up the little A-4 became very unstable below about 160 kts. Trueluck said the barrier could have handled him at the higher speed but it would have violated the NATOPS Manual. But we will never know. As you probably know, we lost CDR John 'Bug' Roach in 1991 while flying his beloved A-4 off San Diego in 1991. Regarding the loss of Lt Kara Hultgreen; I was on the vanguard of bringing women aboard ship when I was a Senior Chief at FltTraGrp SDiego in the early 1970's. My 'ladies' and I were stopped at the quarter deck many times by the OOD who disallowed our boarding request. After reviewing their message traffic they found the message from higher authority allowing women to board. So I am aware of male sailors not being comfortable serving along side female sailors. I sincerely salute Officer Kara Hultgreen especially for her courage to carry out her duties under obvious stressful circumstances. May she rest in peace. We have the watch.

I was her Plane Capt when she was training at Kingsville Tx. She was highly motivated and always in good spirits. She followed all instructions and never rushed. I was torn up when I heard of what happened. She always told me she wanted Tomcats and she worked hard to earn it. RIP Kara

Army Aviation saying is “checklists are written in blood” good story and analysis.

First time viewer. Retired Air Traffic Controller (10 yr USAF; 24 yr FAA). I appreciate accurate and clearly expressed aviation-related content. Now a subscriber.

I watched this twice, the second time to pick up on your fair play speech style and pattern. factual, non judgmental, integrity, compassion, and honesty come to mind. qualities I admire and do not embody frequently enough. this is a acquired muscle memory of a quality instructor, coach and human being.

I’ll never forget what a wise old instructor once told me in the box a long time ago. He said there’s seldom a time in an airplane that dictates you must rush when faced with an abnormal or emergency situation so he gave me this one line which stuck to this day. He said: when the big loud bang happens…… take a deep breath, relax and enjoy your emergency.

Jim Powell here. I was an AQ attached to VF154 Black Knights during the Vietnam war. We flew F4 J’s during my time. I really appreciate how you described this unfortunate happening. I have seen many, many recoveries during my time in the Navy. I witnessed an A4 go in immediately after launch. In that case the pilot did not survive. It was about 2100 hours, the flight deck went into immediate recovery mode. Many on the flight deck were throwing there coned flashlights at the sinking plane and the chute of the pilot. The pilot was recovered attached to his chute, however, he did not survive. There is an empty feeling when that happens. It matters not what squadron you are from. As an AQ, my job was to give the crew a radar system that was in good working order, in case they needed it if enemy bogies would appear. That was a sad day for me. It happened over 50 years ago and I can still see that incident in my mind.

Mooch, as a civilian aviator it's my opinion that you honor Revlon's family by having the discussion we just had. All aviation accidents, incidents, and/or mishaps are never because of any 1 reason. A chain of events are always cause the error, injury, and unfortunately fatalities. In the civilian world, we always said the same thing: FAA regulations, or colloquially known as "The Regs" have been written in blood. It's a fact of flying. It's the inherent dangerous nature of a human being operating a human engineered and human built machine, airborne. Well done on your episode. I think you served Lt. Hultgreen and her reputation well.

Ward Carroll, for a simple monologue video it's obvious you still have a whole lot of wisdom to dispense. You flew the F14 for 17 years, and it is obvious why the Navy trusted your skill and experience for so long. You still have a lot of knowledge to give, not just about naval aviation but about life in general. Your videos are very good.

Ward, I got here while researching info about battleship broadsides. Don't know how but glad I did. I went from F-4Js then flew F-14As from 1973-1981, RAG instructor, LSO and Cag LSO. Absolutely best description and analysis of that mishap I have ever heard. Very sad whenever one of our fellow aviators are lost. As the old sign says, "aviation is not inherently dangerous, but it is very unforgiving."

I was on deck when this happened and remember it all of the time.

I served on the enterprise 98-00 as a AO, desert fox- kosovo and I love this channel, thank you it brings back those awesome memories serving on a carrier. Also I remember women pilots on board and even integrated into the Aos, awesomeness. Please keep it going, love it!!!!! Much love, daydreams, and smiles.

I'm enlisted aircrew in the Air Force. I appreciate the maturity and professionalism you brought to all the aspects of this topic. I wish more leaders in and out of the military could handle such subjects as well as you did. We need to always demistify mishaps.

That was one of the most fair, level headed, passionate coverage of a tragic loss but what it takes for the bad situation NOT to become tragic. Thank you so much for that coverage. (I say coverage because it did....cover....and was NOT mere content) I say this with tears in my eyes. It's a very good tear.

That video sent chills down my spine. It was like watching an exact rerun from more than 60 years ago when I watched an FJ-4B coming in too low; it followed that exact same trajectory into the ocean. Unfortunately, there were no zero zero ejection seats in those days. Not all flight deck level crashes ended disastrously though. I did watch as an F8U, coming in too low, sheared off its landing gear at the ramp. He scraped along the deck with fire shooting out from under, then, just at the right time, where the angle deck stopped, he hit afterburner where he was able to climb to sufficient elevation to eject. On ejecting, his chute opened, and he was able to parachute safety into the drink along side the ship.

Marine helicopter pilot here. I wasn’t good enough for jets. I’m 66 and was good enough at my skills to survive everything. God bless all Naval Aviators😊

Ray Morrison I was a LSO spotter on CVA-64 from 1966 to 1968, Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club. Very well described and good description of Kara Hultgren's F-14 Tomcat Mishap. Witnessed 16+ accidents while on the Connie. Was out their for the Oriskany and Forrestal fires. I've loved watches lots of your video's, Thankyou . . . .

This was one of the first hard lessons I learned while flying. I held a stall deeper than I was supposed to, and as a wing dropped, I corrected with stick only. Before I knew what was happening I was entering a spin and my instructor had to take over. If had done that on final, I would have been dead.

Sir, thanks for the video. I'm a retired YNC(SW/AW) and one of my duty stations was at VT-25 in Beeville, TX. At that time, I was the operations yeoman and calculated/logged all the flight training books/flight logs. I was there when Kara was a student and got to know her professionally. She was a really wonderful person and so excited about her future as a pilot. Thanks for the great video. RIP Kara.

My dad was a Rio on F-4s and F-14s and CO of the Diamondbacks. We Talked about this a while back and he felt bad for her family because he felt she was pushed through and if she was assigned a different plane, she likely would have had an outstanding career.

I was in the airwing and on the ship when this happened. I was in VF-114, VF-213s "sister squadron" a couple years before. I heard a lot of talk of her being pushed through and the ending was very unfortunate.

"Air safety improves one crash at a time."

In my 20 years in the Navy, I always hated "qual quotas" because they were, by definition, outcome-driven. When the normal attrition rate in training is, for the sake of argument, 50%, only the top half of the candidates will qualify. When the quote is higher than 50% of your trainees in the pipeline, you can see how some candidates will qualify even when, statistically speaking, they would not objectively meet standards. I retired in 2002, so I'll imagine it's worse today.

@16:30 is the sum of this entire story regarding the facts. The solution to this known aircraft situation was established and trained for. The problem lies with whether the student learned those lessons.

Great Channel, I just subscribed. I'm an aviation enthusiast and son of a Vietnam Vet so I was raised with a healthy knowledge and interest in all things military. You really explain the intensely complex skills and knowledge that a pilot has to have to fly military aircraft.

You are incredibly articulate and I learned a lot from watching this. Excellent!

I met Kara a few months before her mishap at Carey Lohrenz’s wedding, which I stood up in. Carey’s husband (Marine Hornet guy) was my roommate in college and the best man at my wedding.

Ward - I took the first and several classes in the F-14 to the boat in VF-124 as the squadron LSO. For the first two classes, I was part of the problem. Coming from the oldest F-4j’s in the Navy that came aboard at 152 or greater I was concerned about the 7 knots for DLC. I had people carrier qualifying without it. The problem is without DLC, every lateral stick input produced adverse yaw and the F-14A was hard to fly. After we introduced DLC for every carrier pass the F-14A was easy to bring aboard the ship. If you got a little fast, down DLC and a little back stick got you back on speed. High or flat at the ramp, down DLC would get you aboard. After my time in the RAG I was CAG 9 LSO and saw thousands of F-14 landings that were easily done with DLC. And remember, the F-14 ( like the A-6 ) was a Grumman airplane, you could pick it up 3 stories and drop it and it would squat and go on its way. Two final notes - VF 1 and 2 did their first cruise without DLC - no landing accidents I am aware of now. There is no final Naval Officer than Tom Sobieck. Twice Admiral Bowman took him off the promotion list illegally to please Congress. Bowman was angling for Rickover’s 4 Star job which he got. Someone should at least set the record straight. Finally, the one thing that remains unresolved is - she overshot and it looks like she was correcting to centerline with the rudder vice dropping dropping her wing as she should have. Could she have blanked the left engine? It is Memorial Day tomorrow and bless her, but I do think she could have been taught better. Captain Dutch Vandivort 858-774-4809 ( but I don’t pick up unless your phone identifies you).

Outstanding, professional presentation Ward. I flew FJ4B's, F9F-8's and A4's 1956-1964, watching your presentation actually increased my heart rate after all these years! After 68 years as an active pilot my four years of deployments on Ranger, Oriskany and Lexington, based out of NAS Miramar, plus three years as a RAG instructdor, were the high point of all my flying including 31 years of airline flying through the B 747's. Outstanding presentations, I enjoy them all. Keep it up, you are appreciated.

I distinctly remembered this tragic event.....ships company, IM4 division. Went up to the crows nest to observe flight ops as a way of getting some whoosa time from work. Unfortunately saw all this happen, and just couldn’t believe how it all was over so quickly. May she Rest In Peace 😕🙏🙏⚓️

It was 1980. We were on Gonzo Station. It was a perfect morning for ops. I was in the waist bubble. I just got to the ship via a supplier USS MARS. I was getting a first hand look at flight ops, since I was assigned to the V2 dept. It happened exactly how this guy described it. They didn't even look for the guys. The Air Boss was screaming at everyone to get back to their stations. I'm 62 years old now and I'm not ashamed to admit it brought tears to my eyes. It happened so quick. That was the first of a few that I witnessed. Not always the Hollywood version. It's great that they study each incident so detailed to learn from it. Sometimes it's easy to play Monday morning QB though. Just my right to say. What I saw was the TOMCAT'S STARBOARD ENGINE FOD out. When it cleared the cat the aft section dropped down putting it into a full on stall attitude. It hesitated for just a couple seconds then rolled quick. The guys ejected at about the 4 O' CLOCK POSITION, With their rockets burning. To my knowledge, they were not recovered. Suddenly the Navy was more than just an adventure.

Loved the explanation of the difference between an accident and a mishap. You nailed it, brother!

Your exploration of timely topics is always on point and well and balanced. You are among the very best on the web.thank you from a former army ground pounder and key hole peeper.

Ward, I lost my right engine off the cat on the Connie. The thing that kept me out of the water was AOA below 14 units and no lateral stick. Had full opp rudder and still went off like a frisbi ( full zone 5)One thing I did and was prepared for was accepting a settle without yanking back on the pole. Cheers.

"Every outcome has a chain of events that explains how some things happened." This is true for every incident involving a plane. It is a chain of events. It starts before the plane begins its takeoff. As an accident investigator for 25 years of working for the civil side of things via the NTSB, this has been true for every accident, incident, or crash, I have investigated. Usually, one thing affects another, which affects another, etc., etc...

Mooch, I'm commenting on the first F14 mishap that you described with subsequent NATOPS procedures. I was driving an A6E located right behind the JBD when my friend Jack (Last name will be omitted for privacy) lost control of his F14. Just as the F14 went down the stroke, #2 had a burner can blow out. The rest happened exactly as you described. Jack reefed the nose up departing the plane and it rolled rapidly to the right. The canopy came off about 90 degree's and because of the rapid roll rate, they ejected straight down into the water. There was a great splash in front of the ship (USS Nimitz) and we rolled right over them. The JBD went down and they were directing me onto the CAT. My knee's were shaking. I was a nugget and pretty shaken up. I said to my B/N, "Aren't they going to stop flight ops? What about search and rescue?" My Beener replied "Shit happens. You are in the big leagues now. Concentrate on your job." Little did I know, this was one of many friends of mine who would buy the farm over the next few years. As you know, we have survived a tough business. In regards to Lt Kara Hultgreen mishap. It's late and I didn't watch your entire video. I'm a former LSO and, if I remember right, the controlling LSO's frantically were waving her off. She did not respond to any of their calls. I am a former GA, military and Part 121 instructor and on occasion, I have seen this type of reaction / behavior. It's usually caused by someone who is totally overwhelmed by the circumstances. They are so absorbed by the situation they literally do not hear or see anything going on around them. On a couple of occasions, I had a crew member (B/N and a B737 co-pilot) totally zone out during an emergency situation. They were in a paralyzed comatose state. It was really freaky to witness.

Sir, I just found your channel. I set notifications to alert me to future podcasts. I can only echo many of the comments here - excellent, professional breakdown of the crash and background behind it. Thank you for your Service, Sir.

@ 16:45 "If you don't LEARN from THAT mishap, you're likely to REPEAT the mistake again..." Goes for all of us -- and in every facet of our life/lives.

I was on board the 72 when this happened. A very sad day at sea for us all that day. We were glad to hear at least one of them made it home.

Excellent presentation- this reasserts what is known about training- you train until you dont have to think about it, you just do it. Always horrible to lose an aviator,hopefully this assisted in training others at the time.

1st time viewer. Loved it. Fascinating. Could watch and listen and learn all day. Thank you.

I served with her. Sending her up in a tomcat without meeting testing requirements was simply reckless. Just because you can drive a Volkswagen doesn't mean you can drive a Ferrari. Sometimes you have to be told No for your own good.

Kara was a pilot in my squadron, VF-213 after I left my F-14 pilot assignment there. I never met her, but I did speak with some crew members that flew with her at the VF-124 "RAG" (training squadron at NAS Miramar). She had a lot of training problems there and probably shouldn't have been pushed through the program like she was. This buddy of mine was a RIO RAG instructor at VF-124 and he flew with Kara quite a few times, so his assessment was from his own experience and perhaps bias. We may never know. She had a tendency to overshoot the wake and stuff rudder in to make the turn. This could have caused the compressor stall. Even so, it's not a big deal as the F-14 at landing weights coming onto the ship should easily be able to recover with a single engine "go around". Not sure what all the circumstances were, but I can tell you that making her look bad wasn't going to happen for political reasons. Just saying.....

Thank you for your service sir ! I’m certain you enjoyed the job that I would love to have had, flying the Tomcat for so many years. Thanks for the excellent description of her mishap. First time visiting your channel and new subscriber.

Great video and thanks for sharing this mishap in such professional detail.

Retired Aviation FA18 Hornets for over 26 plus years. I was in the hangar where two men ejected themselves into the hangar bay. I was there when we had a mid air collision and the only man to land an FA18 hornet with no hydraulic systems and landed purely on IFR. These aircraft do not discriminate and they will pull crazy in a split second. They used to show us her crash video to demonstrate what not to do during aircraft carrier mishaps. Back then there was a deep push to get women trained. and also there was a deep push to get us put out..as in we did not belong..I remember being told I dont belong..but I never listened. We can all learn from mishaps..even the most seasoned experienced pilots can be put in situations that could make the aircraft unrecoverable. I will be the first to tell anyone this is not for everyone you have to be extremely passionate about doing it and wanting to fly these jets because the required training will take you beyond your limits. My first training jet an A7, then an F14 and then and FA18 I have 7 different platforms that I qualified on..it is unforgiving..you have to know the books you have to know the training and you do not get in that Jet unless you meet those requirements. Thank you so much for a great podcast on this and safety training and flight training. The Navy owes you my friend.

as a former Air Force Instructor Pilot in multiple aircraft, I find Ward's knowledge impeccable.

Thank you for analyzing this incident so professionally and objectively, there are definitely some hard lessons that can be learned from this incident. It was interesting to get a look into the F-14 and it's procedures and humbling to remember that even highly trained pilots make mistakes. Also I may have clicked due to the footage of the 2010 CF-18 Demo Team crash in my home town Lethbridge Alberta when Capt. Brian Bews experienced a stuck piston causing his right engine to idle as he initiated a high alpha pass for an airshow.

Those pre-digital fly-by-wire days were so difficult. You could do what your reflexes told you to do, and still get an adverse result. So much respect for the pilots of that era. Question: Did the pilots of that day have as much simulator time practicing engine out emergencies as today? It also makes me so amazed that today's flight control systems can move the control surfaces in such a way as to counteract all the adverse yaws and pitches and oscillations throughout the entire envelope of the aircraft. What a programming nightmare. No wonder the refinement of the flight control software takes so long. And then you get those stupid news stories when your version A flight controls aren't as good as a legacy fighter on Block 60. So sad that we have lost so many crews doing the dangerous job of flying high performance aircraft.

I've heard from a veteran pilot that landing an aircraft on a carrier at night is one of the most difficult things to accomplish in aviation.

Hi Ward, thank you for this vid and your channel. I'm a civilian and not even a pilot, but I have great reverence for what you and your fellow aviators in the Navy and elsewhere do for our country. Thank you! This was very informative and interesting. RIP Kara Hultgreen.

Thanks for taking the time to explain --- I'm a retired Army Pilot --- glad I got to view your video - Thanks again --

I was an Air Force IP and safety investigator and it is very unfair to have a simulation where the team knows exactly what is coming vs a real life instantaneous failure with fractions of seconds to respond correctly. Bold face is a huge help, but if the worst case situation occurs at the worst moment, we all learn we are mere humans.

I remember this mishap. I was stationed in San Diego at the time at Point Loma. While I did hear a lot of comments about her flying the Tomcat, what I didn't hear was that she crashed because she was a woman. What I most remember was several senior officers commenting that the Navy was pushing too fast for the integration of female fighter pilots and that mishaps like this happen when a program is pushed too hard and too fast. Even before the investigations results came out there people saying that it wouldn't have happened if they'd given her more time. Time to learn the aircraft and the procedures. Thank you Ward for your completely factual explanation and leaving the politics out of it, as it should be. I was lucky enough during my service to never have been involved in a mishap, though I met a few who had. Hearing from them, and what they'd gone through after the fact, was a very pointed lesson.

In B-52s, I flew as an EW. The gunner and I had an agreement; if you go, I go; if I go, you go. We would get our stories straight later. There were five times we both thought about punching. Did not have to, but it was close. Good analysis.

Informative and on point the whole way through, excellent report.

I am so impressed by the way you discuss this topic: Unemotionally, respectfully, and truthfully. You seem like a very remarkable guy and you have my respect!

I need to move that coaster back fully on the table.

Listening to you makes me feel like I'm in college again being instructed by someone who really knows what they are talking about. Mostly over my head, but I do feel smarter.

I love your videos. I am an Air Force brat and was wanting to enter the Navy as an aviator. The geek in me at first, when you brought out the training aid, I thought about Robotech/Macross and had a moment of giddy.

I always wondered what causes the Roll Reversal in the Tomcat when you add lateral stick during high AOAs. I know that in typical aircraft they are caused by the downward deflected aileron being more exposed to the airstream than the upward deflected aileron. But in the Tomcat, there are no ailerons. There are spoilerons. And they are blocked by the wings during high AOAs. So is it the elevons?

Thx Ward ! You remind me of all the hours I spent watching recovery of Tomcats while in all weather conditions at night aboard USS Ranger. I was constantly amazed at Cats hitting precisely on the wire for a purrfect arrest. When we had pea soup for night recovery's one night , I watched the flights as usual from the observation deck & glad I did not have a weak bladder .......... Pilots constantly made me stare in awe at the precision while unable to see much thru the pea soup . Last time I watched in the soup & all had come home safely , I went through Officers Country pretending I was going to check on my radars But I made sure I thanked the pilots I saw that were whiter in the face than my best bedsheets . Last one I saw quit looking dead in the eyes after I thanked him for an excellent recovery ......... he never said a thing 'cept his eye's came alive again & that said enough for me ...... I still don't know how Seals & Pilots stay so silent moving , when they have those Big Brass Ones ........ why don't they Clank ? ?

I remember when this happened while on active duty. I was an AG2 stationed in Kings Bay, GA. When the story aired a lot of us thought it was weather related. Usually when there’s flight mishaps investigators immediately called the WX office. We later learned the ‘truth’ so to say. But I’ve NEVER heard an in-depth analysis such as this; it clears up a lot of confusion. Well done❗️❗️❗️

Told straight up... These lessons can be applied everywhere. Thanks Mr Carroll.

Thank you for such a sober and instructional video. My wife's late father was a US Navy pilot and had a total engine failure of his F3 Demon right after takeoff from Cecil Field. Crashed into a forest but walked away - a real miracle. Ended up flying the RA-5C Vigilante as CO off carriers during Vietnam. He did not like trying to land that thing on a carrier. RIP to him and Kara.

That developed quickly!...stalls and falls...use of rudder at high aoa...thanks for posting. Jb.

When I see Ward upload a video, I feel like I used to waking up on Christmas morning.

I remember that accident. So very sad! Thanks for explaining it.

I was a Lincoln sailor in the CVIC when this happened. Losing an aircrew is always hard but this one really tore everything apart. Integrating the ships crew was difficult enough. With all the accusations made about integrating female crew it was a very hard time after. I'm proud of my Navy for the strides it's made since then. V/r, ISC (PJ) Ret

I think i was there for the A6 ejection. It was on the USS America during desert storm. One of the aircrew went in the water. The Other was being dragged down the deck we jumped in his Chute. I was an AE with VF-33.

Ward, I appreciate the video. You barely touched on the politics at the time for big brass Navy to insist two female pilots were in each squadron for that cruise. Kara had more downs than any pilot in VF-124 and still managed to "graduate" to a fleet squadron. That was really the issue. With a tour flying the A-6 at Key West, she should have been able to fly the F-14 competently at the boat. Passing her on to the fleet F-14 squadron is what got her killed.

Ward, I was a guitarist for 45 years. I can see you love the guitar also. Have a great day sir!

OUTSTANDING POST ON ALL LEVELS!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE WARD!!!🙏👌

First time watching. As a nonpilot citizen civilian this elevated my already very high regard for military pilots. Skills, training, instant response, risk, dedication, all of it and ground crew. Thank you all.

I'm a retired Senior Chief Avionics Technician with several, including the maiden workups/deployment on the Lincoln. I remember the integration of females flying the 14 and this incident, and while not on the Abe when it happened, I do remember this being a huge talking point/discussion around the Mess. I've heard rumors, speculation, aka 'Scuttlebutt' around what had happened and had always wondered the exact details surrounding the incident. I just want to say thank you for the honest and unbiased editorial on the event. Love the channel. Thanks.

Good Presentation. Ejection seats are scary until they are safed I was taught to carry a vice grip to use as part of the emergency safing procedure.

I remember reading about this from the excellent book "Bogeys and Bandits" by Robert Gandt; but hearing what exactly happened is truly enlightening. Thank you.

I have to say, the detailed information you give as someone who was there throughout this history is pretty great. Your presentation style is great, just sitting there talking right to us in relaxed fashion.

Thanks for the clear, understandable description of this tragic incident. In her life, Kara served well. And in her death she provided an amazing teaching point for ALL future F-14 pilots. God bless all of our military personnel for their dedicated service.

I read a review of the accident. The pilot was rated "average" based on her landing scores on this cruise. It was noted she had a frequent tendency to over shoot the line up when turning base to final. It was written she did this again on this approach and yawed the nose to try to intercept the glidepath, and in doing so, she disrupted airflow over the yawned nose and compressor stalled the left engine. Then the events occurred as you describe. What you omitted was the finding her poor airmanship caused the stall ... at least that's what I read...

Thank you for your videos. Unfortunately, a lot of people and planes were lost to get to our present state in aviation.

Guy is waving a Tomcat at me with a Rickenbacker and a Gibson peeping in the back, next to the Marshall stack and the Abbey Road pictures. Fastest subscribe in YT history!

Sad day for me. I was running 13A, Life Support shop, and was getting my tool boxes inspected for pre cruise inspection when I heard that on the PLAT. She was one of mine. Then later, the Nashville crash. LCDR Bates and Lt. Higgins both died. I was on the reclamation team for that. That was a hard sea tour for all of us who were in VF-213

My Son is a CH-47 Pilot and I thought this was very Informative. Thank You Sir.

I was in a Beatles tribute band for 22 years, I appreciate your content and the wall art!.......cheers....

Your video reminds me of of one my many epiphany moments during training, "Remember, the only control surface not affected by AOA is the rudder! USE IT!

That LINCOLN crash was one of my last carrier deployments of my career. I've seen the videos many times since then but this is the first time I seen a proper incident breakdown from a TOMCAT driver's perspective. Thank you very much for that. I was a Navy Nuke and I have taught everywhere, inside and outside of the community and even since retiring ,that there are no accidents. Only unfortunate outcomes from acquired bad practices.

Enjoyed the video, especially the vignette I was in. I was #3 out of the EA-6B on the America. Like your work, so I'm going to watch more of it. Thanks.

Great video, thanks for making it. RIP Kara.