The Real Truth About the A-6 Intruder Partial Ejection 

Everytime I see or read about this incident, I'm astounded that it ended so well. Kudos to all involved!

Listen to how calm Nasty is under pressure! Remarkable self control. Exactly the kind of guy you want in that kind of a situation

I was the LPO of the EOD Det On that cruise. We got the call on the incident from the Air Boss to prepare a response. ??? I briefed the team, pulled the pub on the Martin Baker seat (micro fitch), and called the maintenance chief to send us their best seat guy. Two of my guys went to work on an RSP (render safe procedure) while my OIC went to the Air Boss, and I went to the flight deck to brief the crash crew. As I got there, a corpsman showed up, and we worked up how to respond to a successful trap. This all in less than 15 minutes. I went to flight deck control to brief the Handler, on the plan. He called the air boss and unless they had a better plan, this was what was going to happen. The seat. During the negative g maneuver, the part that holds the seat in place failed. The seat started to rise on its rail. The lanyard that functions the droug (sic) gun did its thing and punched through the canopy. The droug chute did its job and puled the main chute out. That inflated and blew up fouling the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. The BN did not go for the long ride because the chut (main) caused the seat to cock reward and jam in place. None of the other explosive devices functioned. Most importantly the seat gun (moves the seat out of the cockpit) and the rocket motor which does the rest. Most importantly, if the pilot needed to eject, he would have to go through the canopy. The plan. When the plane traps, the plane capitan holds the plane where it stops, chocks and chains. Shut down engines. Crash crew moves in and cuts the BN from his harness. Cervical collar goes on, and out he goes into a stokes litter, the medics take over. A tug moves in and hooks up, chocks and chains come off, and the plane moves to the dearm area. The pilot stays in the plane. Ejection of the canopy moves it to the rear instead of up. Opps. There is a seat in the way. Pilot briefed to eject though the canopy is bad things happen. What might that be? who the hell knows. we're winging it the whole time. Back to the seat. My guys are going to conduct an untested RSP. All RSPs are classified. 1. Safe the seat gun 2. Safe the rocket motor. Keven McAfee, is my go-to guy. He climbs onto the canopy and goes headfirst to gain access to the underside of the seat. I read the procedures and pass tools. The pilot just hangs out. Naps, hail Mary's, who knows, we were busy. Step one complete. "Kev, you ok to continue?". " Pulling me out is a bad idea." Step 2 complete. Keven, " Miller time, but you'll have to pull me out." I bought the beer in Singapore. Next morning I'm headed to the shop when see this guy walking towards me, the looks like he went 1 round with Mike Tyson. It's LT Gallagher. "Good morning sir, Happy birthday". Thomas Foster HTC (EOD) (Ret).

Mark Baden (callsign Master) and I flew together as instructors in VT-7 in 92-93 and I got to hear about this incident first hand. Just an amazing piece of flying and coordination from both the pilot and LSO. Bravo Zulu!

This day still haunts me. I was a young ‘Aardvark’ Avionics tech on the flight deck that day. It all happened so quick! Within like a minute, planes were moved out of the landing area and the ship was turned. He was right there, so close that I could instantly see Lt Gallagher sticking out of the canopy as the plane approached the ship. The way he flopped in the wind, I thought he was dead. It was a miracle that the jagged glass of the canopy didn’t cut him in half! But the man upstairs was looking out for him that day. His parachute had wrapped around the tail, keeping his body from moving forward and probably saved his life. Watching that changed me forever.

One of the most amazing parts of this story is how cool & professional the communications sound. Just amazing work in a high stress situation.

Lt. Gallagher's humor in the face of such a harrowing near death experience epitomizes the character of military aviators. I salute you, sir! 🙋‍♂

I was there... I was the operator of the P-16 with the crash and salvage team that first respond after touch down... The images in my head still haunt me to this day. Thank you so much for this documentary, it helps give me some closure... Well Done Sir!

"From where I was he was high all along" What a god damn legend :D

I was on vulture's row on the Lincoln when this happened. As the video mentions, the bombardier’s arms were fully extended to the side as the plane landed. From where I was standing on the 04 level, it looked almost as though he were conscious and gesturing for everybody on the flight deck to make room for them as they landed. Of course, when the trap was successful and his body remained motionless, I knew better. He remained in his partially ejected seat for quite a while, still motionless, and I began to think that he had probably died. He had been rendered unconscious from the sheer force of the buffeting he received from the wind traveling over his head and torso. For certain, some oxygen was still reaching his brain, but his lungs probably weren’t providing him with enough oxygen to keep him conscious-which is certainly understandable, since breathing in and out with a 550 knot wind smacking you in the face is like trying to drink water from a fire hose. The fact that this freak accident didn’t end in tragedy is testimony to the remarkable professionalism of everybody on duty, both on the flight deck, and in the pilot house. I was a mere observer who had the privilege of witnessing a miracle. Taking off and landing in a jet on the deck of a moving ship is a very dangerous and unnatural act under the best of circumstances. I've never personally cared for flying of any sort--civilian or military, so I was quite content to be a part of the ship’s company and stay below, where I belonged. Navy flyers are a breed apart from all the rest, and they seem to absolutely love what they do, despite the risks involved. I will always admire their bravery.

As a former Marine radio operator the A-6 is still my favorite. I served in the 1970s. It is an aggressive looking aircraft, it could deliver ordinance in bad weather and jam radar. I miss them not being flown anymore. When I lived in Georgia, the guys from AKTRON 205 "Green Flacons" were kind enough to give me some patches and and a ballcap. This story is amazing I had no idea such a thing could occur.

The BN was flight again after 1 1/2 years of recuperation. Tough US Naval Aviation Officer! I was an A-6 plane captain back in 1973 to 1975.

AO3 Rodriguez VF213. I was working cag arm dearm and had to approach the aircraft for dearming. One experience I will never forget. AO3

My Dad was a 10-year Navy man (1959-1969). He served on the USS Essex during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the USS Constellation when the Mattox and C Turner Joy were fired upon by the North Vietnamese. He passed away in 2007 from cancer. I have his cruise books and recognize a couple of the squadrons on the plaques in your video from the Constellation in the '60's. He would have loved your channel. I am a 3-year Army veteran.

I left VA-95 just before the start of workups for that deployment those guys were FNG just checking aboard the squadron. I got chills listening to the audio tape. Landing with a starboard wind is a big deal!

I was USAF Egress, and when this happened and we got the message traffic, all of us that worked Martin Baker seats knew exactly what happened. As the seat moves up the rail (normally ballistic during ejection) it pulls a pin to fire the drogue gun which deploys the drogue chute. That is what was entangled in the tail. In the Air Force we had a fatal incident in an F-4 where the back seater was pulled through the plexiglas after the seat moved up during negative Gs and the drogue gun fired. That seat was not fully locked to the catapult, which should have been confirmed during maintenance. That Navy aircrew was so lucky that the seat didn't continue its upward movement, probably because the chute went aft so quick.

I always loved the Intruder, ever since reading "Flight of the Intruder" when I was 12. :)

This is an event that has always fascinated me. To hear the story from the perspective of the LSO was fascinating and I really appreciate you putting it out.

This is absolutely incredible. The B/N survived this mess due to the extreme teamwork from everyone involved from the Captain of the ship all the way down, sweet precision flying by the pilot, guidance by the LSO, and a ton of luck. Great example of how things can terribly go to absolute shit, and then have such a positive outcome. Big Bravo Zulu to everyone. Great video and (REAL!) scary sea story.

I cannot adequately express how amazing this is without profanity.

I was in A-6's when this happened. I never knew the BN said about the pilot being high for the whole approach. The KA-6D were built in six different blocks. My squadron had four tankers and were in block IV, V, and VI. All the instruments were the same, they used different black boxes and they were also located in different panels in the plane. Which made learning the tankers as an AE a bit more difficult because nothing was standardized.

Outstanding hearing from the paddles. I remember when it happened. We wore out the copy of Approach that had the story. No one could believe he lived. Awesome job by his stick.

This is a terrifying story! Can't believe I've never heard this before. Naval aviators, best on the planet! What an amazing story.

Ward these videos are so well done, the edits, the cuts to relevant equipment, the ship hard over to port, every just absolutely top tier. You really do justice to these stories that deserve to be told and heard

This seasoned Paramedic got goosebumps listening to this one! Great to hear it from someone that was there, Thank God for a good turnout! Thank you Ward for all you do and for your Service!

I was amazed when I first heard about this incident that the B/N survived but it reminded me of a dark night in early 1974 on work ups off Hawaii. I had just landed as the off going tanker (KA-6D) pilot and as I was getting out of the cockpit as a flash of light caught my eye. The sky lit up, it was a midair between the ongoing tanker, my squadron mates who just relieved me, and an F-4 Phantom, they always took 2000 lbs. after launching, amazingly all four survived. Three had long chute rides to the water but the B/N, my close friend, had a couple of swings before getting wet. And that’s another story. Ward thanks for your channel.

Between this and the cockpit free flight, it seems like we're pining for the Red Baron scarf and goggles days... I'll warn snoopy. Keeping cool under pressure! Great flying.

An amazing story. Thanks Mooch for bringing it to us. The bravery and skill of those involved, is a story that deserves to be told.

Nasty tells the story very well. Amazing how poised he was throughout. Definitely saved their lives.I was on the edge of my seat during the recovery video!!!

Good timing for this video. I'm reading Nasty's book right now and this is the chapter I just started.

I was an E-3 Plane Captain with VFA-22 and was on deck when this happened. It was an amazing recovery and a very surreal moment. I was proud to be in the Navy and Naval Aviation that day. Every body involved did their jobs with such professionalism. Good on the Admiral, all the LSOs, deck crew, and the pilot.

The seat malfunction was the top latch window on the ejection gun was cracked. That style of seat is basically held in the aircraft by a pin that goes through the top latch window on the gun. when they pulled negative Gs the seat slid up the rails and finished breaking the top latch window. Once it slid up it broke the canopy and fired off the drogue gun and deployed the drogue shoot. That was a miracle the BN survived and Pilot was able to get back on deck safe. After that event all the aircraft with the same type of ejection had to be inspected for cracks. I don't remember how many were damaged but there were others found. I think this and the guy who went down intake of an A-6 at full power on the cat and walked away were the 2 craziest things that happened during my time in the NAVY.

Max skill, hours of training and experience allowed all involved to keep focused. Yet I'll never know how the communications were kept so cool, clear, controlled and precise. A great big well done.!.! These stories will inspire generations to be the best that they can and achieve better than could ever imagine.

I did maintenance on A-6 Intruders with VA-34 in the early 1970's On the USS JFK (CV-67). We had one splash on takeoff due to a cold-cat launch, coming out of JAX in 1975 during carrier quals. Both the pilot and BN ejected safely. Hearing from the LSO on this mishap put another perspective on the partial ejection. Thumbs up!

Mooch, you should track down Master and add his story. In case folks didnt notice. Since the chute had wrapped around the tail, a continued bail out or full ejection (seat was still hot), would not have been survivable. Had the chute not been wrapped around the tail holding him back, he would have been thrown forward into the sharp jagged plexiglass on landing as seat/man separation had occurred disconnecting the restraint system. From what I recall from Master, was that it was Keith's Birthday and Master's 100th Trap. What could possibly go wrong?

Reminds me of BEA Flight 5390 in the UK, about 30 years ago. Pilot partially sucked out of the aircraft and survived.

I watched the landing from a large port window just behind the ship's bridge. After the landing, several corpsman and the ship's Senior Medical Officer were lifted to the canopy to evaluate the B/N before he was raised out of the cockpit and taken to medical. Keep in mind, this was all done while the B/N's ejection seat was considered 'live' with everyone close by having no idea if one of the remaining ejection charges could go off at any time. After that, the plane was towed by a tug and spotted on the starboard side of the flight deck forward of the island. I watched a mechanic force the canopy open with a huge crowbar so the pilot, LT Mark Baden, could finally get out of the A-6. Found out later in that evening the B/N survived the incident. In my 24 year active duty career, this was the most amazing thing I ever saw.

An astounding story, and glad to hear that the BN recovered and returned to service. A true badass. Just finished Punk's War, with Nasty's book waiting on the desk and the other Punk books inbound. Thanks for the great stories with your friends and mentors!

Absolute heroes all. Pilot, BN, LSO, Captain, Helm, Medics.

Nasty's book is absolutely excellent and a must read for anyone looking to become a leader. His story and career are just exceptional and his book does a great job of two things that are necessary for leadrship development... it shares experience and provides mentorship. Leadership is grown, not born or inate. Nasty make a great point, leaders need to remove barriers and offer support as a leader. Too often micro management undermines the goal of growing leaders to move forward and be ready for the next challenge. There are just so many good leadership stories in Nasty's book. In this story, Nasty is confident enough in what needs to be done that he tells the CO of a Nuclear aircraft carrier to steady out the heading... unless you have been in a sea service, no tells the CO what to do. Nasty's book is an absolute must read... Ward. thanks for bringing this story forward. Cool side note here... Master, who was the pilot, was a graduate of USMMA, where I also went to school. Keep up the great work Ward. John Hall

This story is amazing each time I hear it retold. Thanks for your service Admiral and Ward. PR2 71-75

Nasty is about as chill and smooth as they come on the mic ... Just hearing his voice as he guided him like nothing was wrong must have been so reassuring for the pilot..well done sir and thank you for all you have done to keep us safe.

Nasty was my XO on Vinson. Worked with him daily, and no matter how crazy things got, that was how he was - cool as the flip side of the pillow. Tremendous leader. Fat Pig Wednesdays!

As a black shoe who served on two carriers, that was an incredible incident. Great interview and video. Thank you, Mr. Carroll.

You Guys have always been THE BEST, what the Royal Navy calls, The Senior Service!

I was on board the USS Lincoln (CVN-72) during this incident. It was the Lincolns First West Pac cruise. I got chills hearing the story from the CAG Paddles. I remember that day vividly.

I remember reading the Approach article on this. One of those stories that sticks with you. Was amazing all the things that went RIGHT in the chain to come to a positive outcome.

I was in CATCC for this. Daytime, case I, mid-cycle. Everyone was ‘relaxed’ … then the call. I love working with professionals!

Served with "Nasty" in the early 90's in VF-1 at NAS Miramar onboard the USS. Ranger. Awesome guy!

Another great post Commander! Amazing the B/N survived. Complete with the parachute wrapped around the tail. US Navy carrier-based pilots truly are the best in the world.

I remember a case where a BOAC flight had an explosive decompression of the cockpit on climb out. The Captain had just released his harness when the cockpit window blew out. The Captain was sucked out the window. The only thing that stopped him going out completely was that his legs, bent at the knee, were hooked on the upper window frame. The flight engineer grabbed his feet and held him there while they performed an emergency return. Apparently, he flew again.

That’s just amazing just shows how good the Military MOS are trained. I’m sure that situation never was drilled tor. But it might be something they did after. Paddles was a hero along with the Pilot. Bombardier is tough as nails!

Wow. I was a plane Captain on a A-6 Intruder with VA -145 during Vietnam. Sure glad everyone survived and was ok.

Similar happened to me when in the back of a CJ5 in Anza Borrego once...

I was with VFA-94 Ordnance on that cruise. I remember that day well.

Ward has SO many crazy stories on this channel! I thought the F-14 with the nose-cone that came off and smashed the canopy was bad! This one is amazing that this guy not only survived, but was in pretty good shape as well!

That must have been exciting as hell for all those involved! So glad it turned out well in the end. Thank you for the deeper dive into this story Ward.

Wow! Congrats to this bunch of brave, bright American aviators for their heroic rescue of plane and crew!

I feel like I vaguely remember my entire deployments, this fella remembers the exact drink and sandwich he had that day 30 something years ago. Military Aviators have absolutely astounding recall memory

The professionalism that is displayed is beyond compare. What a great story. Keep ‘em coming!

Great story, sincerely appreciate your service, Mr. Carroll & Mr. Manazir V/r

As someone who too rode the Martin Baker ejection seat for many hours, this event - from all aspects - amazed me.

Again, these stories are incredible. And it’s awesome to hear first hand from the people that were there and involved. I love this channel Ward!

I flew commercially for almost 30 years, and I can tell you just how incredibly important it is to have a calm, confident voice, like that of Admiral Manazir, on the other end of the comm, when the s_it hits the fan. Wonderful job.

I've heard of this incident before. Awesome to have someone who was there.

Ward.....Thanks for the Flashback Picture at the end... VA-145 "Swordsman"...USS RANGER...i was an ABH-3...V-1/Fly-1...directed that Tanker many many times

Love the A6, would love more stories about the men and women who flew them. Thank you Mr. Ward for the great content as always :)

Another great show! Thanks for getting all these amazing interviews! You’re help preserve Naval aviation history.

I was on the USS MIDWAY, PR shop. Within minutes we heard this, one pilot came to us said basically us PRs will save them even without a full ejection. I'm glad the BN made it. Thank God

Great video, Mooch. BZ. Was surprised and pleased to see one of my photos toward the end of the piece (VA-145 KA-6D was taken by me from a VF-21 Phantom during Ranger's 1974 cruise);. Keep up the great work. Jan Jacobs Phantom and Tomcat RIO

Great interview and great photo of LT. Gallagher and family right at the last of the video.

One hell of a sea story. Perfect execution on demand - wow. Loved the family photo also. Thanks Mooch..

I'm surprised I've never heard about this. Absolutely outstanding story. I'm surprised they didn't bring the Lincoln into the wind to give as much wind down the deck as possible. That would've made the plane's relative speed even less and reduced the trauma of the trap on the BN. Thank God it wasn't the pilot's seat that malfunctioned.

reminds me from that air crash investigation where the captain pop out from his seat when his window came off , a thousand feet above, but this one is another level.

The most impressive part of recording the radio communications is how cool and calm both he and the pilot landing the plane are at the moment that all this is happening. What a testament to their proficiency and professionalism SEMPER.

Amazing story. Glad everyone got home safe. 18mth recovery so the poor guy must have been beaten up pretty bad. Any more info on the incident such as airspeed, altitude etc? There is an equivalent "civvi" version of this story. BA flight 5390. Year - 1990. Pilot is sucked out of cockpit at 23000ft and manages to survive. Is held half in, half out of window by a crew member after an improperly fitted windscreen panel comes away.

I was F-16 Egress and they told that story during training. What a ride! Great job!

My utmost respect to the brave men and women who serve aboard our super carriers 🙌🏼

Thank you for putting explanations to all of the lingo/terms I wouldn’t understand. It’s really helpful as I don’t understand a lot of the aircraft carrier terminology. Great video ward!!

Incredible story! An excellent presentation! Even after being involved in a midair with an A6-e with my crop duster, 4/14/93 near Colfax, Wa. I was sad to see them retired.

Glad to see Mr. Manazir, I was on the IKE 11-14 when we did a back to back deployment. He was always energetic, always coming up with crazy ideas how to keep his crew up, we were tired but never beaten.

Witnessed it from the deck while I was preflighting my E-2C for the next launch. Amazing day at sea

WOW! I never heard of this incident -- that was AMAZING! Good job to EVERYONE involved!

That is so intense. I can't imagine what that would be like, just doing your job one moment, then BANG, and you're stuck half way out of a jet.

Was out on a short cruise from HSL-43 when this occurred - I remember the message hitting the board and saying WTF? Then a few months later, seeing the video as part of the annual Crew Coordination training. Such a FUN career - thanks

1991, I had just finished my Avionics Training and was posted to Canadian Forces Base Comox home to 19 Wing.

Great story and outstanding work by the finest America has to offer. Thank you to all who serve.

What an amazing story...again. Thanks for sharing this great stuff with us, Sir 👍🏻

Good video but a small correction Ward; the seat did not mis-fire, one of the mounting lugs failed due to intergranular corrosion. It broke free and began traveling up the rails. How it stopped where is did is a miracle. We had to pull all the seats and ndi the lugs. The fleet found enough bad BN seats/rails that we had to actually cannibalize some Pilot seats, and move hardware around to get enough BN seats. This happened to VA-95, I was one of the Maintenace Chiefs for VA-165. Thanks.

Flight of the Intruder is probably my favorite aviation movie. Cool story. I am not sure the extent to which Ward might be a fan but I note he has never done an episode involving that film, even a watchalong of a scene. Maybe involve your interviewee would be my suggestion. All the flight scenes in that movie are 🔥.

Young AO on his 1st deployment. I'll NEVER FORGET THIS

Thank you - I was hoping you might eventually do a video on this event. I had read about it decades ago when I was still in the USNR.

WOW, following every word the Admiral said - I worked on the USS Midway Flight Deck V-1 Division for 3 years - tractor driver.

You both tell great stories. Keep up the nice work.

Back in the '70's I was attached to VA-34 BLUEBLASTERS A6 squadron. Great times back then. CV-67 AND CVN-69

Thanks once again for a great video interview. I just noticed one of you wall plaques, VF-143 "Puking Dogs." USS Enterprise 1971 to 1974 - North Vietnam, Yankee Station.

Thanks Ward for putting this out. I wasn't aware of this incident until this morning.. Its amazing Lt. Gallagher survived and what a great job by the pilot Mark Baden and LSO Manazir . You do a great job on your channel with various Military subjects. Thank You

Stories like these.. Unbelievable and amazing. And I agree with what other's said about staying calm under pressure. This would definitely be a moment to test one's nerves!

The Intruder is simply beautiful.

Great story and one of the most beautiful ugly planes ever. The A-6 is genuinely cool.