A-7B Corsair II Crash Site

April 20th 2020





Summery :

 The LTV A-7 Corsair II is a carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft originally developed for the US Navy.

This A-7B (#154365) was assigned to the VA-125 at the Lemoore Naval Air Station, California.

On June 14, 1971, Navy LTJG William Bruce DeGroff was undergoing Fleet Replacement Pilot training.
The flight was to be a three hour "Sandblower" introducing full system navigation by combining previous experience gained in visual low level navigation with hooded low level radar navigation and weapon delivery.
On this flight, Lt Gerardy would follow in another aircraft as Instructor/Chase Pilot.
Upon reaching check point, LTJG DeGroff flew past the check point and attempted to intercept the track line but flew through it.
The chase pilot gave LTJG DeGroff two successive turns to get the aircraft back on track.
Shortly after the second heading call the instructor pilot realized the flight was rapidly closing in on rising terrain.
At this time he was 1000 feet abeam LTJG DeGroff's aircraft.
He transmitted "Pull it Up" and "Climb, climb, climb", then took evasive action himself.
But, LTJG DeGroff's aircraft impacted a steep hillside.
LTJG William Bruce DeGroff was killed in accident.

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Crash site has ton's of wrecks and several of them are in a large (few feet long) size.
Engines, Wings, Pylons, Gears, Electronic parts etc...
Aircraft crashed on near the top of steep hill along with ridge line and spread the deblis all over the hill side for more than 20 acres area.
Multiple large wrecks are hanging on the steep hillside and visible from the bottom of the hill.
I found a piece of Oxygen mask and Ejection seat survival kit release handle at near the impact site.


    
Description



Manufacturer:
LTV (Ling-Temco-Vought)
Base model:
A-7
Version:
B
Nickname:
Corsair II
Designation System:
U.S. Navy
Designation Period:
1967-1991 (USN)
Basic role:
Attack aircraft
Serial Number:
154365
Crash Date:
1971/6/14
Fatalities:
1




Specifications



Length:
46' 2" 14.06 m
Height:
16' 1" 4.9 m
Wingspan:
38' 9" 11.8 m
Wingarea:
374.9 sq ft 34.83 sq m
Empty Weight:
19,127 lb 8,676 kg
Max Takeoff Weight:
41,998 lb 19,050 kg





Propulsion



No. of Engines:
1
Powerplant:
Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-8 turbofan
Thrust (each):
12,200 lb





Performance



Max Speed:
690 mph 1,100 km/h 600 kt
Range:
1,070 nmi 1,231 mi 1,981 km
Ceiling:
42,000 ft 13,000 m


    
Other A-7 Link :
 Wikipedia Link : LTV A-7 Corsair II
    



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