F-14 Tomcat's Radome Smashes Into the Pilot's Canopy

Comments · 1.2K

• CA

  @CallsignJoNay · 5 years ago

  Blind in one eye, glass in the other, broken bones in his torso, and leaning his head out the left side of the busted up canopy to spot the ball and catch a 3-wire. What a fucking badass.

  1.1K

• ST

  @stuartfox5631 · 5 years ago

  I was the flight surgeon who initially took care of LCDR Edwards in the flight deck battle dressing station. Incredible feat. Glad he got to fly in the shuttle.

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• PA

  @patgwynne3653 · 4 years ago

  I am a 94 year old lady who thrives on naval aviation stories. Listening to your description of a rio's required abilities is appreciated so we can really understand what you men are required to know and preform. The "incident" of the  Tomcat's pilot canopy and landing was chilling. Thank you for being the man you are and what you have done and continue to do.

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• GR

  @Greg-cs7pg · 5 years ago

  I was ship enlisted crew on the Ike when this incident happened, and I distinctly recall hearing the Commander of the Air Wing being called to the LSO platform. I had  never heard that before, and knew something wasn't right. Of course, I heard what happened, but it nice to know more detail even if its 30 years later.

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• DE

  @dennism6405 · 5 years ago

  This was my first cruise. I was a young airmen that was still amazed about everything that happened onboard a ship. I spent many of my hours off  duty in vultures row and I was up top and watched this e tire thing unfold. I took as many photos as I could grab and turned my film over to the photo department where the developed them and returned a copy of the film for myself.  I was too young and inexperienced at the time to realize the skills and talent that pilot had to bring together at that moment to get on deck safely. I've spent my entire life in Navy aviation and to this day I remain amazed as to what I witnessed that day.

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• JO

  @johnkowlok3231 · 5 years ago

  Glad I found your channel.  My Dad was a F-4/F-14 Rio in the 60’s-70’s c/s Bushwacker, or typically just, “Bush.”  He passed away this last January.  VF-103, VF-124, VF-101, and VF-1.  He reached 90,000 ft in the Phantom, ejected from a Tomcat over the Indian Ocean, flew CAP for the evacuation of Saigon, and was an instructor at Miramar.  He was also a great father and grandfather.

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• MI

  @mizzyroro · 5 years ago

  The guy says he'll never fly again and he goes on to fly the space shuttle. What an inspiring story. Thanks for sharing.

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• ME

  @measl · 5 years ago

  <b>The 3 mile radio range suggests that the antenna was damaged or completely missing. &nbsp;I&apos;ve had radios with this symptom: reception was fine and normal at pretty much all ranges, but transmit was toast unless very close and line of sight to your destination. &nbsp;The coax to the antenna catches enough signal to make the radio appear normal, but without the antenna, emitting signal is severely hampered.</b>

• TH

  @TheBalrogTx · 5 years ago

  If I may add the perspective of someone who witnessed this from IKE&apos;s flight deck... I&apos;ve told this story to countless friends over the years.<br><br>At that time I was Catapult Captain for Cat 3 on IKE. &nbsp;Captain Cross was an amazing CO. &nbsp;What I recall is that we had just wrapped the Waist, and aircraft were still cycling off the Bow Cats. &nbsp;The Air Boss came over the 3MC, calling the flight deck crew to the Barricade hatch. &nbsp;While we were all racing in that direction, and prepping the Barricade to be run out and hooked up, the Air Boss let us know that we had a severely damaged Tomcat inbound, and that &quot;We are giving him one shot at this... if he bolters, I want the barricade up immediately, as soon as he clears the deck. &nbsp;Don&apos;t wait, he won&apos;t have much time to make another attempt&quot;. &nbsp;It was the most professional I&apos;d ever heard him address us on the deck, and there was little doubt amongst those of us at the Barricade hatch that this was serious.<br><br>When we saw Reb&apos;s aircraft on approach, you heard a smattering of &quot;holy sh*t&quot;, and &quot;Oh my God&quot; comments, and then dead silence. &nbsp;It was clear he was in trouble. I think every last one of us expected him to bolter. &nbsp;When he caught that 3-wire, it was stunned silence. &nbsp;Navy Pilots had always been impressive to me. &nbsp;I hold them in the highest regard for their insanely fine tuned skills. &nbsp;But that landing was literally what kids today refer to as &apos;next level&apos;. &nbsp;It was awe inspiring. &nbsp;Please pass my utmost respects to Reb.<br><br>You should do a video about the trip we took to the North Atlantic on our way home from the Gulf. &nbsp;Those were some messed up flying conditions.<br><br>ABE 3 Jones

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• LS

  @lsdzheeusi · 5 years ago

  “Carrier landings are really hard”<br><br>“Okay ... now try it injured, with your head out the window like the family dog on vacation”<br><br>Epic.

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• 6R

  @6rhayes6 · 5 years ago

  Ben Hua, Vietnam 1968 as a Huey pilot we had some hairy scary times, but Reb&apos;s retelling of this mishap kept me glued to your video...

  13

• AE

  @aesope4243 · 4 years ago

  You ever meet anyone who was shot down on a carrier? Are pilots considered unrecoverable if they can&apos;t eject and go in the drink? Is the ball only in play for the LSO (or LFO, Newby on the acronyms) when landing?