An American Family

During our F-4 upgrade training, our Instructor Pilots (IPs) warned us about the dangers of complacency. Taking things for granted could lead to serious accidents. But complaceny was not the only issue.

In the fall of 1972 at Luke Air Force Base, a German F-104 student pilot crashed during a practice bombing mission. The investigation found that he experienced target fixation, where he focused on the target to the exclusion of everything else. Target fixation occured when someone concentrated on a singular, often distracting or dangerous element, driven by the expectation of success. The student likely became complacent after flying the mission multiple times, which ultimately led to disaster. We referred to such outcomes as “Buying the Farm,” meaning to crash or die. This was certainly not our goal.

When I think about the dangers of flying, I remember the line, “Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?” This is a famous quote from The Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, in the 1989 movie Batman. It asks whether someone has ever taken a dangerous risk or flirted with evil. I, like many others who flew in the Phantom, have “danced with the devil.” I was fortunate; others were not.

SEA sorties witnessed many incidents of danger. In my own squadron, the 13 TFS, as if to prove the point about “buying the farm”, a crew ferrying an F-4 from Ubon had to bail out when the plane came apart. The aircraft crashed into a Thai village.

I had a different experience that could have resulted in disaster. On July 22, 1973, we began our bombing mission like usual. I was flying with an experienced pilot. Our aircraft, an F-4E 237, received clearance, and we started the takeoff. This was a combat mission and we had about 18,000 pounds of Mark 82s hanging from the bird. We climbed into the sky, flew over the klong, and turned. Everything felt normal as we reached 1,000 feet and continued to climb. Suddenly, our plane lurched violently to the right. At that point, we were around 7,000 feet, but we quickly dropped, losing about 1,000 feet instantly. Our wingman, who was catching up to us, held back to see what was happening.

We had two options: either get the aircraft over an uninhabited area and eject, or try to stabilize the aircraft and fly it for about an hour to burn off fuel before jettisoning the bombs. The AC decided that we would remain with the bird for now. The next 40 minutes felt long, but fortunately, nothing serious happened. We dumped the fuel, jettisoned the bombs, and landed safely. That was my first close call in the air, but I knew the risk was always present on any flight.

While I was in Alaska, several accidents involved F-4 aircraft. On February 18, 1971, an F-4E crew crashed while approaching Elmendorf Air Force Base. They ejected safely and were rescued from Cook Inlet, but the cause of the crash is unknown. In December 1973, an F-4 on a routine training mission turned into a cloud and simply disappeared. It was never found. On May 1, 1974, another F-4 crashed during its approach to Eielson Air Force Base. Then, on January 24, 1976, two F-4s flew through a cloud of volcanic ash from Mount St. Augustine, which had erupted the day before. The ash damaged the aircraft, making it impossible to see out of the front windscreen. In February 1977, an F-4 crashed while approaching Elmendorf. The crew ejected and was rescued from the icy waters of Cook Inlet, but the cause of this accident was also undetermined.

In early spring 1977, while returning from a training mission near King Salmon, we encountered a fuel problem. The AC noticed the problem, but there were no fumes or signs of fuel venting from the wing. Possible explanations included internal fuel not transferring from the wings to the main tank or fuel flowing back into the wing tanks. The cold weather in Alaska affected the F-4 in ways that weren’t obvious during pre-flight checks, unlike the hot climates of Luke or Thailand. Looking out from the rear cockpit, I saw we were over a desolate area, about 150 miles from Elmendorf. We worked the problem using our checklists and other emergency procedures and in the end, the situation seemed to resolve itself.

The incidents illustrate that flying inherently involves risks, often likened in my mind to “Dancing with the Devil.” Minor events can escalate into significant problems, and an excessive focus on a single target can lead to a catastrophic outcome. Complacency was a real threat. While flying in a jet offered opportunities that most Americans may never experience, it is important to recognize that these experiences can also carry substantial consequences.