USN Saw the Hainan Island EP-3

[AircraftGeek513]

Went to the Pima Air and Space Museum last weekend. One of the aircraft on display is the exact same EP-3 involved in the Hainan Island Collision.

 

[Waveoff]

VQ-1 sold both “come and take it” and then “they took it” patches for their sundown.

 

[hlg6016]

I wonder who that 119 in the background belonged to.

 

[HuggyU2]

I wonder who that 119 in the background belonged to.

IIRC, it was a CalFire (or similar) fire tanker.

 

[ChuckMK23]

If you haven't, by all means do the Pima/AMARG experience. If you have a mil CAC/ID all the better. Also if you are a former mil crew member, and it's a slow day, Pima Museum staff will be open to cockpit requests.

 

[hlg6016]

IIRC, it was a CalFire (or similar) fire tanker.

IIRC Marine Reserves flew 119's into the 70's with VMR 234. Now VMGR 234 in Ft. Worth.
I crewed with a couple of salty Master Gunnys who crewed them back to Korea times.

 

[taxi1]

Went to the Pima Air and Space Museum last weekend. One of the aircraft on display is the exact same EP-3 involved in the Hainan Island Collision.
View attachment 43861

Did it come back covered with Chinese unit zappers?

 

[hlg6016]

洋基狗死咗
Or was this scribbled inside the landing gear doors?

 

[Griz882]

洋基狗死咗
Or was this scribbled inside the landing gear doors?

That should be 天空海盗 instead of 狗.

 

[hlg6016]

Blame Google translate, All I saw was a Cantonese tab, No Mandarin.

 

[number9]

On an unclass Monday Evening Quarterbacking level, what - if anything - should the crew have done differently at the time of the incident?

 

[ChuckMK23]

On an unclass Monday Evening Quarterbacking level, what - if anything - should the crew have done differently at the time of the incident?

BAILOUT, BAILOUT, BAILOUT.

 

[Griz882]

On an unclass Monday Evening Quarterbacking level, what - if anything - should the crew have done differently at the time of the incident?

Boys, those clouds look scary…let’s stay home today.

 

[Dontcallmegump]

Did it come back covered with Chinese unit zappers?

View attachment 43869 View attachment 43870

Probably not, but recently a few someones tried to "fix" that.

 

[Flash]

On an unclass Monday Evening Quarterbacking level, what - if anything - should the crew have done differently at the time of the incident?

Yes and no, landing it was the best option and from what they knew at the time making it to Taiwan or the Philippines would have been dicey. Things could have been done better before they landed but nothing on that plane was worth anyone's life.

BAILOUT, BAILOUT, BAILOUT.

Most, if not all, of the crew likely would have died if that had happened. Hundreds of miles from any friendly (or competent) SAR and spread out miles from each other, those that made it out, it would have been a disaster.

Ditching was the other option and the preferred one over bailing out in the P-3, but only one P-3 ditched without fatalities and no one had ever ditched an EP-3. It was an interesting topic of discussion in the squadron when the question came up among aircrew even before the incident, with most pilots not wanting to risk it with the extra weight and not knowing what the antenna on the belly would do (just come off, rip up the bottom?). And that still left you hundreds of miles from the closest friendly and competent SAR.

BTW, similar scenarios were commonly run through during qualification boards and the command consensus was the crew's safety and survival were paramount. That almost certainly played a significant part in the crew's decision-making.