Saw a brandnew Tomcat do a backflip in 1984 on a greasy flightdeck (mid cruise...nonskid nonexistent) when the ship was in a turn and it was being moved by tractor. Pilot scrambled out of cockpit at last minute and fell to deck as mainmounts went over scupper and nose started up. He fell to deck stunned and tractor towbar broke with tractor falling vertically hardly an inch from his head as jet fell backwards over side and disappeared before anyone could rush to flightdeck edge and look. All that was floating was the RIO helmet* and the tip of radome, which had broken off.
Huge crowd gathered by flightdeck edge looking for RIO in the water and witness statements taken. Pilot was out cold and medical was worried his neck so he was taken via stretcher below decks with head immobilized. During fall, his nose hit a protrusion on the boarding ladder that slicing it open a la Jack Nicholson in Chinatown. Sometime later, everyone began migrating back to Ready Room and comparing notes on what they saw or heard. Everyone, was bummed about our lost friend. Suddenly, the door slammed open and he burst in the room saying "Can you believe that sh__!" Everyone's jaw dropped and someone said, "You're supposed to be dead!" He said, "Sorry to disappoint you!" He had put his helmet in rear cockpit and was preflighting aircraft when they broke it down so he was waiting for it to be respotted. He show have had it on his head, but it was an IO cruise and midsummer. Seeing the helmet in the water made someone think he went over with jet and didn't have his chinstrap fastened so helmet had stayed afloat. We never did get a good explanation as to where he'd been, but seems he was lost in the gathering crowd.
