Jet Crash Fatal to 3 Is Investigated

Navy investigators at Miramar Naval Air Station were combing through the wreckage Saturday of an electronic surveillance aircraft that crashed while practicing carrier landings, leaving three airmen dead.

The twin-engine EA-3B Skywarrior jet crashed about 10 p.m. Friday about three-fourths of a mile south of the main runway at the air station, the Navy said. The aircraft was about to begin practicing landings on a simulated carrier deck when it experienced unknown problems and crashed on base property, said Lt. Ed Mapes, a base spokesman.

The aircraft broke apart on impact, he said. There was no explosion, but Navy personnel doused several post-crash fires, Mapes said.

Cause Undetermined

The victims were identified as Daniel C. Smith, 32, McLean, Va., David Madison, 27, Johnstown, Pa., and Herbert Plath, 20, Schenectady, N.Y.

The aircraft can carry seven crew members, but only three were needed for the practice landings, Mapes said.

Navy investigators were attempting to determine the cause of the crash. There was no immediate word on any preliminary findings.

The aircraft, utilized for unspecified electronic surveillance, was based at Naval Air Station Agana on Guam. It had been in San Diego for several days practicing landings for its upcoming deployment on the USS Ranger, a San Diego-based carrier.

At Miramar, the Navy maintains a painted carrier deck on a runway designed to simulate carrier landings. The length and lighting of the painted deck are similar to those on aircraft carriers.

The EA-3B is the latest evolution of the dependable A-3 aircraft, introduced to the fleet in the 1950s as an attack bomber and later used for photo reconnaissance and in-flight fueling. Nicknamed “The Whale,” it is one of the larger aircraft to land on carriers, Mapes said.

Friday’s crash is the first of a Miramar-based craft since March 21, when an F-14 jet fighter experienced difficulty on takeoff and crashed in an unpopulated area five miles northeast of the base. Both crew members safely ejected.