Any details on McCain's crashing two planes prior to being shot down?

Question

I read somewhere that before being shot down in Vietnam, McCain actually crashed two other planes. Any details? Also, how many missions did he fly in Vietnam before being shot down?

Answer 1

He never "crashed" folks. He did hit power lines in Spain while flying nap of the earth. He landed the plane. Those power lines are the reason I went flying with my CO. He wanted 2 non crew members, one on each side watching for 'fast movers" and power lines. Even in a Huey doing 120 knots they are freaking hard to see.

The accident on the Forestall was a missile firing accident caused by an equipment failure. The same accident occurred on other Navy Carriers, just not as fatal.

I believe he flew 23 missions in the short time he was flying over Viet Nam.

SSG US Army 73-82 Avionics

Answer 2

Yes he did. But apperently he was still Qualified to fly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_life_...

He was aboard the Forrestal when it caught fire and his plane was on fire with him still in it.

Answer 3

Maybe you should get your facts straight - it's easy to crash planes on the flight deck when your plane is shot to pieces by AA fire or a surface to air missile (SAM).  Unless you've been there and done that how are you qualified to judge John McCain's abilities as a Naval Aviator?  ANSWER - ANOTHER LIB ON A WITCH HUNT.

Answer 4

McCain eventually lost 5 military aircraft, the first during a training flight in 1958 when he plunged into Corpus Christi Bay while trying to land.

While deployed in the Mediterranean, McCain lost a second aircraft. Timberg described the crash: "Flying too low over the Iberian Peninsula, he took out some power lines."  

(10 yrs ago, a Marine EA-6B did the same thing... d**n, the longer thng go on, the more things will stay the same)

Flight instructor McCain lost a third aircraft while flying a Navy trainer solo to Philadelphia for an Army-Navy football game. Timberg wrote that McCain radioed, "I've got a flame-out" before ejecting at one thousand feet. McCain parachuted onto a beach moments before his plane slammed into a clump of trees.

The Navy dismissed the crash as "unavoidable" and assigned McCain to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal in December 1966, which was patrolling the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. In Spring 1967, the Forrestal was assigned to join the Operation Rolling Thunder bombing campaign against North Vietnam.

(I don't think this one counts)

McCain lost his fourth plane on board the Forrestal on July 29, 1967 when a rocket inadvertently slammed into his bomb laden jet. McCain escaped, but the explosions that followed killed 134 sailors.

McCain was transferred from the badly damaged Forrestal to the USS Oriskany. Shortly afterwards, on Oct. 26, 1967, he was shot down and captured by the Vietnamese.

Ahh well, I knew a Marine Officer that crashed 2x and was shot down once and still managed to become a two-star.