Posted on 03/24/2008 3:43:32 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man
That website is insane with hate.
I also noticed the element of bigoted antisemitism in that story, as well as one of the others I read on his website.
I’m inclined to believe those who say that the missile that started the explosions came from across the ship rather than from behind, where a wet start might have set it off.
The other accusation is that McCain panicked and dropped a couple of bombs in the process. No reason to believe that, either, without real evidence of some kind.
Several of McCain’s other plane losses appear to have been due to his hot-shot stupidity, but probably not that one.
Among the 5 is his A-4 on the Forrestal which he wasn’t responsible for “wrecking” and another is the A-4 that was shot down over Hanoi(I didn’t know being hit by some of the most sophisticated air defenses in the world was enough to disqualify one from the Presidency.)
He did manage to crash at least twice in training, I’m uncertain of the circumstances surrounding those. Training, even more in that time, involved huge numbers of crashes, numbers beyond belief. What’s amazing is he survived his training crashes.
NBC had documentaries which they have aired about all 3 presidential candidates, Clinton, Obama and McCain. I watched the one with McCain and the incident on the Forrestal. There is footage showing his plane being hit by the misfired rocket, and footage of him escaping the plane and rolling free seconds before the explosion. It is very real, and very impressive.
The parts of the documentary about his time as a POW are also very impressive.
There is a lot to be said about John McCain that does not include his military service. I’m voting for him, but only because, as my tagline says, our liberal is still better than both of theirs.
“In what respects is the story inaccurate?”
more importantly
in what respects is the story relevant
will it be the job of the potus to personally fly planes off u.s. aircraft carriers?
should all candidates pass a test on the skills required for it
or are you just trolling for a flaming
This site tends to say he had some responsibility
I took a look at the above referenced site. It contains a number of inaccuracies and outright false statements. John McCain was NOT a part of the problem, but a victim. The rocket that caused the accident was likely caused by stray voltage, hazards of electromotive radiation to ordnance (HERO) where the wire to the rocket igniter acted as an antennae and provided enough power to kick off the Zuni rocket. The rocket passed through the fuel tank of a nearby aircraft thus starting the blaze. The story about a wet start is utter nonsense.
“Whether Obama, Clinton, or McCain get elected doesn’t matter. They will all do what the Zionists tell them to do.”
kingu from what delusional kingdom?
The story about a wet start is utter nonsense.
As I understand it, the cause was never pinned down, but was probably the failure of the seals on a wing tank on one of the jets (which are pressurized BTW) which started the fire. The missile firing from one of the jets in the back is also an urban myth.
The main damage, which nearly sank the Forrestal, was a 1,000-pound bomb that fell off a burning plane, and then down nine decks inside the ship in a hole caused by burning aviation fuel.
My friend was the first person to interview McCain after the fire, on land at Subic Bay.
Congressman Billybob
since my accident in december - fractured disks in spine, dislocated shoulder, residual, possibly long term or permanent side affects - i cannot use my left hand on the keyboard - sorry
Notice the location and the position of McCain's A-4 Skyhawk and Bangert's F-4 Phantom which launched the Zuni missile which hit McCain's aircraft. Film taken that day indicates the locations of the two aircraft at the time of the accident. So unless McCain shot a hot jet of fuel all the way around the earth, it is impossible for the events to have occurred as claimed in the slanderous articles.
The Navy at the time blamed the Zuni launch on a then known problem with the electrical system of the F-4. If anyone was to blame, that individual would be some half rate electrical engineer in the Phantom Program Management Office and some equally dimwitted electrical engineer at McDonnell Douglas.
The cause of the rocket firing WAS tracked down to a faulty wiring design in the ordinance rack, if I recall correctly. That by itself would not have caused the accident if the Ordinancemen had followed the proper procedures.
The inherent fault, coupled with the non-adherence to the procedures resulted in some current entering the arming circuit that was enough to fire the missile, which then hit McCain’s A-4.
It severely damaged the external fuel store, which fully loaded with 2000 lbs of jet fuel, emptied the flaming contents onto the deck.
In the early 70s I worked on a proposal to manufacture chaff rocket launchers which were to be used aboard carriers and presumably other vessels as part of the defensive weapons systems. There was quite a bit of detail about HERO-related matters, including slots in the housing which were supposed to trap or in some way suppress impulses from accidental shipboard radar exposure, which otherwise might cause the rocket to fire.
We had a winning proposal, but political influence in the Navy department gave the breaks to a questionable contractor instead (but that's another story).
SAM - Watch all the video you can find of the fire. The Navy cleared McCain. I have talked to Forrestal survivors and they all think McCain did the wet start on purpose and caused the Zunni’s to light off. Others claim he cycled his weapons switch from Safe to Armed and back which was a no no and might have led to the bombs dropping off his plane (who knows if it would of made it worse or not). I tend to believe he was not “RESPONSIBLE” but the fact remains that he wrecked enough US aircraft to be a NV ace. He might just be bad luck. I have seen them before.
Please stop. It is just, plain wrong.
“Among the 5 is his A-4 on the Forrestal which he wasn’t responsible for wrecking” and another is the A-4 that was shot down over Hanoi(I didn’t know being hit by some of the most sophisticated air defenses in the world was enough to disqualify one from the Presidency.)
“He did manage to crash at least twice in training, I’m uncertain of the circumstances surrounding those. Training, even more in that time, involved huge numbers of crashes, numbers beyond belief. What’s amazing is he survived his training crashes.”
(I asked the monitors to please remove my post #37 because I had made some misguided, embarrassing wrong statements, and they kindly compiled.)
I had read in the past here on FR several years ago, I don’t know whether it was true or not, that his crashes while in training were due to a tad much alcohol. Have you read the same thing?
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