This is not a tame and mild mannered television show production. These videos from the 1950s to 1980s have come from military members themselves and were often shot in haste with the equipment at hand. Accidents don’t wait for the perfect moment. Some of the original video is a bit rough but you will definitely be wincing and cringing just like I did when I first saw the raw footage.
Included in this video is a section of an A-1 Skyraider crash in Da Nang that I managed to recover. We get two camera angles on the incident and the aftermath.
I’ve managed to restore, rescue and resurrect these videos of military pilots in often split second and unfortunate situations. While oftentimes the outcome was a good story to tell fellow pilots over a couple of beers, sometimes the pilots and crews were not so lucky and did not fly another day.
If you ever served as pilot in command or a crew member of a military aircraft I’m sure these videos will have you puckering up and squirming as we put you back in the accident.
"On July 1, 1987 I was only eleven. I spent every summer with my Aunt and Uncle-he was in the Army-, every year we would go to the CAPEX.
The CAPEX was a show of power, the 82nd would jump, C-130's would do short landings and take offs and then a LAPSE drop( Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System).
I left the bleachers and was sitting just behind a rope, as close as I could get. The LAPSE was my favorite part ever year. I remember when the C-130 first came into view off in the distance just a dot in the sky. He got closer and closer and from what I remember it seemed like at the last minute, almost an afterthought he started his decent.
Even as a child I remember thinking he was too steep. The plane hit right in front of me the first time and the next thing I remember, and vividly, was a huge ball of fire in the woods. I do not remember an explosion, just seeing the fire.
It was very quiet at first, I remember just standing there, it was almost like a dream, not reality. My Aunt grabbed my arm and we headed for the buses.
I do not remember if there was a secondary explosion or not, but I do remember people lying in the grass, not hurt, just as precaution.
We got on the buses and headed to the next stop. The show went on.
That is a day I will never forget. I have often wondered what caused the accident. I had dreams about it for a while right after it happened, especially during thunderstorms. Now it is just a memory. I am in the process of putting together a scrapbook of my life for my kids and that was a important day that has always stuck with me."
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