| Date: 13 September 1972 |
| Aircraft type: F-4J Phantom |
| Serial Number: 153854 |
| Military Unit: VF-74 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS America |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Michael Paul Rice (KWF) |
| Lt(jg) Richard Bruce Kummer (Survived) |
| One of the crew of a Phantom died when the aircraft crashed during a landing accident at night on board the USS America as it returned from a BARCAP mission. The other occupant ejected and was picked up safely.
The following entry is included in the USS America deck log: "Conditions of the accident are as follows: Lt(jg) Rice was the Radar Intercept Officer in an F-4 attempting a night landing aboard this vessel. The landing was apparently hard resulting in a blown tire and bolter. Immediately thereafter it appears Lt(jg) Rice instituted the ejection sequence from his rear seat possibly because he thought the aircraft was in a poor attitude. The pilot remembers only the bolter and then the ejection. Although Lt(jg) Rice appeared dead when recovered approximately twenty minutes later by the motor whaleboat of the USS Dewey (DLG-14) the crew still instituted resuscitation. This was continued until terminated by this vessel's Medical Officer on board the Dewey. Examination revealed no evidence of external injuries. The deceased had apparently inflated his life vest and activated his strobe light after entering the water. However, he was entangled in the shroud lines of his parachute. The conclusion is that he was uninjured when he entered the water but subsequently drowned." |
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