| Date: 21 January 1973 |
| Aircraft type: EKA-3B Skywarrior |
| Serial Number: 142634 |
| Military Unit: Detachment 4, VAQ-130 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ranger |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Charles Leslie Parker (KWF) |
| Lt(jg) Keith Allen Christophersen (KWF) |
| PO2 Richard Daniel Wiehr (KWF) |
| An EKA-3B Skywarrior was lost as it was being launched at night on a tanker sortie from the USS Ranger about 100 miles east of Vinh. As the aircraft was travelling down the catapult there was an explosion and sparks were seen to come from the starboard engine. The aircraft pitched nose down and left the ship at a very slow speed and crashed into the sea. All three crew on board were lost in the accident. This was the last of 20 A-3s lost in Southeast Asia during the war, not including another RA-3B that crashed during a test flight from Cubi Point on 16 June 1967. Of the 20 aircraft lost only six were brought down by enemy action, three of these during night reconnaissance sorties. Six of the Skywarriors lost were RA-3Bs from VAP-61, four of them in combat. The remaining 14 aircraft were lost in accidents, six of them while being catapulted from a carrier. |
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