"Bret Ludwig" wrote in message
ups.com...

A Crusader was accidentally launched with folding wings once: it was
actually able to recover.

A fellow in our church group is a retired naval captain who flew A-7 Corsair
II's during Nam. His CAG took off one night on a "lights out" training
mission from a Naval Air Station runway. The Corsair II would barely climb,
so he aborted the mission and circled around for landing. He really had to
keep a lot of power on during the approach, but made a successful touchdown
and roll out.

Back on the ramp, he went through his shutdown checklist until he got to the
item "Fold Wings". The switch was in the folded position already. De-assing
the aircraft, he noticed that the wings were more than folded. They were
bent so the tips almost touched.

The wing lift had sprung both wings inward. The aircraft was beyond
practical repair and was scrapped.

Rich S.