NASA CV-990

A NASA CV-990, modified as a Landing Systems Research Aircraft (LSRA), is
serviced on the ramp at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards,
California, before a test of the space shuttle landing gear system.

The space shuttle landing gear test unit, operated by a high-pressure
hydraulic system, allowed engineers to assess and document the performance
of space shuttle main and nose landing gear systems, tires and wheel
assemblies, plus braking and nose wheel steering performance. The series of
155 test missions for the space shuttle program provided extensive data
about the life and endurance of the shuttle tire systems and helped raise
the shuttle crosswind landing limits at Kennedy

Isn't the CV-990 the same type aircraft that collided with a P-3 on approach
to Moffett Field in the early 70's? There was only one survivor from that
crash and he got run over by a crash truck while unconscious on the ground.
Rob

"J.F." wrote in message
...
A NASA CV-990, modified as a Landing Systems Research Aircraft (LSRA), is
serviced on the ramp at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards,
California, before a test of the space shuttle landing gear system.

The space shuttle landing gear test unit, operated by a high-pressure
hydraulic system, allowed engineers to assess and document the performance
of space shuttle main and nose landing gear systems, tires and wheel
assemblies, plus braking and nose wheel steering performance. The series
of 155 test missions for the space shuttle program provided extensive data
about the life and endurance of the shuttle tire systems and helped raise
the shuttle crosswind landing limits at Kennedy

Interesting. I'll have to research that. Thanks for the reply.
"Scubabix" wrote in message
...
Isn't the CV-990 the same type aircraft that collided with a P-3 on
approach to Moffett Field in the early 70's? There was only one survivor
from that crash and he got run over by a crash truck while unconscious on
the ground.
Rob

"J.F." wrote in message
...
A NASA CV-990, modified as a Landing Systems Research Aircraft (LSRA), is
serviced on the ramp at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards,
California, before a test of the space shuttle landing gear system.

The space shuttle landing gear test unit, operated by a high-pressure
hydraulic system, allowed engineers to assess and document the
performance of space shuttle main and nose landing gear systems, tires
and wheel assemblies, plus braking and nose wheel steering performance.
The series of 155 test missions for the space shuttle program provided
extensive data about the life and endurance of the shuttle tire systems
and helped raise the shuttle crosswind landing limits at Kennedy

In a left-hand pattern west of the air station. There are two parallel
runways at NAS Moffett Field, California 32L and 32R. Only the right runway
was equipped for Moffett Field, located 30 miles south of San Francisco,
California, was a busy facility in 1973. The air station was the
headquarters for all US Navy patrol activity in the Pacific, and in this
role it was home to many patrol squadrons flying the Lockheed P-3Orion. NAS
Moffett Field California was also home to NASA's Ames Research Center, which
at the time operated a wide variety of research and experimental aircraft.
On April 12, 1973, a Navy P-3C and a Convair 990 operated by NASA collided
while on final approach to Moffett field, killing 16 of the 17 people aboard
the two aircraft.

The Navy P-3C, bureau number 157332, was assigned to Patrol Squadron 47
(VP-47). It had departed NAS Moffett Field, California for a training flight
approximately five and a half hours prior to the accident. LT Stephen A.
Schwarting was in command of the P-3,along with two pilots in training, a
flight engineer, and two observers. LT Schwarting had been a Navy pilot for
five years, and at age 29 he had logged 2014 flight hours, 1014 of those in
P-3aircraft.

During the first part of the training flight, the P-3 operated over the
ocean off of Big Sur, California. The P-3 and its crew then returned to NAS
Moffett Field, California to practice approaches and landings. At the time
of the accident, the P-3 crew had been flying approaches to touch-and-go
landings on runway 32L for about an hour and a half, circling instrument
approaches, but on the day of this collision the weather was fair and the
visibility was excellent.

While the P-3 was flying approaches on runway 32L, a Convair 990 operated by
NASA was south of NAS Moffett Field, California flying a straight in
approach. The Convair 990 was a flying laboratory, nicknamed Galileo, which
was operated in conjunction with scientific programs at Ames Research
Center. The Convair 990, N711NA, was delivered to NASA in 1964 and was one
of four 990 models operated by NASA over the years.

On the day of the accident Galileo was returning from a two hour flight over
Monterey Bay to test a newly installed system for surveying migratory sea
mammals. In past experiments Galileo had chased the 1967 solar eclipse,
taken astronomers aloft to study comets, and it had last been used in a
joint Soviet-American survey of the Bering Sea. The pilot of Galileo was
James P. Riley, age 28. There were a total of eleven men on board Galileo:
seven were NASA employees, Northrop, Inc. employed two and Teledyne, Inc
employed two.

Galileo's pilot first contacted the NAS Moffett Field, California tower at
1446, stating that he was ten miles south of the air station and requesting
a straight-in approach. At that time the air traffic controller instructed
Galileo's' pilot to approach runway 32R and to contact the tower when he was
seven miles south of the air station. There were other aircraft in the
pattern at the time, and shortly after his exchange with Galileo, the
controller stated to another aircraft that there were numerous P-3's in left
traffic for runway 32.

At 1448, the pilot of the P-3 contacted the tower and stated that he was
turning base with wheels down, for touch and go. The controller acknowledged
that transmission and instructed the pilot to continue for the left side.
Seconds later, Galileo's pilot contacted the controller and stated that he
was seven miles south of the air station. The controller acknowledged the
transmission from Galileo, and after an exchange with another aircraft, the
controller instructed the Galileo to continue for the right side..

At 1449, the pilot of Galileo contacted the tower and stated gear down and
locked. The controller replied by informing the pilot of the wind speed and
direction, and then without explanation he stated that Galileo was cleared
to land 32L. The pilot of Galileo did not question the change in runway
clearance, but acknowledged it by stating 32L, thank you. A few moments
later the air traffic control transcript contains a transmission that is
probably from LT Schwartings P-3, stating touch and go on left side. The
tower acknowledged this transmission by instructing the P-3 to continue. At
this point the two aircraft began to converge on the left runway approach.

At 1450, the air traffic control transcript contains an unidentified
transmission that states "Tower you got that" followed by a second, garbled
transmission. The controller replied to these two transmissions by saying
"go around, go around, weave". The controller then instructed all aircraft
in the pattern to climb and maintain 1500ft. By that time the P-3 and
Galileo had collided and crashed together about one half-mile south of the
runway.

At the time of the collision Galileo was apparently above the P-3,
descending on a converging path. According to the official Navy
investigation, the fuselage at the base of the P-3s vertical fin showed
evidence of two tire marks that matched the dual nose tires of Galileo. In
addition to that, three pieces of the P-3s fuselage frame were found
embedded in the nose wheels of Galileo.


According to eyewitnesses, the P-3 pulled up sharply in the moment before
the collision, perhaps in an evasive action. Galileo struck the upper aft
fuselage of the P-3 and the two aircraft crashed entangled on the l2th tee
of the Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course. A large fire immediately engulfed
the two wrecked aircraft. Although there were people playing golf nearby,
miraculously no one on the ground was hurt.

The crash scene quickly became chaotic. The two aircraft crashed just 200
yards from the Bay shore Freeway, and drivers left their cars to scale the
fence and rush to the burning wreckage. Golfers, and people from nearby
office buildings who had seen the crash also swarmed around the site. The
large number of onlookers made access difficult for the crews responding
from NAS Moffett Field, California and Sunnyvale. At the time of the crash a
group of firemen were watching a demonstration of a jaws of life rescue
device at the Mountain View training center. When they saw the crash they
loaded the rescue equipment and went to the scene.

All of the sixteen men who were killed died in the crash or in the fire that
followed it. The one survivor was Petty Officer Third Class Bruce N.
Mallibert, who was an observer on the P-3. One of the golfers at the crash
scene found Mallibert seriously injured and lying unconscious outside of the
wreckage, and mistakenly thought that he was dead. He covered Malliberts
body with a parachute, but soon after that a fireman checked Mallibert and
discovered that he was still alive. Mallibert was lucky to have survived the
crash, but he would escape death a second time minutes later. While the
parachute covered him a fire truck drove over him, unaware that he was
underneath. Miraculously, the trucks wheels missed Mallibert on both sides.
He was taken to a nearby hospital where he remained in critical condition
for many days.

This crash renewed calls for the Navy to leave NAS Moffett Field, California
, and several local members of Congress called for a halt to flying from
Moffett in the days following the crash. While there had been a large number
of crashes around the air station when it was a home to fighters and attack
aircraft in the 1950s, the safety record of the P-3 operations was
excellent. This collision was the first and only crash of a P-3 near the
airfield between the early 1960s and 1994 when the Navy decommissioned NAS
Moffett Field, California

With the loss of Galileo, NASA lost a unique research asset in addition to
losing several of the scientists who had helped to develop the flying
laboratory and its experiments. Many of the programs that were to use
Galileo were either delayed for years or were cancelled completely following
the crash.

This accident apparently occurred because of a simple mistake in air traffic
control procedures. Neither of the aircraft suffered mechanical problems,
the weather was excellent, and the crew aboard each aircraft was well
trained and experienced. Sixteen men and two valuable aircraft were lost,
but hopefully future accidents were averted by an increased awareness of the
factors that caused this tragedy.


According to eyewitnesses, the P-3 pulled up sharply in the moment before
the collision, perhaps in an evasive action. Galileo struck the upper aft
fuselage of the P-3 and the two aircraft crashed entangled on the l2th tee
of the Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course. A large fire immediately engulfed
the two wrecked aircraft. Although there were people playing golf nearby,
miraculously no one on the ground was hurt.

The crash scene quickly became chaotic. The two, aircraft crashed just 200
yards from the Bay shore Freeway, and drivers left their cars to scale the
fence and rush to the burning wreckage. Golfers, and people from nearby
office buildings who had seen the crash also swarmed around the site. The
large number of onlookers made access difficult for the fire crews
responding from NAS Moffett Field, California and Sunnyvale. At the time of
the crash a group of firemen were watching a demonstration of a jaws of life
rescue device at the Mountain View fire training center. When they saw the
crash they loaded the rescue equipment and went to the scene.



"Scubabix" wrote in message
...
Isn't the CV-990 the same type aircraft that collided with a P-3 on
approach
to Moffett Field in the early 70's? There was only one survivor from that
crash and he got run over by a crash truck while unconscious on the
ground.
Rob

"J.F." wrote in message
...
A NASA CV-990, modified as a Landing Systems Research Aircraft (LSRA), is
serviced on the ramp at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards,
California, before a test of the space shuttle landing gear system.

The space shuttle landing gear test unit, operated by a high-pressure
hydraulic system, allowed engineers to assess and document the
performance
of space shuttle main and nose landing gear systems, tires and wheel
assemblies, plus braking and nose wheel steering performance. The series
of 155 test missions for the space shuttle program provided extensive
data
about the life and endurance of the shuttle tire systems and helped raise
the shuttle crosswind landing limits at Kennedy

Now that's some research. Thanks for the added info. I knew if I asked a
question here that someone would know the answer.

Rob

All of the sixteen men who were killed died in the crash or in the fire that
followed it. The one survivor was Petty Officer Third Class Bruce N.
Mallibert,

Bruce did survive, though ended up wheelchair bound for life. He married
my sister's best friend, Kathy Keehan. Kathy succumbed to cancer a few
years ago. I never met him myself, and I don't know anything of his
religious beliefs prior to the accident, but post crash he was and is, a
very devout Christian.

I lived about a mile from the crash site at the time and remember it
very well.

Jon

I worked at NASA Ames Research Center a few years, 1974-1976 in high
school and college work experience programs. They had a 990 mounted on a
pair of cradles outside the hangers, wings and tail torn off. I was told
it had been damaged in a hard landing the Philippines. A few of us
students were selected to cap the torn wings and tail with smooth sheet
metal, to clean up the appearance. We were told it was going to be set
up to train researchers to work in an aircraft setting.

I noticed while browsing Ames via Google Earth, that fuselage is gone.
Anyone know what happened to it?

We had fun that summer, crawling around the belly, and even up into the
center fuel tank. Man, is that a tight squeeze!
Ah, stupid and immortal youth....

Most memorable moment was finding a small hatch near the back. Reaching
up with a length of aluminum angle, we popped it open to find an open
round fitting and a t-handle. Being stupid kids and curious, we
fashioned a lasso and got it around the t-handle and yanked. Well,
someone had been using the aft restroom, and luckily for us, there was
just enough advance gurgling that we -barely- escaped the stream as the
aft toilet reservoir emptied itself on the ground...


I also got to do a bit of work in the flying CV990 they operated then,
working with the journeymen. Ah, those were the days....


Jon

On Sat, 07 Apr 2007 12:12:41 -0700, Jon Anderson
wrote:

I worked at NASA Ames Research Center a few years, 1974-1976 in high
school and college work experience programs.
I also got to do a bit of work in the flying CV990 they operated then,
working with the journeymen. Ah, those were the days....

My first real job in '58-9 was as a high school student "engineering
assistant" for Convair in SD, mostly at Convair Astro out on Kearney
Mesa. They were building the F106 in the long plant along the highway,
on the east end of Lindbergh Field. The 990s were being assembled in
the big hangar on the south side of the airport road, across from
Ryan, which is now the commuter aircraft terminal. That hangar is now
Coast Guard.

The 880 and especially 990 had efficiency and performance advantages
over the Boeing and Douglas birds, but they were late to the game, and
developed without urgency.

Occasionally we'd have a B-36 come in ... really filled up the small
and short Lindbergh runway.

Cheers, Bob