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Produced by Ryan Nothhaft
email: blueangelphantoms@gmail.com
On Thursday, April 12, 1973, a Navy P-3C Orion and a Convair 990 operated by NASA collided on approach to Moffett Field in Sunnyvale, California.
Both aircraft lost control and crashed on the Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course, a half mile short of the runway. 16 of 17 people aboard the two aircrafts lost their lives.
Petty Officer Third Class Bruce N. Mallibert, who was sitting in the back of the P3-Orion, fell 120 feet from the plane during the collision, sustaining significant injuries including a severed spinal cord and a brain injury that led to a 93 day coma. Bruce defied the odds and survived to tell his story.
Ray Kong was a Senior at Sunnyvale High School at the time of the accident. He was in the middle of a sanctioned golf match with Mountain View High School when he looked up and witness the two planes collide and crash just a hundred feet from where he was standing.
Ray and another golfer soon found Bruce Mallibert's body on the golf course. Thinking he was dead, Ray covered him with a parachute out of respect, not realizing that he was still alive. It was a short time later that the parachute was pealed back and Bruce was transferred to a local area hospital.
Tom Moore, a Lieutenant with Sunnyvale's Public Safety Department, also witnessed the crash and responded immediately.
Riding on the smallest engine in Sunnyvale's inventory, Tom and his partner were able to get access to the golf course by squeezing through a tunnel utilized by golf carts to go under the 237 freeway. Tom immediately saw the parachute covering Bruce's body and warned his driver to maneuver around it.
Once on scene, both Sunnyvale and Mountain View Public Safety workers teamed together and immediately made efforts to rescue the crews of both planes. Unfortunately, it was discovered that the crews most likely passed away on impact of the crash.
Video Credits:
Produced by Ryan Nothhaft
Twitter: @ryannothhaft
email: blueangelphantoms@gmail.com
Interviews with:
Bruce Mallibert: Retired U.S. Navy and sole survivor of the April 12, 1973 collision over Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course.
Ray Kong: Witness who played golf for Sunnyvale High School at the time of the accident.
Lt. Tom Moore: Retired member of the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department and a first responder the crash.
Special thanks to:
David Thompson for sharing your news archive and network of first responders that participated in the rescue effort on April 12.
Bruce Dudley for sharing my project and contact info with your network. We've never met or even spoken, but I greatly appreciate your outreach.
First Responders: I received several phone calls from first responders that are not featured in this video, who shared their stories and recollections from April 12, 1973. It was an honor to speak with each of them.
Ian Kluft for allowing me to use his amazing arial photography of Moffett Field.
Other Resources and footage:
Navy Flight Crew VF-47:
Lt. STEPHEN A. SCHWARTING
Lt. (1G) LONNIE H. KERKOFF
ENS. WILLIAM B. STEWART
CPO JAMES McDOWELL
PO 1.C WILLIAM RUSSEY
NASA Crew:
HERBERT V. CROFS
JAMES F. REMINGTON
JAMES P. RILEY
FRANK J. BARSTER
JOHN W. YUSKEN
PHILLIP R. WILCOX
GASTON P. FARAONE
ROY ADKINS
C. A. ROBINSON
E. FORSLOW
B. SORENSON
Crash Footage: diva.sfsu.edu/...
Aviation Safety Network Accident Description:
aviation-safet...
VP-47 | NASA Memorial Website:
www.vpnavy.com/...
Негізгі бет Moffett Field Air Tragedy - The Story of Sole Survivor, Bruce Mallibert
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