1983 — June 16, US Navy P-3B Orion Crash in Mountain, Na Pali coast, Kauai, HI — 14

—  14  Baugher.  US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (150139 to 156169). 10-29-2011.

—  14  Daily Herald (Chicago). “14 Dead in Navy Crash,” June 17, 1983, p. 8.

—  14  Howell. “Kalepa Ridge Crash Site of NAVY P-3 Orion YB-06 June 16, 1983.”

—  14  Planecrashinfo.com.  “1983. Accident Details. US Navy Lockheed P-3B Orion…June 16”

—  14  US Dept. Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”

 

Narrative Information

 

Baugher: “Lockheed P-3B-65-LO Orion….152720 (c/n 185-5160, VP-1) crashed into mountain side on Kauai, HI Jun 16, 1983.  All 14 on board killed.”  (Baugher.  10-29-2011.)

 

Howell: “In the pre-dawn hours of June 16, 1983, “Yankee Bravo Zero Six” was on a submarine-hunting training mission north of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The Orion’s radar was off, in order to be undetected by the submarine. The night, overcast sky made for zero visibility. At just after 4 a.m., the aircraft hit a steep ridge on the Na Pali Coast of Kauai. All fourteen Shipmates were lost.” (Howell. “Kalepa Ridge Crash Site of NAVY P-3 Orion YB-06 June 16, 1983.”)

 

[Howell provides the names of the fourteen victims as well as their home city and State of residence on his site, as well as a photo of the ridge the plane flew into.]

 

US Navy: “P-3 Orion lost over Kauai, Hawaii, killing 14 crewmembers. 17 Jun. 1983.” (US Dept. Navy. “Casualties: US Navy…Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured…”)

 

Newspaper

 

Chicago Daily Herald: “Honolulu — A Navy P3 Orion plane carrying 14 men crashed on a remote, treacherous section of Kauai Island early Thursday, and all aboard were killed, the Navy said. Lt Cmdr Roger Copeland, public affairs officer for the Third Fleet at Pearl Harbor, confirmed the deaths late Thursday. The four-engine, turboprop plane disappeared shortly after 4 am, during a training flight, Copeland said Rescue aircraft located the wreckage later in the morning on a ridge overlooking Kauai’s northwest coast Rescue helicopters were trying to land a ground crew to reach the remote crash site, Copeland said The plane, assigned to Patrol Squadron 1 at the Barbers Point Naval Air Station on Oahu, was participating in a routine readiness training exercise in support of ships operating in waters off the Kauai coast.”  (Daily Herald (Chicago). “14 Dead in Navy Crash,” June 17, 1983, p. 8.)

 

Sources

 

Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (150139 to 156169). Oct 29, 2011 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries19.html

 

Daily Herald, Chicago, IL. “14 Dead in Navy Crash,” June 17, 1983, p. 8. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=15753103

 

Howell, Brian. “Kalepa Ridge Crash Site of NAVY P-3 Orion YB-06 June 16, 1983.” Accessed 4-14-2017 at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/inter-island_helicopters/8910063011

 

Planecrashinfo.com. “1983. Accident Details. US Navy Lockheed P-3B Orion…June 16, 1983.”  Accessed at: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1983/1983-26.htm

 

United States Department of the Navy. Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action.  Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center. 2008.