1959 San Diego F3H crash

The 1959 San Diego F3H crash was the crash of a United States Navy McDonnell F3H-2N Demon in San Diego, California, on 4 December 1959. The pilot, Ensign Albert Joseph Hickman from VF-121, chose not to eject from the stricken aircraft, piloting it away from populated areas of Clairemont, including an elementary school, saving "as many as 700 people" on the ground, according to one estimate. [1][lower-alpha 1] The aircraft crashed into a canyon, with the pilot being the sole fatality. Hickman has been memorialized in the naming of an elementary school and a sports complex in San Diego. Several decades later, a similar crash occurred in University City, a neighborhood north of Clairemont.

1959 San Diego F3H crash
Navy fighter jet parked on a tarmac
F3H-2N Demon of Fighter Squadron VF-121 in 1956
Accident
Date4 December 1959 (1959-12-04)
SummaryMechanical failure
SiteClairemont, San Diego, US
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMcDonnell F3H-2N Demon
OperatorUnited States Navy
Flight originMiramar Naval Air Station
StopoverUnknown aircraft carrier
DestinationMiramar Naval Air Station
Crew1
Fatalities1 (pilot)
Survivors0

Background

Pilot

Albert Joseph Hickman was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on April 4, 1938.[2][3][lower-alpha 2] Later he graduated from Central High School in 1956, enlisting in the Navy before graduating.[4] Hickman was a naval aviator, being assigned to VF-121, a training squadron at Naval Air Station Miramar.[3]

Crash district

Miramar was previously part of a rancho controlled by Mission San Diego de Alcalá, before becoming Camp Kearny, a Naval Auxiliary Air Field, and then Miramar Naval Air Station.[5] Another part of the rancho controlled by Mission San Diego de Alcalá would become the current neighborhood of Clairemont;[6] previously cattle grazing land, it was developed in the 1950s into one of the United States' largest postwar planned tract house suburban communities.[7] Part of the neighborhood of Clairemont is within the airport traffic area of Miramar.[8]

Crash

On 4 December 1959, Hickman was practicing carrier landings.[9] As he returned to Miramar in his McDonnell F3H-2N Demon, the aircraft's engine failed.[10] The aircraft was at an altitude of 2,000 feet (610 m) when the engine compressor stalled and surged.[11] It was reported that Hickman chose not to eject from the stricken aircraft and even opened the aircraft canopy and waved to warn children of his aircraft, all the while steering it away from Hawthorne Elementary School in Clairemont, just missing the school's fence.[9][12] Ultimately, the aircraft crashed in San Clemente Canyon;[13] it resulted in a burning of 20 acres (81,000 m2) of canyon brush.[14] Hickman was the sole fatality.[9]

Aftermath

An estimate claims that as many as 700 lives were saved when Hickman steered the aircraft during its crash.[1] For his actions that led to his death, Hickman was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.[15] He is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Sioux City.[3] The location of the crash site is on Diane Avenue in Clairemont, with no remnants remaining at the site.[13]

Building of the American Legion post named in honor of Hickman.

Hickman has been memorialized in several ways; in 1962, an American Legion post in Kearny Mesa was dedicated to Hickman.[16] In 1971, an elementary school in the Mira Mesa neighborhood was named after Hickman;[16] its construction was completed in 1976.[12] In 1994, on land leased from the US Navy, a sports complex was also dedicated in honor of Hickman.[17]

Several decades later, a similar event as the crash in 1959 occurred during the 2008 San Diego F/A-18 crash.[9] On 8 December, a United States Marine Corps two-seat F/A-18D had engine problems after taking off from the USS Abraham Lincoln during training.[18] Instead of landing at Naval Air Station North Island, Lieutenant Dan Neubauer flew the ailing aircraft to Miramar.[19] Neubauer and the aircraft were part of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 based at Miramar.[20] On its way to Miramar, both of the aircraft's engines failed. Neubauer decided to eject from the aircraft, which was seconds from crashing.[20] The pilot-less aircraft crashed into a residential area of University City that was 1⁄4 mile (400 m) from University City High School, and 2 miles (3 km) from Miramar;[20] four people were killed on the ground.[1] Neubauer ejected safely, landing east of University City High School;[20] he was later cleared to fly again.[1] This crash was compared to the 1959 crash.[1][9]

In 2019, a commemorative plaque for Hickman was added to the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial.[21]

See also

Notes
  1. "December 4 - In 1959, Navy pilot Albert Joe Hickman steered his crashing jet fighter away from Hawthorne Elementary School in Clairemont, saving as many as 700 lives at the expense of his own." Matthew T. Hall[1]
  2. Another source, states that Hickam was born in Homer, Nebraska.[4]

References
  1. Hall, Matthew T. (2 December 2011). "Decades separate tragic San Diego jet crashes". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  2. "ENS Albert Joe Hickman (1938-1959) - Find A Grave Memorial".
  3. Wauren, Jetske (28 May 2017). "The story behind Ensign Albert J. Hickman, a Sioux City native who saved hundreds of lives". KMEG. Sioux City, Iowa. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  4. "Heroic Action by Pilot Saves Children". Sioux City Journal. Sioux City, Iowa. United Press International. 6 December 1959. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  5. Stewart, Noah; Anteon Corporation (January 2004). Historic Overview (PDF) (Report). United States Marine Corps. Environmental Management. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  6. Moyer, Cecil C. (1969). Historic Ranchos of San Diego. Union-Tribune Publishing Company. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-913938-08-9.
    IS Architecture; HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc. (October 2018). Kearny Mesa Community Planning Area Historic Context Statement (PDF) (Report). City of San Diego. Planning Department. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  7. Bevil, Alexander D.; Franck, George; Soderberg, Dan; Bevil-Pagaduan, Stephanie; Christensen, Ashley; Coons, Alana; Lollis, Sande (2012). Clairemont "The Village Within a City" Self-Guided Driving Tour (PDF). City of San Diego Commission for Arts & Culture. Save Our Heritage Organisation. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
    Schimitschek, Martina (30 June 2019). "Clairemont: From post-war housing boom to 'Fast Times' inspiration". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  8. Hubbell, Paul C. (March 2005). AICUZ Update: Air Installations Compatible Use Zones (PDF) (Report). Southwest Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command. Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar. pp. 2–9, 5–2. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  9. "Last week's crash has echoes of '59 tragedy". The San Diego Union-Tribune. 23 December 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  10. Macha, G. Pat (29 August 2016). Historic Aircraft Wrecks of San Diego County. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. pp. 92, 147. ISBN 978-1-62585-729-3.
  11. Swank, Bill (1 July 2015). "Clairemont "Fourth of July Parade called Best in City"". The Clairemont Times. San Diego. Retrieved 21 August 2019. The Kearny Mesa Hickman Post was founded in 1961. It is named after a heroic young Navy ensign from Miramar Naval Air Station whose jet stalled at 2,000 feet while on a 1959 training flight.
  12. Stevens, Pam (2011). Mira Mesa, California. Arcadia Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7385-8203-0.
  13. Cornaglia, Gary (16 December 2009). "Hickman the Hero". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  14. "Pilot Turns Disabled Jet From Schoolyard". The San Bernardino County Sun. San Bernardino, California. Associated Press. 5 December 1959. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  15. "Albert J. Hickman". The Hall of Valor Project. Sightline Media Group. 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  16. Cornaglia, Gary (19 April 2011) [16 December 2009]. "Who is Ensign Hickman?". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  17. Brencick, Mark; McCullough, David; Nassar, Mark; Oliver, Kevin; Del Rincon, Ana; Shifflet, Robin (2013). Hickman Field Athletic Area (PDF) (Report). City of San Diego. p. Public Works Department. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  18. Rowe, Peter (8 December 2018). "A decade later, a San Diego neighborhood is still reeling from a tragic plane crash". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  19. Page, Eric S.; Luke, Steve (17 July 2019). "'The Pilot Didn't Correctly Analyze the Situation". KNSD. San Diego. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  20. Liewer, Steve; Manolatos, Tony; Baker, Debbi (9 December 2008). "3 killed as fighter jet crashes in San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  21. Albert Joseph Hickman. Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
    "Navy pilot who sacrificed himself to save hundreds honored at Mt. Soledad ceremony". KSWB-TV. San Diego. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
    O'Connell, Chris (1 December 2019). "Navy Pilot Honored 60 Years after Jet Crash in Clairemont". Clairemont Times. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
    Dockter, Mason (20 September 2019). "California ceremony set for Saturday to honor Sioux City Navy pilot killed in 1959 crash". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

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