Navy Releases Photos Of F-14D Salvage
Members from the San Diego-based Unmanned Vehicles Detachment
(UMV) embarked aboard MV Kellie Chouest, a 310-foot-long civilian
research and salvage vessel, April 25 to recover an F-14D Tomcat
that had recently crashed in the waters off of San Diego.
The Tomcat was from Fighter Squadron (VF) 31, based at Naval Air
Station Oceana (VA). The two crew members of the aircraft ejected
safely before the crash and sustained minor injuries. They were on
a training mission from the Nimitz-class carrier USS John C.
Stennis (CVN 74), homeported in San Diego.
According to Lt. Cmdr. Chuck McGuire, the officer in charge
(OIC) of UMV, the recovery was scheduled to take a week to
complete. The unit’s highly sophisticated unmanned vehicles
were designed to help speed up the under-water search and
recovery.
“We’re using the TUWVS [Tethered Unmanned Work
Vehicle System] Super Scorpio. It is the same type of vehicle that
was used on the Titanic," McGuire said. "An operator can use the
arms of the TUWVS to maneuver and lift debris up to 500 pounds. The
debris will be placed on the deck of the ship and then transferred
for investigation."
UMV and its crew were selected to recover the aircraft because
they are uniquely able to get the job done while saving the Navy
both time and money.
“Recovering a 47,000-pound airplane is very costly. It
would cost the Navy more than $250,000 to recover the aircraft
using divers, cranes and special ships," McGuire said. "It would
cost the Navy around $300,000 if they had contracted the job out to
a civilian company. We have everything (the Navy) needs to recover
the airplane and we can do it at about one third the price."
Members of the detachment have demonstrated their ability to
assist in major salvage operations in the past. In addition to
other recoveries, such as downed submarines and several
helicopters, UMV assisted in the recovery of Alaska Airlines Flight
261, which crashed off the coast of California Jan. 31, 2000.
According to Submarine Sonar Technician 2nd Class Brian Fields,
a TUWVS pilot for UMV, having the opportunity to help recover the
downed F-14 Tomcat gives him a great sense of job satisfaction and
accomplishment.
“It actually feels good to know that the Navy is counting
on us to get the job done. An investigation about the F-14 has to
be completed, and we are helping in that process by recovering the
aircraft,” Fields added.
In recent years, the remote vehicles from UMV have been
responsible for the recovery of more than $100 million worth of
military and civilian hardware. UMV remains a flexible and potent
asset, always continuing to evolve as new technology and equipment
become available.
(ANN salutes Journalist Seaman Cynthia R. Smith, Navy Public
Affairs Center, San Diego)
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