ARXW - that 892 incident occurred in february 1972 on the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range off Puerto Rico. An 892 F-4 launched from Ark Royal hit a US Navy ERA-3B Skywarrior from VAQ-33 with an inert Sparrow. The inert missile - meant for a Firebee drone - hit the starboard engine. After losing a lot of height very quickly the damaged jet landed at back at Roosevelt Roads. And, after the RN crew had been absolved of any blame for what had happened, the boss of the US Navy squadron (who'd been flying the Skywarrior) wrote a very nice letter to his 892 counterpart, looking forward to the next time their paths crossed ...