Originally Posted by
megan
Was not Bill Weaver, but Ken Collins in the first A-12 to be lost. He was picked up by three lads in a pickup truck and given a lift, and they had his cockpit canopy in the back. He told them that it was an F-105, and is still listed in official reports as such, with a nuke on board.
Thanks for the correction!
From a Salt Lake Tribune article about the A-12 crash:
Nuclear cover story
After floating down for what seemed like hours, Collins hit ground and rolled on a sagebrush-covered hillside. As he gathered up his chute, he saw a pickup truck heading toward him from nearby U.S. 93.
Three samaritans had the A-12's canopy in the truck's bed and offered to give Collins a ride to the crashed top-secret plane a few miles away.
The CIA provided Collins a cover story for just this eventuality. "It's an F-105," he lied. "And it's got a nuclear weapon on board."
The startled driver looked at Collins and said, "Get in, if you want to be gone."
Collins laughs at the memory. "They weren't interested in seeing my plane anymore. But if it had a nuclear weapon, driving 10 miles away wasn't going to make much difference."
Crash site of one of Area 51's mysteries lies near Wendover - The Salt Lake Tribune
Airbubba I think that hydrazyn instead of hydrogen can be found on fighter crash site in case of leak of batteries (need to wear specific protections ,clothes and masks) this was valid during the 1980's ,I don't know now.
You are probably right. The warning was likely for leaking hydrazine, not hydrogen, and the radio dispatcher was misinformed on the name of the hazmat.
I have a friend who commanded an F-16 squadron in the 1980's. There is a backup power source called an EPU in the plane that runs off hydrazine from a tank in the right strake. Back in the '80's, there were strict orders not to say anything on the radio about the dangers of the hydrazine from an unscheduled landing or mishap lest the media and Environmental Protection Agency go ballistic.
Originally Posted by
sandiego89
Bubba, what believes you to think it was 068? Curious as I was trying to figure that out as well.
I thought 068 was a single seater. Was she later converted?
I got the tail number from one of the news copter videos of the scene. At least I think I did. The right side of the tail seems to be covered with soot from the fire but the markings are readable on the left in the clip I saw. As always, some of the photos in the online articles have nothing to do with the current mishap.
068 was indeed a conversion, it's made appearances as a two-seater at airshows in recent years, for example:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28042007@N07/3323874552