The 1959 San Diego F3H crash was the crash of a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

McDonnell F3H-2N Demon in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, on 4 December 1959. The pilot,

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

Albert Joseph Hickman from

VF-121 VF-121 (Fighter Squadron 121) of the US Navy was a former Pacific Fleet Replacement Air Group (RAG) unit. Originally established on 1 July 1946, as VF-781, it was redesignated as VF-121 on 4 February 1953 and disestablished on 30 September 19 ...

, 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. 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.

Background

Pilot

Albert Joseph Hickman was born in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

, on April 4, 1938. Later he graduated from Central High School in 1956, enlisting in the Navy before graduating. Hickman was a naval aviator, being assigned to

, a training squadron at

Naval Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the avi ...

Crash district

Miramar was previously part of a rancho controlled by

Mission San Diego de Alcalá Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá ( es, Misión San Diego de Alcalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in The Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, it ...

, before becoming

Camp Kearny Camp Kearny was a U.S. military base (first Army, later Navy) in San Diego County, California, on the site of the current Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It operated from 1917 to 1946. The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen W ...

, a Naval Auxiliary Air Field, and then Miramar Naval Air Station. Another part of the rancho controlled by Mission San Diego de Alcalá would become the current neighborhood of Clairemont; previously cattle

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

land, it was developed in the 1950s into one of the United States' largest

postwar In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...

planned

tract house Tract housing is a type of housing development in which multiple similar houses are built on a tract (area) of land that is subdivided into smaller lots. Tract housing developments are found in suburb developments that were modeled on the "Levi ...

suburban communities. Part of the neighborhood of Clairemont is within the airport traffic area of Miramar.

Crash

On 4 December 1959, Hickman was practicing carrier landings. As he returned to Miramar in his McDonnell F3H-2N Demon, the aircraft's engine failed. The aircraft was at an altitude of when the engine

compressor stall A compressor stall is a local disruption of the airflow in the compressor of a gas turbine or turbocharger. A stall that results in the complete disruption of the airflow through the compressor is referred to as a compressor surge. The severity of ...

ed and surged. It was reported that Hickman chose not to eject from the stricken aircraft and even opened the

aircraft canopy An aircraft canopy is the transparent enclosure over the cockpit of some types of aircraft. An aircraft canopy provides a controlled and sometimes pressurized environment for the aircraft's occupants, and allows for a greater field of view ove ...

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. Ultimately, the aircraft crashed in

San Clemente Canyon San Clemente Canyon is a canyon located in the city of San Diego, in San Diego County, California.Marian Bear Memorial Park, a linear open space park, is along the canyon and in the southern tributary arroyos and mesa. Park The canyon and Marian ...

; it resulted in a burning of of canyon brush. Hickman was the sole fatality.

Aftermath

An estimate claims that as many as 700 lives were saved when Hickman steered the aircraft during its crash. For his actions that led to his death, Hickman was posthumously awarded the

Navy and Marine Corps Medal The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The medal was established by an act of Congr ...

. He is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Sioux City. The location of the crash site is on Diane Avenue in Clairemont, with no remnants remaining at the site. American Legion Albert J

Hickman has been memorialized in several ways; in 1962, an American Legion post in Kearny Mesa was dedicated to Hickman. In 1971, an elementary school in the

Mira Mesa Mira Mesa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mesa, Table View") is a community and neighborhood in the city of San Diego, California. The city-recognized Mira Mesa Community Plan Area is roughly bounded by Interstate 15 on the east, Interstate 805 o ...

neighborhood was named after Hickman; its construction was completed in 1976. In 1994, on land leased from the US Navy, a

sports complex A sports complex is a group of sports facilities. For example, there are track and field stadiums, football stadiums, baseball stadiums, swimming pools, and Indoor arenas. This area is a sports complex, for fitness. Olympic Park is also a kind ...

was also dedicated in honor of Hickman. Several decades later, a similar event as the crash in 1959 occurred during the 2008 San Diego F/A-18 crash. On 8 December, a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

two-seat F/A-18D had engine problems after taking off from the during training. Instead of landing at

Naval Air Station North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

, Lieutenant Dan Neubauer flew the ailing aircraft to Miramar. Neubauer and the aircraft were part of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 based at Miramar. On its way to Miramar, both of the aircraft's engines failed. Neubauer decided to eject from the aircraft, which was seconds from crashing. The pilot-less aircraft crashed into a residential area of University City that was from University City High School, and from Miramar; four people were killed on the ground. Neubauer ejected safely, landing east of University City High School; he was later cleared to fly again. This crash was compared to the 1959 crash. In 2019, a commemorative plaque for Hickman was added to the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{coord missing, San Diego County, California 1959 in California Accidents and incidents involving United States Navy and Marine Corps aircraft Aviation accidents and incidents in California Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1959 Clairemont, San Diego December 1959 events in the United States 1950s in San Diego United States Navy in the 20th century