THE POST-STANDARD

SYRACUSE, N.Y., THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1955

AIRMAN LANDS SAFELY IN TREE AT YACHT CLUB

PLANE WRECKED IN CORNFIELD AT CICERO CENTER

The pilot of an F-84-F Thunderstreak jet airplane bailed out of his crippled ship about 6:15 p.m. yesterday, seconds before the plane crashed in aa cornfield at Cicero Center. The pilot was identified by State Police Sgt. Leo Graszler of North Syracuse as First Lt. Thomas Edwin Nott, 36, of 4005 Pine St., Philadelphia. The plane was one of three planes belonging to the 103rd Fighter Squadron of the 111th Fighter-bomber Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, returning from a gunnery mission over Lake Ontario.

Col. Edgar Owen, commanding officer of the Guard unit on two week exercise at Hancock Field, said the pilot approached the field and appeared to have difficulty in extending his landing gear. The pilot was experiencing difficulty in maneuvering the jet aircraft and was ordered by radio to abandon ship. The Thunderstreak veered away from the airstrip, heading out over Oneida Lake and the pilot ejected himself at about the 5,000 foot level, Col. Owen said. The pilot came down in a tree near the Lakeshore Yacht and Country Club and was returned to the base hospital for a checkup. His only apparent injury was a scratched right knee.

The plane which crashed about three quarters of a mile from the lake shore, was demolished. Lt. Nott said he was experiencing difficulty in extending the landing gear and succeeded only in putting down the nose and left wheel when he was ordered to veer off and bail out. The pilots of the other two planes in the group landed safely, National Guard officials reported. There was no live ammunition on the plane when it crashed as all ammunition was expended on the gunnery mission, Col. Owen said.

This was the first serious accident involving jets at hancock in post war years, guard officers reported. Fred Woznica, Clay RD 1, operator of the 15 acre farm on which the jet crashed, said there were three eye witnesses to the spectacular mishap. Mr. Woznica said he was working in a field adjacent to the one in which the plane crashed. "I always watch the jets go over, anyway. All of a sudden I heard a loud noise like an explosion and the next thing I saw was the parachute coming down," the farmer said.

A farmhand, Efim Stachulonok, 68, of Canastota RD 2, was cultivating the field only 25 yards from the crater left by the crash and Mr. Woznica's father, John Woznica, was working only about 200 yards away. While State Police Lt. H.A. Scoville was marshaling his forces at the scene, Deputy Sheriff Harry Thompson, Sheriff's dispatcher notified the Onondaga County Fire control Center that the plane was on fire. Volunteers from the cicero Fire Department raced to the scene, about 300 yards south of Route 31, near Cicero Center Rd.

State Troopers T. B. McDonald and Gary DuBois, aided by Deputy Sheriff Blanchard Crysler, maintained a tight guard around the 15 foot crater until Air Police from the Guard unit arrived. Parts of the plane were scattered widely over the field. Mr. Woznica said the property is known as the Lee Andrews estate. Trooper S. D. Sharkey of the New hartford substation took the pilot from the spot where he landed to the scene of the crash. Lt. Col. J.T. clark, public information officer, acted as official spokesman for the guard unit. He said a hydraulic booster, which operated the jet's controls, had failed.

Military officials withheld photographs of the crash scene until they were cleared through security channels. The public information officer explained that close-ups of certain equipment in the plane could not be published for security reasons.

SYRACUSE, N.Y., THURSDAY EVENING, JUNE 23, 1955

How It Feels to Be Shot Out of a Jet

How does it feel to be shot out of a mile high fast-moving plane by a 50 millimeter shell? "It was a terrific sensation. I tumbled around in space for about five seconds. I'm convinced this thing works," said smiling First Lt. Thomas E. Nott of Philadelphia, who was forced to bail out of his F-84-F Thunderstreak jet over Cicero Center last night after his right landing gear failed to come down.

His plane crashed in a cornfield near Cicero Center and Lt. Nott landed in a tree in the Cicero swamp. He is with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard at Hancock Field for two weeks training. "There is a tremendous tumbling sensation when you are ejected out of the plane," the blond-haired Korean combat veteran related. He has one Mig to his credit and two others damaged south of the Yalu River.

"My first reaction was tumbling through space for about five or six seconds without seeing anything when I hit the strong currents of air. I pulled the rip cord, the chute came open and I floated around for about five or six minutes before landing in a tree.

PLENTY OF MOSQUITOES

"Gee, you folks got a lot of mosquitoes up here," he laughed. "After I landed in the tree the mosquitoes started to flock around me. Then I remember branches crumbling, the sounds of the State Police coming through the swamp to assist me. I want to thank everyone for helping me out and also that farm lady for swatting the mosquitoes away form me", the lieutenant smiled. "Someone said the plane exploded in the air. I think they were mistaken. I watched the plane circle and crash while I was floating down in my parachute. There was no explosion. However there is an explosion when I am ejected from the plane and this was probably the noise referred to," Lt. Nott stated.

Because of the high rate of speed of the jets it is impossible for a pilot to bail out in the normal fashion. Beneath the pilot's seat is an explosive charge comparable to a 50 millimeter cannon shell.

TRIGGERS SEAT

When a mechanical failure forces the pilot to bail out he takes the ship above 5,000 feet and presses a trigger on the arm rest of his chair. This sets off the explosive and catapults the pilot 20 to 30 feet straight up and clear of the plane. "This is the first time I've ever had trouble with a jet and I have logged 1,250 flying hours," Lt. Nott said. He has six years pilot experience. The lieutenant was on a gunnery mission with two other jets over Lake Ontario. Returning to Hancock Nott attempted to put his wheels down for a landing. "The left gear went down O.K. but the right gear wouldn't do down," Nott said. "I called the tower for instructions and they told me to try to "bump it out'." 'Bumping it out' means to bring the plane close to the runway and bump the ground with the wheel that is down in the hope it will shake the other wheel loose.

BAIL OUT!

"However when I attempted this I could feel the plane start to roll because it was off balance. I couldn't get it close to the ground to bump it. My next instructions were to take were to take the plane up to 5,000 feet near Oneida Lake and bail out," Nott said. Unhurt, Nott was taken to the crash scene, three-quarters of a mile from the lake shore on a 15-acre farm operated by Fred Woznica of Clay R.D. 1. After the observation at the base hospital last night he was flown this morning in a jet trainer to Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome, for a check-up by the flight surgeon.

Col. Edgar Owen, commanding officer of the Air National Guard unit, said there was no ammunition in the plane when it crashed. He explained that it had been used up during the training flight.

POLICE AT SCENE

State Police and Onondaga County Deputy Sheriffs kept close watch of the crash scene until Air Police from Hancock Field arrived. Cicero Volunteer Fire Department was called to water down the smouldering wreckage. Little was left of the plane after the crash. Lt. Col J.T. Clark, public information officer with the Guard unit, said a hydraulic booster, which operated the jet's controls, had failed. Woznica said he was working in a field adjacent to the crash scene. He had this to say: "I always watch the jets go over. All of a sudden I Heard a loud noise like an explosion and the next thing I saw was a parachute coming down". Also witnessing the crash were Efim Stachulonok, 68, of R.D. 2, Canastota, and Woznica's father, John Woznica. Both were working nearby.

Guard officers said this was the first serious jet accident at Hancock Field during post-war years. It will be a happy time tonight at the American Legion Clubrooms, 123 S. Clinton St., where the Pennsylvania Air National Guard pilots will have a farewell party. They leave for home Saturday.

GUEST OF HONOR

Lt. Nott will be the guest of honor of the 103rd Fighter Squadron of the 111th Fighter Bomber Wing of which he is a member. "Now he's a member of the caterpillar club, Maj. Alexander Lyon, commander of the squadron, stated. Every pilot who bails out safely is sent a miniature caterpillar emblem.