1964 Machida F-8 crash
 Three U.S. Marine Corps Vought F8U-2 (F-8C) Crusaders on the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (CVA-59), ca. 1960. | |
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | April 5, 1964 |
| Summary | Mechanical failure |
| Site | Machida, Tokyo, Japan |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 1 (survived) |
| Fatalities | 4 (on ground) |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 32 (on ground) |
| Aircraft type | Vought RF-8A Crusader |
| Operator | United States Marine Corps |
| Registration | 146891 |
| Flight origin | Kadena Air Base, Okinawa |
| Destination | Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture |
The 1964 Machida F-8 crash (町田米軍機墜落事故 lit. "Machida American Military Aircraft Crash") occurred on 5 April 1964 in Machida, Tokyo, Japan. In the crash, a United States Marine Corps Vought RF-8A Crusader, BuNo 146891,[1] returning from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, to its home base of Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, suffered a mechanical malfunction and crashed into a residential neighborhood in the Hara-Machida area of Machida City (near present-day JR Machida Station). The crash killed four people and injured 32 others on the ground. The aircraft's pilot successfully ejected and was not seriously injured.
The aircraft was part of a two-ship flight of Crusaders returning to Atsugi from Kadena. The other aircraft landed safely at Atsugi. The crash destroyed seven houses. Three of the four fatalities were killed by debris in the collapsed houses and the fourth was killed by pieces of the crashed aircraft. The mishap aircraft's pilot, Captain R. L. Bown of Seattle, Washington, landed on a car after ejecting at 5,000 feet and suffered bruising. Japanese media questioned why Bown was not able to steer the aircraft away from the residential area before ejecting.
References
- Associated Press (6 April 1964). "U.S. Plane in Japan Kills Four in Crash". New York Times. p. 7.