Mid Air Collision Kills Yorktown Aviator; 
Son finds eyewitnesses 33 years later through YorktownSailor.com 

Posted on the new YorktownSailor.com by the son of a Yorktown aviator:

Craig Stebbins  68 deadly midair collision; anyone have any info?
Thu May 31 20:16:09 2001 
'68 WestPac--researching VS-23 & VS-25 midair

"Looking for knowledgeable parties (witnesses, squadron mates, investigators, rescuers) who may have information regarding a mid-air collision of two S-2 trackers on 11 JAN 1967, while participating WestPac off the coast of Hawaii. 

 

This accident claimed the life of my father, LCDR. Don J. Stebbins.

I’m looking to contact: VS-23 flight crew commanded by Stebbins: Lt.jg Thomas J. Crider, Radar Tech. Thomas. H. Frehseke, Yoeman3c Joseph L. Buckley ; Squadron CO: CMDR E.B. Ruby, Jr.  VS-25 flight crew: Lt. jg Robert L Clapp, Lt. jg Wallace J. Ables, Tech3c Terry. D. Engsberg

Any information would greatly be appreciated. 206 297 8685 

Craig Stebbins, son of LCDR Don J. Stebbins USS Yorktown"

 

 


Lt. George W. Jackson/OP Division
Mid-Air collision
Fri Jun 1 21:35:46 2001

I was the Yorktown's photo officer. The two planes collided while we were in the  process of dropping and photographing a weapon. The wing tip of one plane cut most of the vertical tail off the other. The plane that lost the wing tip crashed. Both crewman bailed out O.K. The other tried for a landing on a island airstrip nearby.  The landing was successful, but the right brake locked, causing the plane to veer into a ditch and overturn, causing the death and injury to the crew. I had to enter the plane to make photos of the instruments and controls. 

I knew all of the crew, and I am sorry for your loss. 

Cdr. Jackson (Ret).

Roland Brown,OI Div., RD3, '64-'68
Midair Collision
Sun Jun 3 10:28:03 2001

Being part of OI Division meant standing lookout watch and that's where I was when the midair collision happened. I was one of the forward lookouts, O7 level, just above the bridge. Cdr. Jackson has given a very accurate account of the incident and there's not much that I can add, except that I was an eyewitness to the collision. 

To this day, I can still recall seeing the two planes collide; the wing coming off of one and how it seemed odd to me the plane that lost the wing continued to fly for a few seconds in a level flight mode, and then all of a sudden rolled over to the side with the missing wing; and I remember seeing the crew jump out and thinking to myself "...I hope their chutes open."

I, too, am sorry for your loss.
Roland Brown, RD3

From the Captain of the USS Yorktown Bill Bennett, Jr. USN (ret.)


I've taken the liberty to contact you because of your plea on the Yorktown Web Page. I was the ship's commanding officer on the fateful day, one of the saddest days in my life! I had made it a point to meet all the department heads in each of the squadrons and that included your father, who was the Maintenance officer of VS-23. It was his desire ,in this job, to outdo his predecessors and keep his availability of aircraft for missions at a top level. The ship and squadrons were participating in the pre-deployment Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI) and it was the first day. 
One of VS-23's aircraft had flown to the ship from shore and the pilot had "downed 
it for some maintenance problem, serious and extensive enough to warrant a test 
flight prior to sending it on a mission. Your Dad would not let anyone else test that plane because he wanted to be sure it was ok. So, even though it was VS-25's turn to take the mission flight's your Dad was launched right behind the last mission aircraft. It was these two planes that collided less than a mile off the bow of the ship. The VS-25 plane ditched and the crew were picked up by helo. Your Dad elected to fly a couple of miles to a landing strip on the island. En route he lost power on one engine (this part of my memory is vague) 
and the torque from the other one was too great for him to prevent the aircraft from turning sharply as the wheels touched down and they veered into the trees at high speed . 

 Your Dad was a fine Naval Officer and was slated to have a fabulous career ahead of him but our dear Lord had other plans for him. Each night in my prayers he is remembered as are the others in his crew.

Don't hesitate to ask any question you wish. I'll answer to the best of my memory of 33 years ago. I sincerely hope you and the rest of your family are doing well. Is your Mother well? Please give her my fondest regards. 

Cordially, 

Bill Bennett
 Captain USS Yorktown (ret.]

 

 

USS Yorktown Ship's Company and Squadron comrades in formation at LCDR Stebbins burial at sea.  (Photographs supplied by LCDR Stebbin's son, August 2001)


Please see the Yorktown's ship newspaper on the Burial at Sea of LCDR Donald Stebbins click here

Please see our Tribute Page to all Yorktown sailors who served and died click here

Yorktown aviator to be honored at the Vietnam Memorial


On April 19th, my father, LCDR. Donald J. Stebbins along with 200 other American service members will be honored in Washington, D.C., as part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s “In Memory” program. This program honors those who died as a result of the Vietnam War, but whose deaths do not fit the Department of Defense criteria for inclusion upon the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The following are excerpts are from the application submitted to the VVMF by Dr. William Mohlenbrock, LCDR Stebbins’ close friend, CVS-10 shipmate, and former Flight Surgeon of VS-23.

LCDR Stebbins died as the pilot in command of an S-2E aircraft, after a midair collision that occurred in the western Pacific, while preparing the squadron for its Vietnam tour. He was stationed aboard the USS Yorktown with ASW Squadron VS-23 as senior pilot and the maintenance control officer responsible for aircraft readiness. The Yorktown was en route to its posting on “Yankee Station” which, by chance, was outside the combat zone at the time of the accident. LCDR Stebbins died January 11, 1968 at Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii and was buried at sea, with full military honors

During routine air operations, the LCDR Stebbins’ aircraft, NU-10, was involved in a mid-air collision with another aircraft (NU-32) from the Yorktown. LCDR Stebbins’ aircraft was struck by NU-32, who had approached NU-10 from behind. The wing of NU-32 struck the vertical stabilizer (rudder) of NU-10, removing the top portion of it, and severely deforming the remaining section, which caused NU-10 to immediately to go into a nose down, inverted spiral towards the water. LCDR Stebbins was able to regain control of the aircraft, send a distress call, and then recover from a second, similar loss of control, according the only living member of the air crew, Tom Fehseke, NU-10’s radar operator.

Once NU-10’s control was restored, LCDR Stebbins, his co-pilot, and two crewmembers elected to do a wheels-down, emergency landing at nearby military airfield since returning to the ship was not an option. At this point they had no radio contact from the ship, control tower, or other airborne aircraft because NU-10’s radio antennas had been destroyed in the collision, making them unable to determine the exact extend of damage to their aircraft.

According to witnesses, NU-10’s approach to the runway was straight and under control, but the aircraft immediately veered off the runway upon touch down and went into a skidding, right-hand turn. Up until this point the aircraft was successfully being steered by varying the engines’ speed. NU-10 crossed adjacent grass areas, and struck various low obstacles that sheered off the forward landing gear, propellers, and one of the engines. The aircraft stuck an asphalt mound at the base of an incline, which broke up the nose, mangled the cockpit, and caused the aircraft to flip.

This final impact killed LCDR Stebbins instantly. Co-pilot Tom Crider and crewmember Joseph Buckley were removed from the aircraft by the rescue crew, while Tom Fehseke was able to egress by himself. Crider received a sprained ankle and returned to duty, and ultimately retired from the Navy as a senior aviator. Fehseke sustained a broken ankle, got discharged, and is currently a commercial airline pilot. Buckley lost his arm and received serious head injuries, but eventually married and had a family. The crew of NU-32 safely bailed out and was safely recovered.

In reviewing the supporting documentation included with the “In Memory” program application, LCDR Stebbins’ shipmates consistently supported the premise that his superior airmanship saved the lives of his crew.

“I do not believe there is a pilot in the fleet today, who under the same trying conditions faced by your son could have done a better job of saving the lives of his crew...Not only were his actions that fateful Thursday keeping with the Navy’s finest, but indeed his entire Naval career marked by excellence…I’m personally proud to have had the opportunity of serving with a man of his caliber. All three of three of his crew share my feelings that they are alive today largely because of the skill with which Don ‘brought them back’” Letter from E.B. Rubey, Jr. Commanding Officer of VS-23 to Stebbins family.

“It is lucky as hell that Don Stebbins was our #1 [lead pilot] or we would have probably spun in immediately.” Letter from Crider to Fehseke, dated Mar 20, 1968.

“If we’d known how badly the aircraft was damage we’d have ordered you [Nu-10 crew] to bail out.” Tom Fehseke that recounted a conversation between Admiral Ralph Weymouth (ASW Group 1) and himself while he was in the hospital recovering from the accident.

“Don died trying to save his plane and his crew and came close to pulling it off that none of us ever like to think about it. It is my belief that he did everything that human skill and 9500 hours of experience could have possibly done to get out of an impossible situation.” Letter from Lt. John Conklin, VS-23 to Stebbins family, dated Jan.12, 1968.

During the ceremony, the names of all the honorees are read aloud. At the conclusion of the ceremony, certificates bearing the honorees' names are placed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The tributes are collected by the National Park Service and stored in their permanent archive. In addition, the honorees are included in an In Memory Honor Roll Book to serve as a lasting reminder of their service and sacrifices.

This year’s program begins at 10:00 AM, April 19th (Patriots Day) adjacent to the Vietnam Memorial and is open to the public. I’d welcome the opportunity to meet with anyone who served with my father who plans to attend. For more information visit http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?SectionID=339
--Craig Stebbins

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