More information on the crash of the jet in the woods

Thanks to someone from Fort Tilden for the tips!

Article

1962 — A single-jet Lockheed, originating from the Naval Air Station at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, N.Y., crashed into a “heavily wooded swamp” reportedly infested with poisonous snakes. The site was two miles from Bubbling Springs Lake, between Union Valley and Macopin Roads.

The troubled plane was first spotted by a worker in the Bearfort Fire Tower. He alerted police and a plane was sent out from Greenwood Lake Airport to locate the crash site. First on the scene were Captain John Ryan and Sergeant Louis Hall, who drove to the edge of the swamp, then ran, zigzagging for miles, searching for the plane, taking their cues from the search plane above. They found two Marine Reserve officers standing a distance away from the burning wreckage.

The flyers said at the time that their plane had “flamed out” and their ejection mechanisms had failed. The two airmen were taken to Chilton Hospital with back injuries and abrasions.

Here is a drawing of possible paint scheme:

In July 1961 there were 3 T2Vs at the base:

In Jan 1962, there were 4 T2Vs at the base:

In later reports, there were 3 at the base:

Click to access fy1963-jul62.pdf

Click to access fy1963-jan.pdf

Click to access fy1964-jan.pdf

It is possible that this fouth aircraft was the one that crashed in NJ.

Interested in the military history of Gateway NRA? Check out the following web sites:

“Historic Fort Tilden” in Rockaway, Queens, NY: http://www.geocities.com/fort_tilden
“Historic Floyd Bennett Field” in Brooklyn, NY: http://www.geocities.com/floyd_bennett_field
“Historic Miller Field” in Staten Island, NY: http://www.geocities.com/miller_field