Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler - Notable Incidents

Notable Incidents

While no Prowler has ever been lost in combat, over forty were destroyed in various accidents as of 2007.

• On 26 May 1981, a USMC EA-6B crashed onto the flight deck of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and caused a fire, killing 14 crew men and injuring 45 others. The Prowler was fuel-critical after a "bolter" (missed approach), and its crash and the subsequent fire and explosions destroyed or damaged eleven other aircraft.

• A USMC EA-6B Prowler, BuNo 163045, from VMAQ-2 caused the Cavalese cable car disaster on 3 February 1998, accidentally cutting the cables of a cableway in Italy during a low level flight in mountainous terrain, killing 20 civilians.
• In 1998, a memorial at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island was dedicated to 44 crew members lost in EA-6B aircraft accidents. Later that year, on 10 November 1998, that total increased to 48 when four crew members were killed when a USN EA-6B collided with an S-3 Viking during night landing qualifications on USS Enterprise (CVN-65). Five more aircraft have been lost since 1998, but none resulted in fatalities.