Navy Plane Crash/Jim Jones: An Eyewitness

Navy Plane Crash/Jim Jones: An Eyewitness. . , Navy Plane Crash , January 15, 1962. Lt. Charles Hodgate, Delton Wilson, John Bush, and Horace Marks struggled to get their A3D-2 Skywarrior plane airborne. Sanford NAS cleared them for take-off on a bombing run, but the tail bumper, starboard engine, and wingtip dragged, leaving marks for 2150 ft. The order came to lower landing gear, dump fuel, and turn east to avoid Orlando. Wilson then reported the starboard engine-fire warning light was on. Two A3J aircraft joined the A3D and confirmed the engine fire. Skimming the treetops while losing altitude, the Oviedo School lay directly in the flight path. An immediate bailout was ordered. Delton Wilson parachuted out and survived, but the the plane's escape chute mechanism failed. As children watched, the plane fell short of the school and crashed into Ward Citrus Grove, exploding and killing pilot Charles Hodgate, John Bush, and Horace Marks. , Jim Jones: An Eyewitness , "In 1962, I was a high school junior sitting in Jack Calvert's English class looking out into a crystal-clear sky when I saw three planes skimming the tree tops heading directly towards the school. The two planes on each side peeled away and a parachute appeared under the planes, dropping rapidly to earth. The middle airplane rose vertically, cartwheeled sideways to the right. I could see the underbelly of the plane as it summersaulted nose-down into Ward Citrus Grove. As the enormous fireball rose up, I hoped the people inside would make it. Business teacher Novella Aulin came into the classroom and asked me to drive her car over to check on Myrt and W.A. Ward, who were living near the grove. I was the first to arrive at the crash site and I could feel the intensity of the heat from the aluminum plane burning. I knew immediately there could be no survivors."