Navy a6 - The Lost Intruder
2 Crew Ejected Safely on November 6th, 1989 |54 ft in length | 210 fsw
Screen clip from second exploration dive January 24th, 2017, tail section found.
From the back cover:
On a windy, Autumn day in 1989, a U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder crashed off the shores of Whidbey Island, Washington. The Navy mounted a comprehensive, four-ship search for the attack jet with advanced sonar systems and remotely operated mini-submarines. They came up empty handed.
Former Navy pilot Peter Hunt knew the lost Intruder well. The jet came from his squadron; he had flown it from the deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ranger. Standing in the squadron ready room, Hunt listened to the radio transmissions as the accident unfolded: the hydraulic malfunction, the aborted mission, the futile attempt to lower the landing gear, and finally the violent ejection into Puget sound. Puzzled by the failed Navy search, Hunt long imagined the thrill of finding the A-6 and accomplishing what the U.S. Navy could not.
But time was running out. At age 43, Hunt was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. After ten years of worsening symptoms, no longer permitted to fly, and barely able to scuba dive, Hunt knew that he was losing the battle. Desperate for a rallying point to prove to himself that life still mattered, Hunt struck out in 2014 to find the missing A-6. Naval Aviation, deep technical wreck diving, high seas exploration, and one man’s optimistic refusal to quit converge in a salute to life’s possibility. The Lost Intruder soars in a triumph of the human spirit—see what it means to be alive.