P-2V Neptune Was In Cold Storage For 42 Years
The remains of US naval aviators, who were lost after their P-2V
Neptune patrol craft crashed in Greenland more than 40 years ago,
were finally returned home Aug. 17.
A 16-member recovery team headed by Naval Air Force, US Atlantic
Fleet (CNAL), departed Norfolk (VA) Aug. 2 to recover the remains
of aviators lost in the crash on the Kronborg Glacier in
Greenland.
Capt. Tom Sparks, CNAL safety officer, led the recovery mission.
Bringing the fallen service members home and closure to those
families were key goals.
"I looked at it as an opportunity to do something for the family
and friends," said Sparks, a 25-year career Navy aviator. "I also
looked at it as an opportunity to provide closure to a Navy
investigation. From a personal satisfaction standpoint, it just
felt like the right thing to go back there, as an aviator, and to
help a fellow shipmate and recover the known remains that are out
there."
The P-2V Neptune patrol aircraft disappeared over the North
Atlantic during a routine reconnaissance mission Jan. 12, 1962. The
Navy initially believed the aircraft crashed at sea until August
1966, when a British geologic survey team discovered the wreckage
on the glacier. One month later, the Navy sent a recovery unit to
bring home the remains and destroy sensitive onboard equipment, but
a two-to-three foot snow blizzard during the recovery operation
limited the recovery effort. After forensic analysis of the
recovered remains, the Navy determined that only 7 of the 12 air
crew were recovered.
In 1995, the Navy received photographs from a helicopter pilot
from Greenland Air indicating that remains were still present. In
June and July 2004, after thorough planning and monitoring of the
wreckage site through satellite photography, the recovery team
found a three-week window of ideal weather conditions to conduct a
second, more thorough search of the site. Cadaver dogs, MK-26
ground penetrating radar and Arctic guides were instrumental in the
success of this mission.
Unusual warm weather in Greenland and Iceland this year was a
key factor in the success of this mission, said Sparks. While
searching the glacier, the warmth sometimes melted one to two feet
of snow and ice a day, exposing wreckage that had never been
exposed before.
The recovered remains are currently being transported to Hickam
Air Force Base, Hawaii, for a full military honors repatriation
ceremony to acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice made by these
Sailors. Following initial analysis at Joint POW/MIA Accounting
Command, Hawaii, the remains will be turned over to the Armed
Forces DNA Lab for identification and then turned over to their
families for proper burial.
(ANN salutes Journalist 2nd Class Jennifer Crenshaw,
Commander, Naval Air Force, US Atlantic Fleet Public
Affairs)
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