On 4/23/69 Lt. Graham E. Tharp, a student pilot with the VMAT-102 was on a routine training flight from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona. During the flight his Skyhawk experienced a flame out. After unsuccessful attempts to restart the engine, the instructor who was accompanying him in another aircraft advised him to eject. Lt. Tharp made an attempt to eject, but only the canopy jettisoned, the seat remained in the aircraft. As he was quickly losing altitude, he felt he could pull off a wheels up belly landing and picked a flat open area of desert and set the plane down. The jarring from the belly landing shook something in the egress system causing the seat eject. Unfortunately the seat did not go high enough for the chute to deploy and he was killed.

While researching this A-4C, I came upon a document titled Command Chronology for July 1968 from the VMA-223. In it I discovered that this Skyhawk was stationed in Vietnam and while out on a sortie during the month of July was damage by multiple small caliber hits in the wing and horizontal stabilizer.

This photo taken on 6/21/61, shows four U.S. Marine Corps Douglas A4D-2N Skyhawks in flight over Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. BuNo 148474 which is the one at the crash site is front and center, the others are 148462, 148475, 148493.

U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo.

On the drive to the area where the A-4C crashed onto the desert.

My first view of the crash site. A majority of the wreckage was concentrated in this area. Most of it is badly damaged from the post crash fire.

A large section of the left wing with the forward retracting main landing gear still in place.

Closer view of the main gear.

Damage on the wing's leading edge.

Another view of the main gear.

Gear's attachment point. The desert critters have made a home in the wing.

Axle with a wheel bearing.

Flap linkage on the trailing edge.

Piece of a flap attached to the linkage.

A piece of an aileron was still attached to the wing by its linkage.

Fire damage on the wing skin.

Last look at the wing before moving on to the other wreckage.

Electronic component, no idea what it is, has a lot of knobs on it.

The forward part of the right main landing gear door.

The other side of the door.

One of the speed brakes.

Other side of the same speed brake.

The tail end of the fuselage with the so called 'sugar scoop' tail fairing.

Another view of the same part.

The engine's tailpipe.

View from the rear.

From the other side.

Closer view shows the lacing on the insulation.

View from the front where the engine would have been attached.

Piece of the fuselage with the dorsal fin.

From the front.

Better view of the dorsal fin.

Another front view.

Closer view showing the opening from where someone remove a light.

View of the other side.

No idea what this access opening is for, its cover was attached with a chain.

Cover placed on the opening.

Just in front of the dorsal fin is the joint where the front and aft sections of the fuselage join. The three slots are access to some of the bolts that hold the sections together.

Close up of one of the attaching bolts from the rear.

View from the rear.

Damage on the dorsal.

Some of the fuselage internal structure.

This looks like the spot the Skyhawk burned. Most of the pieces look like they were damaged more from fire than the impact.

Nose gear.

Closer view.

Nose wheel with the wire beads from the tire.

The other main gear.

Another view of the same gear.

Closer view of the upper section.

The remains of the wheel and tire.