Tit Sampler Aircraft Accident on MIKE Shot, One of the critical elements of the sampling mission for Operation IVY was fuel for the F-8 aircraft. When the load was down to 1,500 pounds, the sampler pilot came down from his altitude and rendezvoused with the tanker aircraft, The pilot had 500 pounds of this fuel with which to find the tankers, If his fuel load dropped to 1,000 pounds and he did not have the tankers in sight, he was to proceed to Rniwetok and land, At altitudes above 10,000 feet, the F-8LG aircraft used approximately 1,200 pounds of fuel an-hour,” This F-8) fuel problem was the major contributing factor in an accident which was fatal to the pilot during the sampling of MIKEShot. PRIVACY ACT PROTECTED MATERIAL REMOVED Apparently, while inside thecloud, the airplane had stalled out and gone into a spin, and Red - instructed Red 3 to get together and return to the B-36 control aircraft, then start for the tanker aircraft. Both pilots acknowledged the instruce- tions and switched to a different radio channel, did not contact the two aircraft after that.-° 72 APEHO SWEH~2 -0034 a '