"Jockey 14"

A tourist on the beach took this picture right before the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean on 14 March 1994 while supporting U.N. Forces in Somalia, Africa. The 105mm gun started a fire on the left wing when a live round prematurely exploded inside the barrel of the Howitzer. Some crewmembers bailed out while others braced for impact as the plane descended over the coast of Malindi, Kenya.

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The recovered 105mm barrel shows where the explosion occurred.

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The crew of "Jockey 14" (8 of the 14 died) poses next to the 105mm Howitzer gun a few days before the crash. The 105mm is the biggest gun ever fired from an airplane.

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I took this picture the next day as we flew over the crash site.

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Local Newspaper reports 7 dead while Bill Eyler was still missing. He was the first, and only one who bailed out and wasn't found.

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With the back of the airplane's ramp and door open at 300 feet over the Indian Ocean, we flew countless missions looking for Bill Eyler. We never found him.

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Going home

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