Adak: The Rescue of Alfa Foxtrot 586

by Andrew C.A. Jampoler

Drawing on interviews with survivors, searchers, radio communication logs, and other sources, this fascinating tale of real-life disaster and survival describes the 1978 accident involving a P-3 Orion, which went down in the Arctic waters off the Kamchatka Peninsula during a sensitive mission, detailing the crew's struggle for survival and their rescue by a Soviet fishing trawler.

Genres: Military Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 31, 2003

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a former Patrol Squadron 9 sensor operator with thousands of hours logged in the P-3C Orion, I should have read this book years ago. It is a sobering reminder of the risks we take while flying and should be required reading for all aircrew.

[Frode · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a true story about a Navy plane that goes down in the icy waters of the north Pacific on October 26, 1978. It was during what has become known as the Cold War between the US and Russia. The plane, a P-3 Orion, was on a routine sensitive mission; they watched for missile firings from the Russian coast and looked for submarines. The aircraft had 15 men on board, pilots, sensor operations, flight navigators, and so forth. The P-3 was a turbo prop with four engines.

Due to a failure of one engine on a restart, the plane had to ditch into the ocean. The weather was poor, lots of cold rain. The seas were heavy with swells of 20 feet or more. The pilot guided the plane down so damage was reduced, but it sank in about 90 minutes. One man did not make it out of the plane, and the pilot was unable to get to a raft. The other thirteen were in two separate rafts.
Rescue operations went into effect, but due to the cold, time was limited. A Russian fishing trawler was in the vicinity and ultimately picked up the men in the rafts although three of them had already died of exposure.

The book is written in a sort of military style and is a moment by moment recounting of what was going on. It is not really a cliff hanger in the sense that the outcome is mostly known, but the drama of the men in the plane and then on the rafts is real. There is some commentary about the men themselves mixed in with the goings on that makes for a more human touch.

The book was loaned to me by a daughter of one of the survivors. It is a good piece of history.

[Rod Lovell · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an ex- Orion pilot, I found this book very interesting and could relate to it .

[John Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew C.A. Jamboree can really write. I learned so much about every aspect of this tragedy and never lost interest.

[Lauren Burroughs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am the granddaughter of PO 2d class Ed Flow, one of the men in this book. I grew up, hearing this story. But to read it, was an amazing experience. Please if you can read this book.

[San · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Retelling of Accident


The author was a pilot in The Navy so he has given a very detailed account.
The whole story was very compelling. I

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great insight to history. We've come a long way, but still have far to go. A piece of forgotten history. It's long and detailed, but a great read.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the scariest stories I've ever read, and it's all true.

Adak: The Rescue of Alfa Foxtrot 586 provides narrative alongside the investigation into the ditching of a Navy P-3 into the frigid north Pacific in 1978. It is a chronological account of the hours leading up to the flight, in-flight emergency, crash landing at sea, over-water survival, rescue by a Soviet trawler, and aftermath. Jampoler gives small snapshots of the lives of the pilots and aircrewmen. Getting to know the men becomes especially heart-wrenching when it becomes horribly clear that not all of them will survive the ordeal.

This book was recommended to me by a classmate while in a P-3 school. He is a seasoned flyer and technician and knows well that P-3s are historically some of the safest military aircraft in the world - yet it was this story that gave him serious reservations about flying. Being able to directly empathize with the crew's plight adds a whole separate dimension of fear and suspense. For all we know, this could happen to any of us.

I will recommend this book to anyone who doesn't understand why I've had to spend the past six months of my Navy career in survival schools. These regulations are written in blood.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

True account of the 1978 ditching of a US Navy P-3 aircraft near the Aleutian Islands that resulted in the death of 5 of the 15 crewmen onboard. One of the casualties was my classmate and roommate; reading this account was of personal interest, and not only because I am a former P-3 crewman. The author succeeded in weaving together the many facets of people, places, and events. I particularly liked how he linked official statements, "finding of fact", into the narrative. I found myself reliving my P-3 days, and as the plane deteriorates prior to ditching, I felt the crew's fear. This is an engaging and fast read. Unfortunately, the deaths involved were real.

There were some aspects that annoyed me: the inclusion of irrelevant information, the use of formerly classified data (also irrelevant to the story), and the infrequent untrue "fact." But overall, I give this a thumbs up. Every over-water aviator should read it.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It's the story of a 1978 aviation accident way out in the Aleutians, and Jampoler gets into insane detail about every aspect of the flight and its aftermath. It is a crazy story with a few loose ends that will never be resolved, but if you enjoy air disaster narratives I've never read one with more minute-by-minute analysis as this one. You will learn a lot about anti-submarine warfare, the military history of the Aleutians, and the intricacies of the P3-C Orion along the way to an essentially human story about death and survival.

[Gary]

A book I had to read, I was a Navy crewmember on P3s I know the plane. It was painful reading what the crewmembers when through trying to stay alive. I'm glad to have found this book.