AW1 Stephen "Buck" Robert Buchanan
VP-50  P-3C
BUNO: 158213
4/25/50-04/17/80
Hometown: California

Perished when his demonstration flight collided with a tramway wire in Pago Pago.  Pilot allegedly executed an unannounced maneuver.

Shipmates Comments:
AW2 Hal Ellis:
I knew him. Steve's nickname was "Buck". He was the NATOPS "Blue Card" for Sensor 3 in our squadron. Well respected and well liked. Buck had been a hard charger in both his Navy career and personal life. He was the kind of man that committed fully to whatever he did. Approximately one year prior to the accident, Buck had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and savior. He was not a religious man prior to this. It was quite a shock to some of his "running mates" but it encouragement myself and others as well. You see, Buck was a leader, and so, when he made that decision his life really changed in a way that others could see. And, it made a difference.
I was a Third Class Petty Officer when Buck was an First. I was 20 years old. I'll never forget him. I was in Hawaii on a TORPEX qual with my crew the day it happened. Since we were closer to American Samoa then any other crew, I flew as senso 3 to Pago Pago with the crash investigation team. We stayed in the undamaged wing of the same hotel that SG3 crashed into. It was a sorrowful scene.
Bucks remains were cremated and AW2 Gene Eacret and myself dropped his ashes from the free fall chute in one of our squadron aircraft over Monterey Bay while Chaplain Knitter read from the Bible. The free-fall chute opening was not quite big enough, so I held a NATOPS cover as a funnel while Gene poured. We thought Buck would find that funny since he was the Blue Card man. We remained "on-station" for a few minutes in silent appreciation for having known him and returned to Moffet Field where Gene presented Bucks widow "Mickey" with a chart showing where Bucks ashes were at rest. There were no tears left in Mickey that day. As devastated as she must have been, she expressed joy in that she knew that Steve had left that body to be present with the Lord.
Gene and Mickey eventually fell in love... if the circumstances belonged to someone else, I know Steve would have approved, so, anyone who knew the three of them had to feel good about that too.
Media Articles:
Navy Plane Crashes Near a Hotel in Samoa, Killing 7
N.Y. Times, April 18, 1980
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa, April17 (AP)--A United States Navy plane crashed today outside an historic bayfront hotel after snagging an aerial tramway cable in an Independence Day show in this tiny island territory in the South Pacific.
In Honolulu, the Navy said that seven persons had died in the crash, including all six crewmen of the plane. The seventh victim was believed to have been a tourist.
One civilian, a Japanese man, was critically burned in the crash at 10:10 A.M. which left one wing of the 250-room Rainmaker Hotel in flames, said Fred Rohlfing, who heads the American Samoa liaison office in Honolulu.
The names of the victims were withheld pending notification of their families.
The plane was based at Naval Air Station Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. It had just dropped six parachute jumpers over Pago Pago's central square, said a witness, who asked not to be identified.
Jumpers Blown Off Course
Three of the jumpers were blown away from their target and the plane turned, apparently to follow their descent, when it snagged on a cable of the cross-bay tramway,he said.
"It was chaos," the witness said. "Thousands ran toward the scene of the crash, then ran the other way when the plane's fuel tanks exploded."
"All you could hear were shouts of 'Melae, melae,' 'Danger, danger' " he said.
The four-engine P-3 Orion turbo-prop narrowly missed the main square, jammed with an estimated 30,000 residents and tourists here for the scheduled two-day celebration.
It fell just outside the hotel and sprayed the old wing with burning fuel. The witness said 70 to 75 rooms were destroyed by the fire before it was extinguished. However, he said, the hotel was virtually empty, with most of the guests outside watching the show.
The witness said the crash knocked out power lines, cutting electricity to about half the island, and also damaged communication circuits.
The P-3, normally used in antisubmarine missions, had just completed a drop of an Army parachutist demonstration team as part of American Samoa's 80th annual Flag Day celebration.

Seven are Killed As Navy Plane Hits Tram Cable
Washington Post, April 18, 1980
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa--A U.S. Navy plane crashed yesterday outside a historic bayfront hotel after snagging aerial tramway cables during an Independence Day show in the capital of this U.S. territory in the South Pacific.
The Navy in Honolulu said seven persons died in the crash, including all six crewmen of the plane. The seventh victim was believed to have been a tourist.
One civilian, a Japanese man, was critically burned in the 10:10 a.m.--4:10 EST--crash that left one wing of the 250-room Rainmaker Hotel in flames, said Fred Rohlfing, who heads the American Samoa liaison office in Honolulu. Most of the guests were outside at the time to watch the show.
The plane was based at Moffett Field Naval Air Station, Calif. It had just dropped six U.S. Army parachute jumpers over Pago Pago's central square.
Three jumpers were blown off their target and the plane turned, apparently to follow their descent, when it snagged on a cable of the cross-bay tramway, a witness said.
The four-engine P3 Orion turboprop narrowly missed the main square, jammed with an estimated 30,000 natives and tourists here for the scheduled two-day celebration.

FIERY CRASH
By GRANT MOOS of the SAMOA NEWS
American Samoa's 80th Flag Day celebration came to an abrupt halt Thursday morning when a U.S. Navy aircraft went out of control over Pago Harbor and crashed just feet short of the Rainmaker Hotel, killing all six crewmembers aboard and engulfing the hotel in flames. One civilian was also killed in the accident and another seriously injured.
In response to the tragedy, Gov. Peter Tali Coleman canceled all flay Day festivities and called for a "period of mourning" through Sunday, April 20 in honor of the dead.

It was the worst air disaster in the Territory since the January 1972 crash of a Pan American World Airways 707 in which 101 people were killed. Coleman Expressed shock and sorrow for the families of the military men who "lost their lives trying to make our Flag Day something special by giving us the skydiving exhibition" The P-3 Orion antisubmarine aircraft made two passes over the Fagatogo malae at about 9:53am. dropping six skydivers from the Army's Tropical Lightning Parachute club in Hawaii to the delight of the several thousand spectators gathered there for the event. On the third pass, the four-engine aircraft struck the long tramway cable between Mount Alava and Solo Hill, veered to starboard and crashed in the small yard adjacent to the west wing of the hotel. The plane instantly burst into flames and destroyed the entire 78-room wing of the 186-room hotel. Tony Brown, manager of the hotel, estimated damages at between three and four million dollars. He said the hotel's coffee shop was also damaged by the flames but would be operational within "a few days".

The Navy identified the dead as Lt. Allen Glenny of San Jose, Calif, pilot; Ltjg Patrick Conroy of Missouri City, Texas, copilot; Nathan Scates of Milpitas, Calif, Flight Engineer; Stephen Buchanan, of Mountain View, Calif, Radar Operator; Thomas Delviscio of Avalon, N.J., Inflight Technician; J.H. Sharp, Flight Engineer. The bodies were flown from the Territory Friday night for burial.

The Civilian who died in the accident has been identified as Robert Burns - a local NASA worker. Kiyoshi Nagai, 35 of Tokyo, was seriously burned in the tragedy and was evacuated to Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu - Thursday night for treatment where he was listed in critical condition.

In honor of the dead, memorial services were held on the Fagatogo malae Friday Morning with several hundred people in attendance. Telegrams of mourning poured in from several island nations, including Western Samoa and Fiji, and were read aloud to the assembly.

Church choirs representing several religions sang hymns honoring the dead and fourteen fine mats were presented to local government leaders and to military officials in traditional Samoan style.

The exact cause of the crash is unknown and a Navy investigation team arrived in the territory Friday to probe the ruins. Several witnesses said they heard an explosion and saw one of the plane's engines burst into flames before hitting the tramway cable, which ripped of the aircraft's vertical stabilizer. "I heard a bloody boom, then three seconds later I saw the flames," said New Zealand Yachtsman Stanley Perrott. "It was such a beautiful bloody plane."

Mrs. Robert Japp, who lives near the hotel, said she heard a "tremendous explosion" and said she thought, "Oh my God, they're not doing this for the celebration." Japp said when the plane crashed it cut off the electricity immediately. "All I thought of was that oil tank down below," she said, referring to the island's main oil loading dock adjacent to the hotel. "I didn't try to save a thing" and left the house immediately, Japp said. The crash cut the power to the entire western end of the island but Electric utility workers restored power by 3 PM. Thursday. Telephone service to the hotel was also cut off. One former military pilot who served in the Viet Nam War said the pilot, Glenny, should be commended for avoiding the oil dock and not crashing directly into the hotel. By studying the pilot's last second maneuvers, the Viet Nam veteran said the pilot crashed the plane in the best spot available. Brown said all rooms that were destroyed in the hotel were rented but that most of the guests were at the malae for Flag Day. "It was an accident, you cant help it," Brown said. Several island residents opened up their homes to the travelers whose hotel rooms were destroyed in the blaze. Rescue efforts by the Territorial Fire Department were hampered by the large crowds that flocked to the scene and the department also had trouble with some fire equipment. One fire engine was stalled at the hotel road entrance for about 45 minutes and several fire hoses sprung leaks caused by sharp metal strewn about the hotel area from the crash. The fire was under control by about 3pm.

There were also reports of looting from the hotel as fire workers and volunteers hurled furniture from the rooms in a last ditch salvage effort. Larry Thompson, from Florida, said he saw several trucks laden with furniture leaving the hotel area. Hotel officials are requesting the goods be returned.

A woman from Oregon said one of the plane's engines was "definitely" on fire before the craft hit the cable and speculated that the pilot may have been attempting to land the plane in the harbor. But military personnel said it was too early to speculate about the cause of the crash. Lt. Peter Lindberg, who was an assistant crew-member on the aircraft but wasn't aboard because he "wasn't necessary for the drop," said it wasn't a "standard (emergency) maneuver" to land in the water and doubted the pilot intended to land the craft in the harbor. All six skydivers were reported in good condition, contrary to preliminary reports. The first set of three parachutists landed squarely on the malae but the second group landed on the mountain above the village of Fagatogo, one landing directly on a small taro patch. One jumper said landing on the mountainside was planned and said, "in no way is this jump related to the accident."

Richard Montgomery, chief of advertising for the Honolulu Recruiting Command, said there was "no communication with the plane after the last three jumpers left (the plane)." The plane was based at Moffett Naval Air Station in Mountain View, Calif. The senior officer in command was Army Col. Dave Harrison.