Forum: Off-topic

Forum Veteran Joined: Dec 15, 2006 - 12:28 AM Posts: 760

Fisherman finds live missile in Gulf

Updated: Tuesday, 09 Jun 2009, 6:19 AM EDT
Published : Monday, 08 Jun 2009, 9:03 PM EDT

MADEIRA BEACH - Bomb squad technicians are working to destroy an air-to-air guided missile a commercial fisherman hooked in the Gulf of Mexico.

The fisherman brought the 8-foot live missile on shore at Madeira Beach Monday afternoon, where Pinellas County deputies and members of the MacDill Air Force Base bomb squad detonated and dismantled it, then took the pieces to the base.

Rodney Solomon said he found the missile around 10 days ago while long-line fishing about 50 miles off Panama City.

Solomon said he thought it had already been detonated and wanted to keep it as a souvenir, so he tied it up to his fishing boat, the "Bold Venture".

"For two days, I had lightning striking all over my boat and I had that on my roof," Solomon said. "Nothing happened."

As he approached Madeira Beach he notified fire officials as a precaution.

Bomb squad technicians say the missile was corroded and unstable because it had apparently been in the water for a long time.

The missile, which has been determined to be American-made, will be destroyed at MacDill, though Solomon asked to keep a piece of it, officials said.

Solomon said he caught a second missile a few days later, but threw that one back.

"The other one that I caught, I knew that one was alive because it was brand new," Solomon said. "So it didn't have the gage, it didn't have the gage so I said 'man, all right. You goodbye, see you, hasta la vista baby.'"

An investigation is underway.

Source
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/l ... und_060809

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I know, lucky dude that it did not go "bang"...Aim 9 it looked like too...MacDill is wondering..what the ???? I bet

You know, all the years I'd lived in and fished off of Panama City, all I ever caught was fish. Of course, if I'd caught an AIM-9 like these fellas did, I'd have been a little smarter about it. Then again, seeing a Sidewinder up close is nothing new to me.

If it's been soaking in seawater for that long, then there is nothing that will harm anyone. Also, the missiles they shoot over the Gulf Range do not have warheads.

Never warheads over the Gulf? Live fires, missions aborted, maybe headed out to sea to drop fuel poundage or other issues be evaluated before coming back over land...you sure TC?

Ya know, I don't think I'd have brought it aboard. Just not enough good reasons to do it.

Meathook, I think TC's just referring to the "Gulf Range" not the whole Gulf of Mexico....there have probably been a few TFOA incidents thereabouts (don't yet know what the AF equivalent slang is)

That's a "fish story" if I ever heard one!

Is there a bag-limit on 'Winders? Must be an endangered species.

The USAF should give him a gutted AIM-9 to hang on his trophy wall.

Give a man a fish...he'll eat for a day
Teach a man to fish....he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day

Fishing gives a man something to do when he's not doing anything.

hahaha...I like it (Fishing quotes).

I have seen lost, fallen off Aim 9's (and other munitions) before (terrible events, even live ones came off), sometimes the aircraft would catch a tanker over water ( or it just came off on the runway or wherever) and "oops a daisy" off comes some munition ((dropped object report needed) a real pain in the a$$ for all involved, it happens but I have to admit, I might have picked it up too (and I know better). I agree with you, it should be gutted and given back, what a fish story that is but least he has the newspaper reports for his validation and proof it happened Thumb

and I know...TC and I see always eye to eye, always, I caught his drift - but thanks "snopes" (that is your nickname from me for those research skills you have displayed so far) Not Worthy

I should've clarified my explanation. My bad.

Anyway, the missiles that are shot on WSEP (Weapon System Evaluation Program) missions over the Gulf Range have their warheads replaced with a telemetry package for "scoring" purposes. The Range guys compile real time data from the telemetry, which will tell them things they need to know about the missile itself, i.e., how it performed, where it hit, malfunctions, if any, etc.

When the missile hits the drone, it will simply punch a hole in the target, rather than exploding, or utilizing a proximity fuze like its combat-capable counterparts.

The missile I saw in the CNN footage appeared to be a missile that was shot on a WSEP mission, not a warhead.

No sweat my man, I knew where you were headed...when I was flying F-4's, the missiles did the same thing, but as you mentioned sometimes, the damn things went right through the target, I have to admit, there were times I used to think (thank god there dummies or we could be toast)...

Yeah, I've heard pilots talk about the random missile that goes stupid when you launch it. I'd always wondered what sort of shape the WSEP missiles would be in if they were launched, and missed. Now I know.

Forum Veteran Joined: Dec 15, 2006 - 12:28 AM Posts: 760

I heard a news upstate that sounds like the plot of a bad movie or a comedy.

I heard that the reason he through back the other alleged missile he had caught; is that it was "beeping". haha

Quote:

That one was beeping so he decided to let it go

Source
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090609/ts ... 0609194352

It reminds me of a scene in a Godzilla movie, that goes something like this; where they're picking a combination to a big safe, it's a tense moment, they're afraid they might get caught and are not sure what's inside; and when they get the combination they open the huge metal door and there is a glow and a hum that comes out as the doors opened. Then someone says something like: "Ah don't come in; it's a NukErer reactor." (I guess I know where Bush learned how to enunciate the word nuclear).

It reminds me of another movie that I think was called "the big bus". It was a comedy movie about a nuclear bus. There is a scene where they're manipulating the fuel with robotic arms behind protective shielding when some of the fuel slips precariously and they make it seem like this could cause impending doom; so one guy says something like don't worry I'll take care of it, and he runs around back and opens up a panel and grabs a few with his hands and puts it back in the robotic arms.

Beeping eh? I wonder if it was "beeping" before or after the Doobie and the case of Natural Light.

I saw the two guys on CNN. "Bob Marley" looked like he might've packed a generous amount of um..."Oregano" for the trip, and well, "Jeff Foxworthy" looks like he couldn't afford anything more than Nasty Light to drink.

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Quote:

"Oregano"

Fishing and, fishing and, fishing and.....

Excerpt from conversation aboard their boat (Yes, Algor is watching y'all fish):

"Hey man, coool, dude, we got one, let's eat!"
"What about this one?"
"Nah, doesn't look good, throw 'er back, besides, one's the limit."

Two recipes from book found aboard the boat titled "1001 Ways to Cook an AAM"

Poached Warhead with Guidance Fin Bordelaise
Fox-deux Thermidor

Very Happy

Quote:

snopes

I thought my callsign was "Snoops" Question

But oh, well, by law, I cannot pick my own callsign anyway.

and you don't have to worship me

Wait until I take over the world for that... Twisted Evil

Forum: Off-topic

Fishermen catches missiles and throws one back.