Speakers Loreen & Matt Gibbons share the epic tale of the ditching and recovery of the crew of Moffett Field-based VP-9’s Alpha Foxtrot 586 in the Northern Pacific, October 26, 1978. This presentation offers a unique perspective on the background of events leading to their emergency, the confluence of engineering changes, training gaps, and design oversights that led to the loss of five lives that day. He connects the Accident Investigation Board lessons learned into the safety improvements that the P-3 community eventually implemented. The presentation traces the crew’s journey from Adak, into two life rafts, their rescue/recovery by Soviet fishermen, their stay in Siberia, and their return to Moffett. It salutes their Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard rescuers while providing the origin story of the Jerry Grigsby Survival Training Center in Pensacola, Florida.
Loreen Gibbons is a former Navy wife, remarried Navy widow, and retired elementary school teacher. Her debut book, “All Eternity Lies Before Me,” started out as letters written to her older grandchildren so they would come to know the grandfather they never got to meet. She lives with her husband Matt in the beautiful hill country of California’s Central Coast.
Matt Gibbons arrived at Moffett Field in July 1976, completing his training at VP-31 and joining VP-9 in October 1976. Two years later, he was the Tacco on a mission call sign Alfa Foxtrot 586. He is one of 28 living survivors of a P-3 Orion ditching. He is a member of the UK’s Goldfish Club, the honorary society formed after the Battle of Britain to commemorate those individuals who survived a ditching at sea.
-Wednesday, August 28th, 2024
-Moffett Field Museum – Bay 3
– FREE with Museum Membership
-$10 to attend for Adults, Seniors, & Children.
-Includes Museum Access
-12pm – 1pm
-Sodas and Water Provided
-Bring Your Own Lunch
