For Lt. Mark Fox in his VA-72 A-7E Corsair II, the challenge of flying high speed at low altitude—hundreds of feet below the rim of ‘Star Wars Canyon’ in Oman—was as great a prospect as anyone could hope for.
For a junior Naval Aviator, few experiences compare to the thrill of flying his operational aircraft in demanding conditions, pushing both himself and his machine to their limits. For Lt. Mark I. Fox, flying his VA-72 A-7E Corsair II at high speed and very low level—hundreds of feet beneath the rim of Oman’s ‘Star Wars Canyon’—offered exactly the kind of challenge any pilot could wish for.
As noted by Peter Mersky with Mike Crutch and Tony Holmes in their book A-7 Corsair II Units 1975–91, by April 1983, Mark “MRT” Fox was a seasoned lieutenant on his second deployment, with 1,000 flight hours to his name—800 of those in the Corsair II. Flying from USS America (CV 66), the 1978 Naval Academy graduate from Abilene, Texas, was performing at his peak. For the previous six weeks, he and Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW 1) had been taking part in a series of joint US–Omani exercises known as Beacon Flash, and the diverse landscapes of Oman had become thoroughly familiar. Squaring off against skilled former RAF pilots of the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force (SOAF), who flew British-built Jaguar S(O)s, proved both demanding and highly satisfying.
Oman’s landscape ranged from completely flat desert to very rugged, mountainous terrain. One river had carved a canyon that looked like a smaller, shorter version of the Grand Canyon, with its rim rising more than 1,000 ft above the dry riverbed. On their first flights through it, the air wing’s pilots played it safe, staying near the canyon rim and making only gentle turns. As they gained experience and became more comfortable, they began flying more aggressively and at much lower altitudes. To prevent mid-air collisions, they also set a ‘one-way’ rule so that traffic flowed only toward the sea. The air wing nicknamed the route ‘Star Wars Canyon’, and flying through it was sheer enjoyment. Halfway along, the canyon floor turned sharply right, then left, by 90 degrees each time, with almost vertical granite walls lining the tighter lower sections of the bend. A camelback-shaped rock formation on the right gave pilots a way to bypass the tight, twisting ‘S-bend’ in the narrow lower riverbed.
After extensive study and numerous passes through the canyon using the ‘camelback’ shortcut, Fox concluded there was just enough space for an A-7 to work its way through the twisting channel. He eventually—and very deliberately—flew his jet through the ‘S-bend’ at the bottom of the riverbed. It required careful planning and absolute focus, but the experience was thrilling. By this particular day, the mission profile had become routine: launch from the carrier, go ‘feet dry’ (ingress) over central Oman, follow a low-level navigation route across the flat desert, release practice bombs in a pop-up attack on a SOAF target, then, still at low altitude, go ‘feet wet’ (egress) via ‘Star Wars Canyon’ and return to the ship.
The sortie unfolded exactly as briefed. Flying as ‘Dash 3’ in a three-ship formation, Fox accurately placed his practice bombs on target, then fell back into trail formation to transit the canyon before going ‘feet wet’. While carefully steering clear of the disturbed air from the two Corsair IIs ahead, he unintentionally picked up speed as he descended toward the canyon’s ‘S-bend’. The temptation to thread his aircraft between the granite walls was irresistible, and he trusted his ability to do it—he had successfully flown the ‘S-bend’ the previous day at 350 knots, though this time he was approaching it at roughly 450 knots.
Once he committed to flying through the lower canyon, he immediately realized that conditions were different from the day before. ‘Oh man,’ he thought, ‘I’m going more than 100 knots faster.’ A feeling like a ‘shot of cold ammonia’ slammed into his chest. At this higher speed, his turning radius was too large to make the upcoming 90-degree turn. He had no way to bleed off speed and no possible escape from what was about to happen. ‘I’m dead!’ He thought.
Then, suddenly, the first wall flashed beneath his nose, and he rolled into a left 90-degree bank to avoid the opposite canyon wall, again pulling hard to remain in the riverbed. By maneuvering aggressively through the two Reno racing-style ‘knife edge’ turns, he had slowed the Corsair II enough to get through the ‘S bend’ canyon. Once safely past it, Fox began climbing out of the canyon. At that moment, he was shocked to notice his knees shaking uncontrollably as his A-7 gained precious altitude.
After rejoining his formation over the water as they headed back to the ship, it took Fox a while to steady his nerves while flying toward his carrier. For the rest of the flight, he replayed the near-fatal episode in his mind, reflecting on how narrowly he had avoided killing himself in a perfectly sound A-7E. His streak of eight OK-graded three-wire landings ended with a merely fair one-wire, but even so, he was simply grateful to be back safely with his dependable Corsair II intact.
Fox later recounted the event in an article for Approach (the Naval Aviation Safety Review), concluding his account by writing that he had “only the A-7’s magnificent ability to dissipate energy to thank for my life (and a benevolent God, who looks out for fools and Naval Aviators).”
Lieutenant Fox went on to have an outstanding career, flying numerous combat missions in the Middle East, shooting down an Iraqi MiG-21 during Operation Desert Storm, and serving in a broad range of leadership positions that eventually led to his promotion to Vice Admiral. His decorations include the Silver Star, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal with a gold star denoting a second award, the Legion of Merit with two gold stars, and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat V.
A-7 Corsair II Units 1975-91 is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
