--- title: "The first combat qualified female naval aviator died in a crazy accident" description: "Kara Hultgreen was more than qualified to be the first female naval aviator – she was just a victim of a well-known deficiency." date: "2022-09-01" modified: "2023-08-29" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/female-naval-aviator-died-accident/" categories: - "Aircraft" - "History" - "Navy" - "Tactical" tags: - "Death" --- # The first combat qualified female naval aviator died in a crazy accident ![kara hultgreen]() When Lt. Kara Hultgreen died while trying to land on the *USS Abraham Lincoln*, the event touched off a national debate about women in combat roles and the military pushing women who weren't ready into active service. Except Hultgreen was more than qualified to be the first female naval aviator – she was just a victim of a well-known deficiency in the [F-14]()'s Pratt & Whitney engine. ![f-14 first female naval aviator]() *F-14 Tomcat. (U.S. Navy photo)* "Top Gun" doesn't mention engine deficiencies. Hultgreen's mom thought she would be the perfect debutante. Instead, her little Kara set out to be a Naval Aviator, flying the F-14 Tomcat. The goal didn't stop at the F-14; Kara Hultgreen wanted to be an astronaut one day. But she didn't start with the Tomcat, she started her career flying the less-pretty EA-6A. She made it to the Tomcat 18 months later. "Yes, it's a macho job in a number of ways," she told [Woman Pilot magazine]() before she died. "But that's not why I wanted to do it. I did this to become a fighter pilot. It makes me feel no less feminine and it should not make men feel less masculine. The F-14 is a humbling jet and I've been humbled." ![call sign: revlon]() *Call Sign: "Revlon." US Naval Institute.* What she meant by being humbled is that Hultgreen narrowly failed her first attempt at F-14 carrier qualification. But she passed easily her second time around, ranking third in her class overall. Tragically, it was a similar event that would result in her death. On Oct. 25, 1994, she was attempting to land her F-14 aboard the *USS Abraham Lincoln*. She overshot the landing area's centerline and attempted to correct the mistake. Her correction disrupted the airflow into her Tomcat's left engine, which caused it to fail. This was [a known deficiency]() in that particular engine. What she did next caused the plane to tilt over to the left. When her Radar Intercept Officer realized the plane was not recoverable, he initiated the plane's ejection sequences. He was fired out, and .4 seconds later, Hultgreen was fired out of the plane. But by then, the Tomcat had turned over by 90 degrees and Hultgreen was launched into the ocean, killing her instantly. By the time she died, Lt. Hultgreen had more than 1,240 hours of flying time in the F-14 Tomcat and had landed on a carrier some 58 times, 17 times at night. She was ranked first in defending the fleet from simulated attacks by enemy aircraft and in air refueling, and second in tactics to evade enemy aircraft and in combined familiarization with tactics and aircraft. The Aerospace Engineer was a Distinguished Naval Graduate of Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola. ![female naval aviator promo]() Yet, despite all of her achievements, training and preparation, there were some who blamed the military for her death, alleging her superiors overlooked her mistakes in training in trying to beat the Air Force in training the first female fighter pilot. One group, the [Center for Military Readiness](), claimed to have obtained Hultgreen's training records in 1995, records which they said would have disqualified her as an aviator. These records are contradicted by records released from Hultgreen's family the year prior, however. Her colleagues and fellow pilots praised her performance as a naval aviator and reminded people that 10 F-14 pilots were killed in accidents between the years of 1992 and 1994. Hultgreen once even brought an EA-6A Intruder to a safe landing, despite flying it with crippled landing gear. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()