Block Island Sound – March 12, 1946
On the night of March 12, 1946, a flight of two F8F-1 Bearcats left Quonset Point Naval Air Station to take part in an instrument training flight. Each pilot was to take turns flying in the lead position using only instruments while the other would follow from behind. The weather was clear and calm.
The flight went out over Block Island Sound to an area about eight miles south of Newport, Rhode Island. By this time both aircraft had climbed to 8,000 feet. At some point Ensign Miles Loyd, piloting (Bu. No. 94857), took the lead, and began a 25 degree dive which he maintained for 4,000 feet. Then his airplane abruptly nosed over and dove downward at 90 degrees before impacting the water and disappearing before Ensign Loyd could escape.
Source:
U.S. Navy accident report dated March 12, 1946