USS_Enterprise_fire

The 1969 USS Enterprise fire was a major fire and series of explosions that broke out aboard USS Enterprise on January 14, 1969, off the coast of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The fire started when a Zuni rocket detonated under a plane's wing. It spread as more munitions exploded, blowing holes in the flight deck that allowed burning jet fuel to enter the ship. Twenty-eight sailors were killed, 314 were injured, 15 aircraft were destroyed, and the total cost of aircraft replacement and shipboard repair was over $126 million. The damage was lessened somewhat by improvements made after the similar 1967 USS Forrestal fire.