THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 21, 1996 TAG: 9603210123
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALVA CHOPP, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
WHEN THE new action thriller movie ``Executive Decision'' hit the theaters in Hampton Roads last week, moviegoers may have recognized some familiar aircraft intercepting the ill-fated 747 over the Atlantic Ocean.
Five F-14 Tomcats assigned to the now decommissioned Fighter Squadron 84 at Oceana Naval Air Station were filmed for the action scenes.
Lt. Rob Garretson, a back seat radar intercept officer in one of the planes, was excited to see his squadron's flying maneuvers on the big screen.
``I heard mixed reviews about the movie,'' he said from his new office on the staff of Fighter Wing Atlantic at Oceana. ``From a tactical standpoint, it's not exactly the way we'd operate in those conditions, but I thought it was entertaining.''
A dozen pilots and radar intercept officers, the five remaining aircraft and the last support officers and enlisted men from the squadron spent about two weeks in Key West, Fla., last fall filming the flying scenes. Capt. Dale Snodgrass, Commander Fighter Wing Atlantic, accompanied them and flew the lead aircraft on most of the aerial shots.
They soon learned that making a movie is a lot different from flying military maneuvers.
``It was the last detachment for the squadron before its decommissioning,'' Snodgrass said. ``I thought it was a great idea. The plot was current and it was positive publicity for the Navy and the F-14.''
``And it was a great way to send off the bones,'' Garretson said. Fighter Squadron 84's mascot was the ``Jolly Rogers'' scull and crossbones. The symbol has since been transferred to Fighter Squadron 103 at Oceana.
``Executive Decision'' is a typical thriller movie with a somewhat familiar plot. An international airliner is hijacked by terrorists with enough nerve gas to wipe out the entire East Coast. A stealth aircraft carrying a special forces team fails in a midair rescue attempt and the F-14s are launched to intercept the 747 and divert it to Greenland. After determining that a Special Forces team is onboard the airliner, the F-14s leave the scene.
Snodgrass said that because the movie took place over the Atlantic, following the sun as it traversed the sky, the flying scenes were photographed at either sunrise or sunset in Key West.
``We flew some strange hours,'' he said.
With an early morning briefing at 4 a.m. for a flight at sunrise each day, and a repeat schedule during sunset hours, the crewmen had little time to relish their ``movie making.''
``Every day was the same,'' Garretson said. ``By the fourth or fifth day, it wasn't all the glamour we thought it'd be.''
The movie takes some liberties with the tactical maneuvers that Navy aircraft would use under similar conditions, Snodgrass said.
``Most of the filming was done using what we call a division of four aircraft,'' he said. ``In this situation, we wouldn't approach the 747 in a Blue Angels-style formation. Instead, we'd probably approach with one aircraft while several others remained close behind.
``The movie's approach was for visual effect and entertainment.''
Garretson, who saw the movie as soon as it was released, said that every flying scene in the film was actually flown, but perhaps in different sequences. Intercepting the 747, he said, ``was awe inspiring to be so close to something so big.''
Because of strict Navy regulations, VF-84 squadron members only received a commemorative ball cap for their services. But the production crew allowed squadron enlisted members to fly along in the 747 during the filming. Many of them for the first time got a chance to see their aircraft in formation in the air.
``Most of the guys thought that was one of the best parts of the trip,'' Garretson said.
After the filming was complete, Snodgrass traveled to Hollywood to supervise the shooting of several cockpit scenes.
As the technical adviser, Snodgrass had a chance to rewrite parts of the script to improve the realism of the pilots' communication.
This was not the squadron's first movie role. In the late '70s, pilots and radar intercept officers from VF-84 flew in the movie ``The Final Countdown.''
Like members of that squadron years ago, Garretson said he can't wait until the video of this movie is released. ``It'll be a nice way to remember,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: STEVE EARLEY
The Virginian-Pilot
Capt. Dale Snodgrass, left, and Lt. Rob Garretson flew F-14 Tomcats
for scenes in "Executive Decision."
by CNB