The carrier was on station the morning of 26 October 1966 , when a fire erupted on the starboard side of the ship 's forward hangar bay and raced through five decks , killing 44 men . Many who lost their lives were veteran combat pilots who had flown raids over Vietnam a few hours earlier . '' Oriskany '' had been put in danger when a magnesium parachute flare exploded in the forward flare locker of Hangar Bay 1 , beneath the carrier 's flight deck . Subsequent investigation showed the flare functioned as designed and the cause of the fire was human error . A seaman accidentally ignited the flare , and in a panic , threw it into the weapons locker where the flares were kept for storage , instead of throwing it over the side into the water ; this ignited all the flares in the locker and caused horrific damage . Some of her crewmen jettisoned heavy bombs which lay within reach of the flames , while others wheeled planes out of danger , rescued pilots , and helped quell the blaze throughout the next three hours . Medical assistance was rushed to the carrier from carriers and
a fire
USS Oriskany fire
USS Oriskany (CV-34)