Historical Fact

Our services were called upon by the US Navy in 1999 when John F. Kennedy Junior’s airplane went down off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. They would not lift the airplane from the bottom of the ocean until the shipboard crane’s load line had been pressure lubricated. They wanted to make sure every precaution was taken to avoid a wire rope failure mishap. When Bob Kirkpatrick was contacted, he realized the urgency of the situation and shipped a new JU120 System overnight without paperwork or purchase order. Fortunately, Bob has never received another call with this type of urgency attached to it, however, he has received many urgent calls from customers needing his expertise, knowledge, and experience. The Kirkpatrick Group, Inc. has gained an outstanding reputation for high-quality, dependability, and obtaining a complete understanding of its customer’s application requirements. Our Systems continue to evolve to accommodate the broadest range of field applications.

Historical Fact:

The Kirkpatrick Model JU120 System was flown overnight to Martha’s Vineyard on July 17, 1999 by the United States Navy to be used on the Salvage Vessel USS Grasp’s 2-1/4 Inch (Towline) prior to lifting John F. Kennedy Jr’s. Airplane off the bottom of the ocean. The main concern in the mission was that they could not risk a broken Wire Rope in the middle of the lift. The JU120 Jumbo System gave them that added insurance. Before this project, they had integrated (172) Model JU120 Systems into the fleet.