American Notes THE NAVY

The U.S. Navy, says retired Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll, "is a pretty tough place to earn a living." No kidding. During one four-day period last week:

-- A pilot making his first attempt at an aircraft-carrier landing crashed into the deck of the U.S.S. Lexington, killing himself, three crew members and a civilian.

-- An F/A-18 pilot from the U.S.S. Midway accidentally dropped a 500-lb. bomb on the guided-missile cruiser U.S.S. Reeves, injuring five sailors.

-- A sailor on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson was swept overboard and drowned in the Pacific.

-- Three sailors -- and $4 million worth of nonnuclear missiles -- on the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower were washed away by heavy seas near Cape Hatteras; only two of the men were recovered.

-- Nine sailors were injured when fire broke out in the boiler room of the U.S.S. Monongahela as it cruised near Spain.

Despite the string of mishaps, experts insist the Navy's safety record has improved in recent years. During the 1960s, naval aviators averaged 15 accidents for every 100,000 hours of flying time. By the mid-1980s, the accident rate had dropped to two.