Crash of a Boeing B-52D-75-DO Stratofortress near Burns: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1959 at 1200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
56-0591
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Seattle - Seattle
MSN:
17274
YOM:
1956
Location:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
At 11:05 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 1959, Tommy’s Tigator took off from Boeing Field for an experimental low-level flight test. Five employees of the Boeing Airplane Company were on board the B-52D: Lewis E. Moore, commander/pilot; Joseph Q. Keller, copilot; Gerald G. Green, navigator; Charles K. McDaniel and Neil Johnson, flight-test engineers. The aircraft had been making test runs over Eastern Washington, Oregon, and Idaho since April 10, 1959, and was loaded with special electronic equipment for measuring stresses on the airframe and flight surfaces. The bomber was scheduled to fly at lower than 500 feet above the ground on an elliptical course from The Dalles, Oregon, to Malheur Lake, Burns, and back to Walla Walla, Washington, at near maximum speed of 638 miles-per-hour. At 11:30 a.m., Tommy’s Tigator radioed that it was over The Dalles and preparing to descend for the low-level test flight. No further reports were heard from the pilot after it passed the checkpoint. Leslie Heinz, a lineman for the Harney County Rural Electric Cooperative, was an eyewitness to the accident. He was working with a crew on power lines in a remote area approximately 35 miles west of Burns and three miles from the crash site. At about 12:00 noon, he spotted the B-52 flying southeast approximately 300 feet above the desert floor when it suddenly crashed. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all five crew members were killed:
Crew:
Lewis E. Moore, pilot,
Joseph Quentin Keller, copilot,
Gerald G. Green, navigator,
Neil Johnson, flight engineer,
Charles Kenneth McDaniel, flight engineer.
Source: http://www.historylink.org/File/10063
Probable cause:
The investigation by Air Force and Boeing experts concluded the accident was caused by the catastrophic failure of the horizontal stabilizer (tail plane), affecting the B-52’s longitudinal stability. The plane was not designed for the excessive turbulence of high-speed, low-level flight and began to disintegrate. Minus the horizontal stabilizer, the nose of the plane pitched sharply upward and it stalled, struck a knoll and exploded. At an altitude of 500 feet, there was virtually no chance for the crew to escape.
Final Report:

Crash of a De Havilland DH.104 Dove in Cugny: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 19, 1959
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
OO-DAL
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
04011
YOM:
1946
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
While completing a training flight, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and decided to reduce his altitude in an attempt to establish a visual contact with the ground when the airplane struck a high tension pylon and crashed in flames in a field located in Cugny. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots, an instructor (Joannes Asperslag) and a student pilot (Yves Delabyand) were killed.
Probable cause:
Pilot error.

Crash of an Airspeed AS.10 Oxford II at Beauvechain AFB

Date & Time: Jun 2, 1959
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
O-25
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Beauvechain - Beauvechain
MSN:
4170
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The tire on the right main gear burst during takeoff roll. The right main gear collapsed and the aircraft veered off runway to the right before coming to rest. Both pilots were unhurt while the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Failure of the right main gear after the tire burst during takeoff.

Crash of a Beechcraft SNB-5 off Montijo AFB: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jun 1, 1959
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
2507
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Montijo - Montijo
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
While performing a local training flight out from Montijo AFB, the twin engine aircraft went out of control and crashed into the Tagus. The wreckage was found off Rato Island and all four crew members were killed.

Crash of a North American B-25J Mitchell at Campo de Marte AFB: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 29, 1959
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Campo de Marte - Campo de Marte
Country:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
Crashed near Campo de Marte AFB while performing a local training flight. Two crew members were killed while two others were injured.

Crash of a Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune at Whidbey Island NAS: 9 killed

Date & Time: May 11, 1959
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Whidbey Island - Whidbey Island
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
At liftoff, while in initial climb, the airplane went out of control and crashed in flames. A crew member was seriously injured while nine other occupants were killed. The tower saw the fire prior to takeoff and tried to warn the pilot, but apparently the plane left the ground at about the time of the warning and it was too late.
Crew (VAH123):
Lt William F. Wade, pilot, †
Lt Eldwin J. Bruner, copilot, †
Lt Hilton L. Cutter Jr., †
Ens Carl D. Johnson, †
Ens Vernon L. Garner, †
A2c John D. McMillan, †
Ocm Joseph E. Foltz, †
A3c Harry A. Hartwell, †
Asm George F. Robertson, †
At2 Gerlando P. Ilardi.
Probable cause:
A hydraulic line fluid rupture caused the fire.

Crash of an Avro 652 Anson C.19 at RAF Roborough

Date & Time: Apr 24, 1959
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
VM308
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a training mission from RAF Debden. On approach to RAF Roborough in marginal weather conditions, the pilot made a mistake with the heading settings (error of 20°). On short final, he realized he was not properly aligned with the runway and elected to make a last-second correction to avoid an ambulance parking when the airplane crashed and came to rest in a boundary fence. Both pilots were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Wrong approach configuration on part of the flying crew. It was also reported that RAF Roborough is difficult to access, poorly equipped and its runway is considered as too short.

Crash of a Scottish Twin Pioneer CC.1 off Aden

Date & Time: Apr 8, 1959
Operator:
Registration:
XM288
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Aden - Aden
MSN:
542
YOM:
1958
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On final approach to Aden-Khormaksar Airport, while completing a local training flight, the airplane stalled and crashed into the sea some 800 meters short of runway threshold. All five crew members were injured and evacuated while the aircraft was lost.
Probable cause:
Double engine failure on approach. Fuel contamination is suspected.

Crash of a Scottish Twin Pioneer CC.1 near Aden

Date & Time: Apr 8, 1959
Operator:
Registration:
XM287
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Aden - Aden
MSN:
541
YOM:
20
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a training mission out from Aden-Khormaksar Airport. En route, a double engine failure forced the crew to attempt an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed and came to rest upside down. All five occupants were slightly injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Double engine failure in flight. Fuel contamination is suspected.

Crash of a Lockheed C-121G Super Constellation in Prescott: 5 killed

Date & Time: Feb 28, 1959
Operator:
Registration:
54-4069
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Litchfield Park - Prescott - Litchfield Park
MSN:
4149
YOM:
1954
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The crew left Litchfield Park NAS near Phoenix to conduct a local training mission at Prescott Airport. After completing several touch and go manoeuvres, the crew was flying at an altitude of about 300 feet east of the airfield when control was lost. The aircraft entered a dive and crashed in flames in a near vertical attitude in a wooded area located along Highway 89. The aircraft burst into flames and all five crew members were killed. It was reported that one of the propeller was feathered when control was lost.
Crew:
Cdr Lukas Victor Dachs, pilot,
Lt Theodore L. Rivenburg Jr.,
Lt Edward Francis Souza,
Calvin Coolodge Coon, flight engineer,
James Stephan Miller, engineer.