Crash of a Tupolev TU-104 at Savasleyka AFB

Date & Time: Feb 19, 1958
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-L5414
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Novosibirsk - Sverdlovsk - Moscow
MSN:
6 35 01 01
YOM:
1956
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a training flight from Novosibirsk to Moscow-Vnukovo Airport with an intermediate stop at Sverdlovsk-Koltsovo Airport. While approaching Moscow, the crew informed ATC that the fuel reserves were insufficient and requested the permission to divert to the Dyagilevo Airbase located 180 km southeast of Moscow. Without checking local conditions, the flight director authorized the crew to divert to Dyagilevo. Upon arrival, the pilot was forced to make a go around due to poor weather conditions and it was then decided to divert to the Savasleyka Airbase located 200 km northeast of Dyagilevo. On final approach to Savasleyka Airfield, both engines stopped simultaneously. The airplane stalled, struck trees and crashed in a wooded area located 1,500 meters short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all eight crew members were seriously injured.
Probable cause:
Double engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Boeing B-52D-75-DO Stratofortress at Ellsworth AFB: 5 killed

Date & Time: Feb 11, 1958
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
56-0610
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Ellsworth - Ellsworth
MSN:
17293
YOM:
1956
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
On final approach to Ellsworth AFB, while completing a local training sortie, all eight engine lost power. The aircraft stalled and crashed onto a building containing the equipment for the instrument landing approach system and located short of runway. Two crew members were killed while six others were injured. Three people working in the building were killed as well.
Crew:
Cpt Melvin J. Rudd, pilot,
Sgt Richard Gilbert, navigator,
Cpt Verle Rusk, navigator,
1st Lt Leonard R. Scotty, electronic countermeasures officer,
T/Sgt Oscar Orrs, gunner, 1,
Cpt John O'Connell Jr., navigator, †
1st Lt Kenneth B. Kaeppler, radar navigator. †
Those killed on ground were:
A1c Ronald R. Mitchell,
A1 James E. Ferrell,
Mr. Glen M. Allen.
Probable cause:
The accident was the result of a fuel pump screen iced over, leading to a total power loss on all engines.

Crash of a Consolidated B-24 Liberator near Palakkad: 10 killed

Date & Time: Feb 5, 1958
Operator:
Registration:
HE842
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Sulur - Sulur
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The crew departed Sulur AFB, Tamil Nadu, on a training mission. En route, weather conditions deteriorated and the pilot-in-command decided to gain altitude when the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain shrouded in clouds and located in the region of Palakkad. All ten crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Lockheed P2V-5F Neptune in Norwalk: 6 killed

Date & Time: Feb 1, 1958 at 1913 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
127723
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Los Alamitos - Los Alamitos
MSN:
426-5054
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The aircraft departed Los Alamitos AAF for a local training flight with eight crew members on board. While cruising at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the airplane collided with a USAF Douglas C-118A Liftmaster. Registered 53-3277, it left Long Beach Airport five minutes earlier bound for McGuire AFB, New Jersey, with 35 passengers and a crew of six on board. Following the collision, both aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in Norwalk. The Liftmaster crashed on several building and a fuel station, killing all 41 occupants and one woman on the ground. The Neptune crashed in a stone-pit located about 2.5 miles north of the C-118 crash site. Six crew members were killed while two others were seriously injured. The accident occurred by night but in good weather conditions with a visibility above 15 miles.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the collision occurred in an uncontrolled area. Both crews were considered as co-responsible of the accident as they failed to take the appropriate measures to avoid each other and to pay attention to potential traffic. The crew of the C-118 was blamed not giving the priority to the Neptune which was flying to his right.

Crash of a Douglas A-26B-25-DL Invader in the Old Dad Mountains: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jan 31, 1958 at 0943 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
41-39310
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
George - Winslow - Phoenix - Blythe - George
MSN:
7023
YOM:
1941
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew left George AFB in the early morning on a training flight to Winslow, Phoenix, Blythe and return to George, with four other similar aircraft. While cruising, one of the Invader's crew made an error and left his position, causing his aircraft to struck the top of the Invader registered 41-39310. Out of control, the airplane dove into the ground and crashed in a desert and mountainous area located in the Old Dad Mountains, in the Mojave National Preserve. Both crew members were killed. The other plane was able to land without further incident but with one engine inoperative.
Crew:
1st Lt Alexander Aros,
A1c Patrick W. Hughes.

Crash of a Lockheed R7V-1 Super Constellation at Patuxent River NAS: 9 killed

Date & Time: Jan 14, 1958 at 0830 LT
Operator:
Registration:
128437
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Patuxent River - Patuxent River
MSN:
4104
YOM:
1953
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
After the crew completed several touch-and-go manoeuvres at Patuxent River NAS, he started a new descent in poor visibility due to foggy conditions. On final, the four engine airplane struck trees and crashed in flames short of runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all nine crew members were killed. It appears the crew descended too low in marginal weather conditions.

Crash of a Fairchild C-82A-FA Packet off Rio de Janeiro

Date & Time: Jan 11, 1958
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
PP-CEH
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro
MSN:
10115
YOM:
1945
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport, while on a local training flight, the airplane stalled and crashed into the Guanabara Bay. Both pilots were injured while the aircraft was lost.

Crash of an Avro 696 Shackleton T.4 near RAF Kinloss: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jan 10, 1958 at 2200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
VP259
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Kinloss - Kinloss
YOM:
1950
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a night training mission at RAF Kinloss. After completing several manoeuvres in the area, the crew started a descent to the airbase when the instructor decided to abandon the approach and attempted a go around. Few minutes later, in limited visibility, the crew did not realize his altitude was insufficient when the airplane struck trees and crashed in flames in a dense wooded area located five miles east of the airfield. Four crew members were injured and three other were unhurt. Unfortunately, the captain and one student pilot were killed.
Source: http://tonycunnane.uk/page-261.html

Crash of a Douglas DC-3A in Poitiers

Date & Time: Jan 8, 1958 at 1415 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
F-BAOA
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Poitiers - Poitiers
MSN:
11708
YOM:
1943
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
8141
Captain / Total hours on type:
427.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
6000
Copilot / Total hours on type:
63
Circumstances:
The aircraft was dispatched at Poitiers-Biard Airport for training purposes. The crew (five pilots under supervision, one instructor and two passengers) left the airport at 1245LT for local training mission. While approaching the airfield with one engine voluntarily inoperative, the crew encountered difficulties with the undercarriage that failed to lock down in time. The instructor decided to make a go around when the airplane banked right and crashed on a military building housing ammunition. All eight occupants were injured and evacuated while the aircraft was destroyed. No one on ground was injured.
Probable cause:
The accident was due to the successive appearance of two incidents during a training exercise: slowness of the landing gear to extend; failure of the right engine to pick up power. The crew which included a pilot under training and a mechanic with limited experience, did not properly co-ordinate their actions. The instructor, because of his position in the cockpit, was unable to assist.
Final Report:

Crash of a Douglas DC-3-277D in Porto Alegre

Date & Time: Jan 3, 1958
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
PP-VDL
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Porto Alegre - Porto Alegre
MSN:
4115
YOM:
1941
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew (one pilot under check and one instructor) were conducting a local training flight at Porto Alegre-Salgado Filho Airport. While passing over the runway at low height, the instructor shut down the right engine to simulate a failure when the airplane rolled to the right. The instructor elected to correct the situation by an action on the rudder but the airplane reached a critical attitude. Power was reduced on the second engine and the aircraft crash landed. Both occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Error of judgement on the part of the instructor.