Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker

The crew was returning to his base at Carswell following a refueling mission. The approach was completed in low visibility due to the night and foggy conditions. On final, the airplane was too low and struck the ground one mile short of runway. It bounced, struck successively power cables and the roof of a building before crashing short of runway threshold. All seven crew members were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The crew was engaged in a local training flight at Walker AFB, Roswell, New Mexico. Just after liftoff, while in initial climb, the airplane rolled left and right and eventually crashed in a huge explosion on a hangar at the airbase. The airplane was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire as well as two others Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker registered 57-1449 and 57-1457. All six crew members were killed as well as two employees in the hangar.

The crew left Columbus AFB, Mississippi, on a routine refuelling mission of a USAF Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. Registered 57-0036, the B-52 was carrying a crew of eight. At an altitude of 32,000 feet, both aircraft collided in unclear circumstances and dove into the ground before crashing near Leitchfield. All four crew member on board the KC-135 were killed. On board the B-52, four crew members were killed while four others were able to bail out and were found alive. Both aircraft were destroyed upon impact.
Crew:
1st Lt Harold E. Helmick, pilot,
S/Sgt Paul E. Thomasson 2.

The crew departed Bergstrom AFB (Austin) on a B-52 refuelling mission. En route, while cruising in a low pressure area with turbulences, the airplane went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a huge explosion. All four crew members were killed. Brand new, the airplane has been delivered six weeks prior to the accident.
Crew:
Lt Rodney Anderlitch,
Maj Jesse Lee Myrick,
Lt Philip Camillo de Bonis,
Sgt Herman Allison Clark.

The aircraft took off at 0445 on an "Operation Headstart" refueling mission. Headstart was the 42nd Bomb Wing's operation that "proved" the concept of airborne nuclear alert with B-52 aircraft for SAC. Before take-off, the crew was notified of a no-notice Standardization Board evaluation, so in addition to the crew of 4, there was an Instructor Pilot, Instructor Navigator, and Instructor Boom Operator aboard. Upon returning to the Loring AFB area, the aircraft was cleared to make a GCA approach from the south for a touch and go landing. The aircraft touched down about 2500 feet down the runway, applied power and became airborne at about the 7000 foot mark. Because of the aircraft's weight, air temperature and the forces involved in a touch and go landing, the Pilot got the tanker airborne in a condition where there was a 35 knot gap between adequate lift for take-off and adequate airflow over the ailerons for roll authority. The aircraft rolled to the right, striking the Number 4 engine which failed due to fuel control unit damage and jamming the right aileron in a 5 degree up position. The aircraft entered a nose high, right wing low attitude and cartwheeled into the woods about 1000 feet from the runway. It broke into several major sections and burned. The Instructor Navigator and Instructor Boom Operator were able to egress the burning wreckage but the Instructor Navigator died several weeks later as a result of his burns.
Crew (42th Air Refueling Squadron):
Cpt John Eifollla, pilot, †
1st Lt Donald Gladding, copilot, †
Maj John Brown, navigator, †
Cpt Bernard Morgan, instructor pilot, †
Cpt Herman Dosenbach, instructor navigator, †
T/Sgt Ronald Champion, boom operator,
T/Sgt Charles Holsclaw, instructor boom operator.
Source: http://www.mewreckchasers.com/KC1351958.html

The aircraft was conducting a special flight from Westover AFB to RAF Brize Norton, near London, carrying a crew of seven and eight american journalists who covered the first transatlantic flight on a KC-135 airplane. Two other similar aircraft left the airbase earlier and 56-3599 was the third of a series of four. At liftoff from runway 23, the airplane encountered serious difficulties to gain height and struck trees with its right wing. It then struck power cables and crashed in a huge explosion on the Massachusetts highway about 1,000 yards past the runway end. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 15 occupants have been killed.