Atsugi NAS

On final approach to Atsugi NAS, the airplane went out of control and crashed on a golf course located less than 2 km from runway 01 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all six crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt Laury K. Backman +5.

While in cruising altitude on a maritime patrol flight over the Sea of Japan, the four engine aircraft was shot down by two North Korea Air Force MiG-17. Out of control, it entered a dive and crashed into the sea some 145 km off the city of Chongjin. Few debris and two dead bodies were found floating on water and none of the 31 occupants survived the crash.
Crew:
ADR2 Louis F. Balderman,
AT1 Stephen C. Chartier,
AT1 Bernie J. Colgin,
ADR1 Ballard F. Connors Jr.,
CT3 Gary R. DuCharme,
LT John N. Dzema,
LT Dennis B. Gleason,
ATN3 Gene K. Graham,
AEC LaVerne A. Greiner,
ATR2 Dennis J. Horrigan,
ATN2 Richard H. Kincaid,
S/Sgt Hugh M. Lynch,
ADRC Marshall H. McNamara,
ATR2 Timothy H. McNeil,
CT3 John A. Miller,
LCDR James H. Overstreet,
Lt Peter P. Perrottey,
CT1 John H. Potts,
AMS3 Richard T. Prindle,
CTC Frederick A. Randall,
LTJG Joseph R. Ribar,
AT1 James Leroy Roach,
LT John H. Singer,
CTC Richard E. Smith,
CT3 Philip D. Sundby,
AT1 Richard E. Sweeney,
LTJG Robert J. Sykora,
LT Robert F. Taylor,
CT2 Stephen J. Tesmer,
LTJG Norman E. Wilkerson,
ATN3 David M. Willis.

The crew was performing a local training flight at Atsugi NAS with touch-and-go manoeuvres. On final approach, the right main gear failed to get down and to be locked. Despite the situation, the crew decided to continue the approach and upon landing, the airplane slid on its belly for several yards, veered off runway and came to rest against a navigation aids building. All 23 occupants evacuated safely while the airplane was written off.

En route from Atsugi to Subic Bay (Cubi Point NAS, Philippines), the crew informed ATC that engine number three caught fire and elected to divert to Naha Airport, Okinawa. Few minutes after 1400LT, the captain informed ATC about his position and maintained the altitude of 6,500 feet with 339° heading and requested maritime assistance in case of ditching. This was the last message. Shortly later, the four engine aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean some 290 km southeast from Okinawa Island. No trace of the 29 occupants was found but only 350 kilos of debris floating on water.

The Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune was shot down by Soviet fighter airplanes. The aircraft operated on a routine patrol mission over the Sea of Japan. At 1758LT while the airplane was flying on a course of 090 degrees magnetic, over the high seas of the Sea of Japan, its position was approximately 41 degrees 51 minutes north and 132 degrees 47 minutes east. At 1807LT, the course was changed to 067 degrees magnetic. The ground speed of the aircraft at the time continued at approximately 180 knots and its altitude was approximately 8,000 feet. The course of 067 degrees had been continued for approximately five minutes, when at least two Soviet MiG fighter aircraft came up behind the Neptune aircraft, and opened fire. The pilot of the Neptune turned sharply to the right and went simultaneously into a steep dive at a rate of descent of approximately 2,000 to 3,000 feet per minute, attempting to fly farther and farther away from the Soviet land mass and seeking the protective cover of a cloud bank approximately ten miles farther away. The MiG aircraft again opened fire. The Neptune continued its steep dive and made evasive maneuvers to the right and left. The left wing was hit and a fire erupted. The fire continued to spread quickly through the wing to the fuselage, and when the Neptune had reached an altitude of 400 feet over water, the pilot determined that it was necessary to abandon the aircraft in the. The Neptune was landed on the sea and came to a complete stop within 50 to 70 yards after the initial impact. Of the ten members of the crew on board the Neptune aircraft, nine succeeded in making their way out of the aircraft to the surface of the sea and entered a survival raft which had been carried aboard. The United States claimed that the point of the first attack was over the high seas to the southeast of Cape Ostrovnoi, in the neighborhood of 42 degrees 22 minutes north and 134 degrees and 11 minutes east, or further to the south and east of that position, approximately 33 to 40 nautical miles from Soviet territory. All survivors were rescued by the crew of a USN SA-16 Albatross.
Crew:
Roger H. Reid, †
John B. Wayne,
John C. Fischer,
William A. Bedard,
Frank E. Petty,
Anthony P. Granera,
Texas R. Stone,
Paul R. Mulmollem,
Ernest L. Pinkevich,
David A. Atwell.

Shortly after takeoff from Atsugi NAS, while in initial climb, two engines failed, causing the aircraft to stall and to crash 6 km east of the airfield. All 12 crew members were killed.

While approaching Tachikawa AFB runway 19, the airplane hit the slope of Mt Tanazawa located 28 km northwest of the airbase. The aircraft was destroyed and all 14 crew members were killed.
Crew:
Maj Gordon G. Bell,
S/Sgt Paul Bettman,
2nd Lt Charles A. Brewer,
Cpt John W. Brown,
Maj Wallace E. Crawford,
M/Sgt Michael A. Doherty,
T/Sgt James T. Lilley,
Cpt William E. Maher,
Lt Gerald A. Martin,
Pfc Cruz J. Martinez,
Cpl Dario C. Monza,
T/Sgt Donovan C. Morrison,
Sgt Thomas A. Mulhern,
2nd Lt Lawrence J. Sassu.

A structural failure occurred in flight, forcing the crew to abandon the aircraft and to bail out. All occupants survived while the aircraft dove into the ground and was destroyed upon impact.

Swerved on landing and came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

The aircraft was performing a flight from Seoul-Kimpo to Tachikawa AFB with several US officers and five civilians on board. While approaching the Tokyo area by night and from the southwest, the crew completed a turn at an altitude of 1,500 meters in marginal weather conditions when the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located west of the city of Atsugi, about 30 km southwest of Tachikawa AFB. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and burned completely. All 41 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was 10 km with cumulus and altostratus between 1,000 and 2,500 meters.