Lajes

The aircraft was performing a flight from Patuxent River NAS to Port Lyautey, Morocco, with an intermediate stop at Lajes, carrying 21 crew members and 21 passengers, among them civilians and children. At 2330LT, the crew informed ATC about his position 400 miles east of Baltimore (Maryland), this was the last radio transmission. About an hour and a half later, while cruising at an altitude of 17,000 feet, the aircraft went out of control and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean without any distress call on part of the crew. SAR operations were conducted on a large area but were suspended six days later due to poor weather conditions. No trace of the aircraft nor the 42 occupants was found. It was reported by the board that the aircraft was also carrying 111 life vests, 46 exposure suits, 660 paper cups and 5 life rafts. All elements supposed to float. However, no trace of them was ever found.

The crew was performing a transatlantic flight from Hamburg to Bogotá with intermediates stops at Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, Ponta Delgada and Hamilton. While approaching Ponta Delgada by night, the crew was informed about fog at destination and as the visibility was below minima, the captain decided to divert to Lajes. After a uneventful refueling stop, the crew took off from Lajes Airport, bound for Hamilton, Bermuda, at 0237LT. Three minutes after its departure from runway 34, while climbing, the four engine aircraft hit the slope of a mountain and burst into flames about 9 km southwest of the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 30 occupants were killed.

While cruising at an altitude of 12,000 feet off the Isle of Man, the crew informed ground about vibrations and icing conditions. The pilot obtained the permission to reduce his altitude to 8,000 feet when few minutes later, he sent a brief message saying he was losing control of the aircraft that crashed into the Irish Sea about 6 miles south of Barrow-in-Furness. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft nor the seven crew members was found. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were poor with wind and snow falls. The sea was rough and SAR operations were difficult to conduct.
Crew:
F/Lt R. N. Williams, pilot,
A. K. Passmore, copilot,
Mr. Kirkland, navigator,
Mr. Kennell, navigator,
Mr. Clamp, signaller,
Mr. Noble, flight engineer,
Mr. Johnston, gunner.

The crew was performing a ferry flight from Dover, Delaware, to Frankfurt-Main Airbase with intermediate stops in Lajes, Azores Islands, and Paris-Orly. On final approach, the airplane went out of control and crashed in flames in Choisy-le-Roi, less than four km from the runway threshold. All six occupants were killed.

Shortly after takeoff from Lajes AFB, while in initial climb, the heavy bomber lost height and crashed one mile south of the airfield. Six crew members were killed while nine others were injured, some of them seriously.
Crew:
Maj Hugh S. Abcock Jr., †
Cpt Louis Carl Bowen, †
A1c Jimmie R. Cherry, †
T/Sgt Issac M. Daniel, †
S/Sgt. Wilmer R. Devlin, †
1st Lt Roy Wesley Wallace, †
1st Lt William R. Sundermann,
1st Lt William J. Pederson,
A2c Fred W. Maschner,
A1c Charles M. Caillouett Jr.,
A2c Daniel L. Browder,
1st Lt Thomas W. Minter,
S/Sgt Yulee Mickler,
A2c Arthur L. Turk Jr.,
A2c James F. Locklin.

Capt. Jacob Pruett Jr., Capt Orion Clark, Brigadier General Richard Ellsworth, Major Frank Wright and a crew of nineteen took off in RB-36H, 51-13721 of the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (Heavy) from Lajes Airdrome in the Azores at 0000 Zulu (11:00 PM Azores time) on March 18, 1953. Their destination was their home base of Rapid City Air Force Base, South Dakota. Their flight path took them across the Atlantic Ocean and over Newfoundland. The flight was expected to take 25 hours. The pre-flight weather briefing indicated that their flight path would take them to the south of a low pressure zone. The counter-clockwise rotation of the low would produce headwinds that were forecast to average 17 knots from 300 degrees. General Ellsworth and Major Wright were not current in take-offs and landings, so Capt. Jacob Pruett Jr. and Capt Orion Clark were probably at the controls during the take-off. Major Wright then moved into the pilot's seat on the left and General Ellsworth got into the co-pilot's seat on the right. Major Wright and General Ellsworth flew the over water portion of the flight about 1,000 feet off the water for best range performance. They monitored their altitude above the water with the radar altimeter as they flew through the darkness. The navigator intended to turn on the mapping radar an hour before the time that he expected the RB-36H to reach land. The pilots planned to climb to an altitude that would carry the RB-36H safely over the mountains of Newfoundland while they were still 20 miles from land. Most of the flight was flown in overcast conditions that prevented the navigator from using the sextant for a celestial observation to determine the true position of the airplane. The low pressure zone moved south of its predicted position before the RB-36H reached its vicinity. The airplane passed to the north of the low. Instead of the anticipated headwinds, the airplane encountered tailwinds that averaged 12 knots from 197 degrees. Ocean station delta received a position update from the RB-36H at 0645Z. The navigator reported that the ground speed of the airplane was 130 knots. The position was in error by 138 nautical miles, and the true ground speed was closer to 185 knots. The RB-36H reached Newfoundland about 1-1/2 hours earlier than expected. The crew made no attempt to contact air defense when they were fifty miles off shore. The navigator did not turn on the radar. The pilots continued to fly at low altitude. In the last twenty minutes of the flight, the ground speed averaged 202 knots. The visibility was less than 1/8-mile as the airplane flew straight and level through sleet, freezing drizzle, and fog. At 0740Z (4:10 AM Newfoundland time), thirty miles after crossing the coastline the RB-36H struck an 896-foot tall ridge at an elevation of 800 feet. The six whirling propellers chopped the tops off numerous pine trees before the left wing struck the ground. The left wing ripped off of the airplane, and spilled fuel ignited a huge fireball. The fuselage and right wing impacted 1,000 feet beyond the left wing. The entire crew was killed on impact. Wreckage was strewn for 3/4-mile across the hillside. U. S. Air Force 1st Lt Dick Richardson heard the RB-36H approaching his cabin at Nut Cove. The sound of the engines stopped suddenly, to be replaced by a loud explosion. Richardson reported that, "Everything lit up real bright". He could see a fire burning on the hillside above. He woke up the other men on the hill. They boiled up the kettle and sent a search party up to the crash site through deep snow. They found no survivors. Following this tragedy, the Rapid City airbase will be renamed Ellsworth AFB to honor the general.
Crew:
Cpt Jacob Pruett Jr.,
Cpt Orion Clark,
Br Gen Richard Ellsworth,
Maj Frank Wright,
Cpt Stuart Fauhl,
Cpt Harold Smith,
Cpt William Maher,
1st Lt Edwin Meader,
1st Lt James Pace,
Maj John Murray,
1st Lt James Powell Jr.,
A2cC Robert Nall,
1st Lt Clifford Bransdor,
M/Sgt Jack Winegardner,
A2cC Morris Rogers,
T/Sgt Walter Pinski,
A1c Burse Vaughn,
S/Sgt Ira Beard,
S/Sgt Robert Ullom,
A2c Phillip Mancos Jr.,
A2c Keith Hoppons,
A1c Theodore Kuzik,
T/Sgt Jack Maltsberger.
Source:
http://www.air-and-space.com/b-36 wrecks.htm#51-13721

While cruising at an altitude of 11,000 feet enroute from Hamilton to Lajes, Azores Islands, the manifold pressure on the right engine dropped from 30 to 17 inches. The captain decided to return to Hamilton (Bermuda) for a safe landing but twenty minutes later, the right engine backfired while the manifold pressure increased to 20 inches. In such conditions, he decided to shot down the engine and feathered its propeller. Less than an hour later, while flying at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the left engine started smoking and lost oil. The crew eventually decided to ditch the aircraft near the weather station 'Echo' located in the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Bermuda archipelago. The aircraft sank and was lost while all ten crew members were rescued and evacuated by the crew of the USCGC Coos Bay.

The four engine aircraft was on its way from Stansted to Kingston, Jamaica, carrying RAF personnels and their family members. It left Lajes Airport in the Azores Islands at 2325LT on February 1st. While approaching the Canadian coast by night, the crew issued a brief emergency message whose content remains unclear. Shortly later, the aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, about 500 km southeast of Saint John's (approximately 46°15 latitude North and 46°31 longitude West). As the airplane failed to arrive in Gander, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 39 occupants was found. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were considered as good.
Crew:
D. Nicholls, pilot,
P. E. Walton, copilot,
A. E. Chopping, navigator,
J. A. Davis, radio officer,
R. G. Lawrence, flight engineer,
P. M. Newton, stewardess.

Shortly after takeoff from Lajes Airbase, while in initial climb, the heavy bomber went out of control and crashed into the sea few hundred yards off shore. No survivors was found among the 16 occupants who were returning home for Christmas after a three month period of training in England. The airplane was performing a flight from UK to Florida with an intermediate stop in Lajes, Azores Islands, for refueling.

The four engine aircraft left Frankfurt-Main Airport at 0936LT on October 14 bound for Lajes where it landed at 1603LT. After refueling, the airplane left Lajes at 1851LT bound for Westover AFB, Massachusetts. About an hour later, the crew informed ground about technical problems with radio compas and radio altimeters and decided to return to Lajes where it landed safely at 2019LT. According to duty time and rest time, the crew decided to pass the overnight in Lajes and took off on October 15 at 0843LT bound for the US. As the aircraft failed to arrive, SAR operations were conducted but were eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found.