Sacramento-McClellan

Shortly after midnight, while cruising in low visibility, the twin engine aircraft hit a ridge and crashed in a canyon located 3,5 miles southwest of Cordelia. All three crew members were killed.
Crew:
Pvt Harry S. Cooper,
1st Lt Glen K. Dorsey,
1st Lt Francis E. Reagan.

Few minutes after takeoff from McClellan AFB, while climbing, aircraft lost height and crashed in flames near the American River, south of the airbase. Two crew were killed while three others were injured.

Aircraft left McClellan AFB in Sacramento at 1830LT bound for Mines Field in Los Angeles. Pilot started the approach in good weather conditions but encountered patches of fog on final approach to runway 07L. Due to insufficient visibility, he decided to go around when the aircraft hit power cables. In stalling condition, aircraft hit trees and other electrical cables before crashing on an allotment located near the airport. Both pilots and one people on ground were killed as three other occupants were injured.

In the evening, the crew left McClellan AFB, near Sacramento, on a routine flight to Seattle, Washington. After take off, the pilot completed a circuit over the airport to reach the assigned altitude of 16,500 feet and reduced the engine power to 2,300 RPM. After few minutes, the right engine failed, followed shortly later by the left engine. A crew member was able to bail out before the aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a huge explosion. All five occupants were killed while the sixth was found alive.
Crew:
Cpt Marvin E. Bradley,
Cpl Robert E. Delmar,
2nd Lt Christopher P. Gadsden Jr.,
2nd Lt Joe F. Welch.

The crew was performing a flight from McClellan (Sacramento) to Alaska with an intermediate stop in Pendleton, Oregon. En route, weather conditions deteriorated and the visibility was poor due to snow falls. The twin engine airplane impacted the slope of Mt Wolf located in the Ochoco National Forest, central east Oregon. SAR operations were initiated but eventually suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft was found. The wreckage was eventually found on 13 August 1942 about 60 miles east of Prineville. All four crew members were killed.
Crew (36th Squadron):
2nd Lt Richard J. Heiderstadt, pilot,
2nd LT Walter V. McShane, copilot,
T/Sgt Michael R. Bittner, flight engineer,
S/Sgt Donald R. Kirtland, radio operator.

The bomber departed Fort Douglas with five crew and four passengers on 31Oct41. The destination of the flight was the Sacramento Air Depot, McClellan Field, California where the No.3 engine with over 420 hours on it was to be replaced. After a two day stopover in Reno, NV, because of bad weather to the west, they departed late on the morning on an instrument flight to their destination 2Nov41. There was no Command Set installed on this aircraft so the flight crew relied on their Compass Set radio to navigate to the airfield in Sacramento. After passing Lake Tahoe, the plane entered into the overcast sky. Then, after several minutes, the radio begun to static, and communications were down to the point where they were unable to check it at Donner Summit. Attributing the loss of radio functions to a temporary static condition, the pilot continued on to Sacramento via a more southerly route. Then, at that moment, the No.1 supercharger began to have problems maintaining pressure. With the aircraft in a climb towards 14,000ft, the co-pilot attempted to manipulate the supercharger controls to add additional pressure to it. Being partially successfully, the pressure continued to change, but not lost entirely, the flight continued onward. Then, after 45 minutes of flight, the flight indicators all ceased working. With the vacuum pumps having problems, and the pitot tube heat being turned on, no clear cause could be determined for this difficulty. The pilot and co-pilot decided to head back to Reno. Throttling up the engines to climb to 18,000ft, the aircraft pulled to the right. The flight crew, trying to hold the B-17 in a straight line of flight, cut the engine power to try again. After a more successfully attempt, the pilot and co-pilot realized they were having serious troubles controlling the airplane, the pilot ordered the crew to don parachutes as a precaution, and be ready to bail out of the aircraft. With their bank-and-turn instrument being the only functioning guide, the aircraft seemed to be handling fine. Then, the nose rose slightly, the pilot compensated by pushed the controls downward. The pilot, attempting to level off the aircraft's descent, realized that flight controls had been lost. He attempted to pull the controls back to regain attitude, but the aircraft then rolled over onto its back, righted itself for a brief moment, and then plummeted into a spin. As the aircraft began to break apart, six of the crew were able escape by jumping out. Two were thrown from the plane. All eight of these airmen parachuted to safety, leaving the pilot trapped in the cockpit as the bomber plummeted down to earth; he did not make it out. The aircraft crashed on Tells Peak, southwest of Lake Tahoe. The crew killed was 1st Lt Leo M. H. Walker.

Source: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1940.html