United States of America

While on a training mission, the B-52 was supposed to be refueled by the crew of a USAF KC-135 registered 57-1513. 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. Both nuclear bombs on board the B-52 were recovered intact.

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.

En route from Dyess AFB to Fort Sam AFB in Houston, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls and turbulences. Control was lost and the airplane crashed in Boerne, killing all four occupants.

Flight 542 departed the ramp at Houston at 2237LT, 22 minutes behind schedule with a total of 34 persons including a crew of six consisting of Captain Wilson Elza Stone, First Officer Dan Hollowell, Second Officer Roland Longhill, and Stewardesses Alvilyn Harrison, Betty Rusch and Leona Winkler, none of whom survived. The delayed departure was due to a mechanical discrepancy involving No. 3 generator. This generator was inoperative on arrival of N9705C at Houston. Prior to departure from Houston the Nos. 3 and 4 voltage regulators were interchanged. Actual gross weight upon departure was calculated at 83,252 pounds, including 17,000 pounds of fuel, and was 16,548 pounds less than the authorized gross weight of 99,800 pounds. The estimated time en route to Dallas was 41 minutes. The flight was given an instrument-flight-rules clearance which was to the Leona omni, via Victor Airway 13 west to the Gulf Coast intersection, direct to Leona, to maintain 2,300 feet altitude to Gulf Coast, then to climb to and maintain 9,000. At approximately 2240 the flight was cleared for takeoff and at 2242 it reported ready for takeoff and was airborne at 2244. After takeoff Houston departure control advised that it had the flight in radar contact and requested it to report when established outbound on the 345-degree radial of the Houston omni. Flight 542 complied and subsequently was cleared to 9,000 feet and advised to contact San Antonio Center on 121.1 mcs. upon passing the Gulf Coast intersection. Flight 542 reported to company radio at 2251 as blocking out of Houston at 37, taking off at 42, to cruise at 15,000 feet when so cleared, estimating Dallas at 2325, and that the Center had this information. At approximately 2252 Flight 542 reported to San Antonio Center as being over Gulf Coast intersection at 9,000 feet. The flight was then issued its destination clearance to the Dallas Airport via direct to Leona, direct to Trinidad, direct to Forney, direct to Dallas, to maintain 15,000 feet. The flight was cleared to climb to its cruising altitude. The next transmission from Flight 542 was to the San Antonio, Center, giving the time over Leona as 05 at 15,000. San Antonio Center acknowledged, and requested Flight 542 to change over and monitor the Fort Worth frequency of 120.8 mcs. at this time. The flight acknowledged. Shortly thereafter Flight 542 contacted company radio with a message for maintenance, advising that the generators were then OK out that there had been insufficient time for maintenance to insulate the terminal strip on No. 3 propeller at Houston and it would like to have it done in Dallas. At this time the flight also said it would give the communication center a Dallas estimate of 25. This was then followed by one other item for maintenance, which was that No. 3 sump pump was inoperative. This was the final transmission from the flight and was logged as completed at 2307. Structural failure of the aircraft occurred at approximately 2309 on course to the next fix, Trinidad intersection. The radial from Leona omni to Trinidad intersection is 344 degrees. The main wreckage was located 19.7 miles 2 north of Leona omni, 3.19 miles east-southeast of Buffalo, Texas. The time, 2309, correlates closely with the information obtained from witnesses to the accident as well as the time indicated on impact-stopped watches recovered at the scene. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 34 occupants were killed.

Flight 3 was a scheduled flight between Anchorage and Shemya, with intermediate stops at Cold Bay and Adak, Alaska. A routine takeoff was made at Cold Bay, and all en route radio reporting points were made to the company within two or three minutes of their estimated times. At 1650LT, the flight reported that it was 100 miles northeast of Adak, at 4,500 feet, on top and in the clear. Flight 3 then estimated it would be over the Adak low frequency range at 1725LT. The flight was cleared to the Adak low frequency range, to maintain VFR on top, and to call Adak approach control when 30 miles out for landing instructions. At 1715LT, the flight advised the company it was canceling its IFR flight plan and was proceeding VFR. Two minutes later Flight 3 attempted to communicate with Adak approach control. Upon hearing this message, approach control called the flight but was unsuccessful. It was later determined that the aircraft had crashed into the northeast side of the Great Sitkin volcano (1,740 meters high) located on the Great Sitkin Island, about 25 miles northeast of Adak Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all 16 occupants have been killed.

The aircraft crashed on runway 16 at Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas. The crash occurred while the pilots were attempting to land the aircraft with the elevator controls inoperative. The captain and copilot, the only persons aboard, were killed. The aircraft was demolished. Examination of the longitudinal control system of the aircraft disclosed that the aft end of the aft link assembly was disconnected from the clevis in the elevator control horn assembly. This condition would render the elevator control inoperative. From irrefutable physical evidence the Board concludes that the bolt which normally secures the link assembly-clevis attachment was not in place at impact. It concludes that the bolt worked out following departure from Dyess AFB, resulting in the loss of control which caused the accident. The Board further concludes that the bolt worked out because it was improperly secured, a condition which should have been detected during a No. 2 maintenance inspection completed just prior to the origination of Trip 7002. The inspection was performed by Associated Airmotive., Inc., a certificated repair station which performed under contract the maintenance work for AAXICO.

The aircraft departed Kotzebue for McGrath, both in Alaksa, at 1315 A.s.t., with nonrefueling stops at Kiana and Tanana. At Tanana Pilot Chefley W. Priest was briefed on en route weather to McGrath as well as on the route and terminal forecasts. He departed Tanana at 1957LT, about an hour before sunset, on a VFR flight plan. An emergency distress call from the aircraft was first heard at 2126LT. There followed several communications between the Beechcraft and the McGrath ground station which issued navigational advice. At or about 2214LT approximately three-quarters of an hour after dark and during rain showers, the aircraft struck the ground violently in a steep spiral at a point about 26 miles from the McGrath Airport. This accident appears to have been caused by the pilot's loss of control during instrument flight and his failure to recover. All eight occupants were killed.

The crew was completing a local training flight at Calverton-Peconic River Airport, Long Island, New York. While approaching runway 23 at an altitude of 1,000 feet, the airplane yawed to the right, stalled and crashed in a field located three miles from the airport. The airplane disintegrated on impact and all five crew members were killed.

While on a training mission from Westover AFB, the crew encountered technical problems after the radome detached in flight. The captain elected to divert to the nearest airport but due to poor weather conditions, ATC vectored the crew to Goose Bay, about 860 miles northeast of his position. As he could not make it, the crew decided to bail out and abandoned the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in the Spruce swamp located near Fremont. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all eight crew members were later found uninjured.
Crew:
Cpt George E. Kusch,
S/Sgt Arnold Newman,
Cpt Joseph L. Bivins,
Cpt Thaddeus I. Cheate,
Cpt Donald Bell,
Cpt Wayne G. Vogt,
1st Lt Joseph L. Hunt,
T/Sgt Merril R. Hethorn.

The Tri-Motor took off from the Grangeville to deliver goods to the backcountry airstrip at Moose Creek on the Nezperce National Forest and to drop two smokejumpers on a fire burning on Pettibone Ridge. Aboard the aircraft were a forest supervisor, a smokejumper foreman and two smokejumpers. When landing at Moose Creek to drop off the supplies before dropping the jumpers, the aircraft crashed into the trees at the end of the dirt runway and burst into flames.