United States of America

At 11:05 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 1959, Tommy’s Tigator took off from Boeing Field for an experimental low-level flight test. Five employees of the Boeing Airplane Company were on board the B-52D: Lewis E. Moore, commander/pilot; Joseph Q. Keller, copilot; Gerald G. Green, navigator; Charles K. McDaniel and Neil Johnson, flight-test engineers. The aircraft had been making test runs over Eastern Washington, Oregon, and Idaho since April 10, 1959, and was loaded with special electronic equipment for measuring stresses on the airframe and flight surfaces. The bomber was scheduled to fly at lower than 500 feet above the ground on an elliptical course from The Dalles, Oregon, to Malheur Lake, Burns, and back to Walla Walla, Washington, at near maximum speed of 638 miles-per-hour. At 11:30 a.m., Tommy’s Tigator radioed that it was over The Dalles and preparing to descend for the low-level test flight. No further reports were heard from the pilot after it passed the checkpoint. Leslie Heinz, a lineman for the Harney County Rural Electric Cooperative, was an eyewitness to the accident. He was working with a crew on power lines in a remote area approximately 35 miles west of Burns and three miles from the crash site. At about 12:00 noon, he spotted the B-52 flying southeast approximately 300 feet above the desert floor when it suddenly crashed. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all five crew members were killed:
Crew:
Lewis E. Moore, pilot,
Joseph Quentin Keller, copilot,
Gerald G. Green, navigator,
Neil Johnson, flight engineer,
Charles Kenneth McDaniel, flight engineer.
Source: http://www.historylink.org/File/10063

Crashed in unknown circumstances. Crew fate unknown.

Flight 75 taxied away from the terminal at 1520, 20 minutes late. The last-minute delay occurred when Captain Paddack found an error in the aircraft gross weight computation and questioned the weight for the existing runway restriction. At 1455 the flight radioed for runway temperature. The senior operations agent came aboard and he and the captain rechecked the computations to make sure the weight was correct and below maximum allowable for the runway length, the existing surface wind, and temperature. The problem was satisfied and it was determined that the gross weight was 60,507 pounds, 103 pounds less than the maximum allowable of 60,610 pounds. During taxi Flight 75 was issued an instrument clearance according to an instrument flight rules flight plan filed earlier. At 1529 a no takeoff from runway 22 was observed. Executing the clearance, Flight 75 made numerous radio communications in the New York area and proceeded uneventfully to its assigned cruising altitude. 14,000 feet, and onto the assigned airway Victor 3. Regular position reports were made as the flight progressed. At 1602 Flight 75 contacted the Washington Center. It reported that it was over Westchester on the hour, 1600, at 14,000, estimating Westminster at 1617, with Herndon next. In the same message it advised, ". . . ah, we've got a pretty good string of thunderstorms along that course . . . ah, if we could stay in the clear and stay a little bit south of Westminster, is that O. K. with you?" The center controller replied "Capital 75, that'll be all right and report passing Westminster." The flight acknowledged. At 1610 the flight advised, "Ah, Washington Center, this is Capital 75, we've reduced to one seven zero knots account rough air." This was the last message from the flight on the center recorders and the last which could be determined as having been made. The aircraft entered a near vertical dive, partially disintegrated at an altitude between 3,000 and 7,000 feet and eventually crash in Chase, two miles northeast of Martin Airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 31 occupants were killed.

Capital Airlines Flight 983 of May 12, 1959, a Constellation model L-049, N 2735A, following a landing at 1529 e.s.t., on a wet runway, was intentionally ground looped and during the maneuver skidded and slid down a steep embankment beyond the boundary of the airport at Charleston, West Virginia. One of the 38 passengers and one of the six crew members died in the fire which followed; one passenger was seriously burned amd all others on board the aircraft escaped with little or no injury; the aircraft was destroyed. The aircraft was landed within the first third of the runway and the captain said that finding braking to be ineffective, he chose to ground loop the aircraft rather than risk going down a sharp declivity at the far end of the runway. The aircraft left the runway about 600 feet from the far end. Investigation revealed operational deficiencies in the conduct of the approach and touchdown, and that crew coordination throughout the emergency was poor. Because of crew statements, the brakes were believed to have been capable of functioning in a normal manner; however, water on the runway would have permitted the aircraft to aquaplane and thus make them ineffective.

At liftoff, while in initial climb, the airplane went out of control and crashed in flames. A crew member was seriously injured while nine other occupants were killed. The tower saw the fire prior to takeoff and tried to warn the pilot, but apparently the plane left the ground at about the time of the warning and it was too late.
Crew (VAH123):
Lt William F. Wade, pilot, †
Lt Eldwin J. Bruner, copilot, †
Lt Hilton L. Cutter Jr., †
Ens Carl D. Johnson, †
Ens Vernon L. Garner, †
A2c John D. McMillan, †
Ocm Joseph E. Foltz, †
A3c Harry A. Hartwell, †
Asm George F. Robertson, †
At2 Gerlando P. Ilardi.

The crew was engaged in a routine flight when the left engine caught fire in flight. Shortly later, it detached from the wing and the crew decided to divert to China Lake AFB for an emergency landing. On approach, the pilot-in-command crash landed the airplane in a desert area. While there were no casualties, the airplane was written off.

On final approach to Juneau Airport, the four engine aircraft was too low and struck an embankment. On impact, the undercarriage were sheared off and the airplane belly landed, slid for several yards and came to rest in flames. All ten occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was written off. For unknown reason, the pilot-in-command completed a too-low approach.

In unknown circumstances, the four engine aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located five miles from Orting, killing all four crew members who were conducting a flight out from McChord AFB.

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.

En route from Orlando to Atlanta, while cruising by night, the crew reported to ATC that a fire erupted in the cabin and requested the permission to divert to the nearest airport. Shortly later, the airplane went out of control and crashed in flames in a prairie located in Alma, Georgia. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and both crew members were killed. Prior to the crash the fire was observed by ground witnesses when it burned through the fuselage, allowing burning cargo and debris to be scattered over a large area. After making several left circles, the burning aircraft plunged to the ground.