United States of America

The crew departed March AFB, California, on a night training flight. In the evening, while cruising at low altitude to simulate an aerial attack, the airplane struck a sand dune then crashed in a huge explosion in a prairie located few miles west of Las Animas. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt James L. MacGregor, pilot,
Cpt Gani Aydoner, copilot,
Cpt Clifford R. Duane,
1st/Lt Kendall E. Wallace,
Cpt Stanley H. Eddleman,
S/A Timothy E. McFarland,
A1c Bruce E. Schaefer,
A1c David W. Smith.

After takeoff from Mineral Wells, while in initial climb, the airplane banked left, lost altitude and crashed in a field, bursting into flames. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

While on a night approach to Oxnard Airport, the twin engine airplane descended below the MDA then collided with a plowed field located six miles east of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a ferry flight from Pensacola to Baton Rouge. While in cruising altitude, he contacted ATC and reported an engine fire. Cleared to descend, he attempted an emergency landing in a field but on touchdown, the airplane crash landed as the landing gear were not fully extended. The pilot was seriously injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

After takeoff from Park Falls Municipal Airport, the twin engine airplane encountered difficulties to gain height. It struck power cables then stalled and crashed in a field, bursting into flames. All five occupants were seriously injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The pilot, sole on board, departed Fraser Airport on a local private flight. While circling in the vicinity of the airfield, he reported an engine fire and elected to return when the airplane crashed in a field, bursting into flames. The pilot was killed.

While on a return flight to their company headquarters in McAllen, Texas, from Thermopolis, Wyoming, the president of Sky Train Air Inc., the chief pilot, and another company pilot stopped in Casper, Wyoming, for fuel. The lineman noted a fuel imbalance when 320 gallons of fuel were added to the left wing and only 260 gallons of fuel were added to the right wing tanks. According to the lineman, the crew was aware of the imbalance. A total of 585 gallons of Jet-A with Prist (anti-ice additive) was supplied which filled the wing tanks to capacity. No fuel transferring was necessary during the refueling. The lineman stated that he believed the fuselage tank was full because the nosegear strut was extended 6 to 12 inches. We stated a ground power unit was used to start the engines and he did not notice any difficulties with the aircraft during the crew's preflight checks. The flight plan filed by the president, reported to be the pilot-in-command, as follows: IFR to McAllen, Texas, at Flight Level (FL) 450, true airspeed 450 knots, Airway J170 to Denver, J17 to Amarillo, J17 to San Antonio, J25 to Corpus Christi, direct McAllen; time en route 2 hours 20 minutes with 3 hours 40 minutes of fuel on board. A weather briefing was not given to him because he had reported that he already had the weather information. The crew called the Casper Air Traffic Control Tower for taxi clearance at 1352:08 and began its departure from runway 21 at 1357:02. At 1449:39, while in cruise flight at FL 450, the flightcrew made initial radio contact with Sector 71 of the Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The aircraft was "squawking" transponder code 0670. About 1458, a new controller took over the radar and data positions. At 1459:36, he issued a frequency change to which the crew did not respond. At the time, the controller noticed no transponder target reply from the aircraft. Until 1501:39, he made several attempts to contact the aircraft, but received no response. Albuquerque ARTCC radar computer data showed that radar contact with the aircraft was lost at 1458:07 at FL447. Five witnesses at Felt, Oklahoma, located in the southwest portion of the Panhandle, heard an aircraft overhead at a very high speed. One witness stated that he heard a vibration sound which indicated to him the aircraft was overspeeding. Another witness stated that the aircraft was about lo break the sound barrier. Of the five witnesses interviewed, only one saw the aircraft - and only momentarily - and he stated the aircraft was in about a 45° descent angle and the wings appeared to be rocking up and down. All the witnesses stated that they heard an explosion and saw a mushroom cloud of black smoke erupt when the aircraft crashed to the ground. The accident occurred at approximately 1502LT. The aircraft crashed 2.5 miles southwest of Felt, Oklahoma. All three occupants were killed.

The crew was engaged in a local training flight at Tonopah Airport. While initiating a go-around manoeuvre, the pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed. Both occupants were killed.

During a night approach to Nellis AFB, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck the ground on short final. Upon impact, fuel tanks ruptured and the aircraft came to rest in flames about a mile from the runway threshold. Seven occupants were killed while all others escaped with minor or no injuries. A load of ammunition and grenades caused the aircraft to explode and burn for several hours.

The pilot, probably sole on board, was completing an illegal flight from Mexico to Florida with contraband on board. En route, the pilot was forced to attempt an emergency landing due to fuel exhaustion. The airplane crash landed near Homestead and was abandoned. The pilot was not recovered and a load of 1,000 lbs of marijuana was found onboard. The aircraft has been stolen.