Date & Time: Jul 18, 1942 at 1520 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
39-008
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Gander - Warminster
MSN:
2040
YOM:
1939
Location:
North Reading
Massachusetts
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
8
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
2
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Gander Airport to be transferred to the Johnsonville Naval Air Development Center located in Warminster, about 30 km north of Philadelphia, to be retrofitted with the latest armament. Flying over North Reading, the crew encountered an unexpected situation and apparently attempted an emergency landing when the airplane collided with the chimney of a house and crashed in a dense wooded area. The airplane was totally destroyed and all 10 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was poor due to foggy conditions.
Crew:
1st Lt Marion R. Klyce, pilot,
1st Lt Don H. Johnson Jr., pilot,
2nd Lt Orville D. Andrews, navigator,
1st Lt James Phillips Jr., bombardier,
S/Sgt William E. Perkins, flight engineer,
Pfc Sidney S. Koltun, assistant flight engineer,
Cpl Stephen Bilocur, radio operator,
Cpl Charles H. Torrence, assistant radio operator.
Passengers:
S/Sgt Robert J. Aulsbury,
T/Sgt Archie R. Jester Jr.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of a phenomenon called ‘flutter’ that may have caused one of the airplane’s wings to fall off on its descent. Further supporting this theory was the fact that an undamaged wing was found a significant distance away from the wreckage.