Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance

The crew left Andersen AFB on a SAR mission following the disappearance three days earlier of a USN Consolidated PB4Y-2S Privateer that was completing a meteorological mission in the typhoon Doris. In flight, the R4D-8 hit the slope of the volcano located in the center of the Agrihan Island and disintegrated on impact, killing all 10 crew members. The wreckage was found six days later, on December 26. For unknown reason, the airplane was flying at an insufficient altitude and the pilots failed to distinguish the volcano.

The crew was engaged in a maritime patrol flight over the East China Sea. En route, the seaplane crashed in unknown circumstances off Jeju Island. The crew off the USS Swordknot noted black smoke about 10 km from his position and diverted to the point of impact. Few debris were found and all 14 occupants have been killed.

While performing a maritime patrol flight over the Pacific Ocean, the crew informed ground about an engine failure and the captain ditched the airplane 350 km southeast of Miyazaki. A crew member was killed while eight others were rescued.

Shortly after takeoff from Port Lyautey Airport, while climbing, the aircraft suffered an engine failure. The crew decided to ditch the aircraft off shore and was quickly rescued. The airplane sank and was lost.

During the takeoff roll, the aircraft swung, lost its undercarriage and came to rest. All five crew members were unhurt while the aircraft was not repaired and struck off charge.

The three engine aircraft left Spotted Bear-US Forest Service Airport with a pilot and six smoke jumpers on board. While flying at low height over the Flathead Indian Reserve located south of Kalispell, the aircraft suffered a simultaneous failure of all three engines. It stalled and crashed in a wooded area. All seven occupants were injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

En route, while completing a maritime patrol flight over the South China Sea, the crew informed ground that the left engine caught fire and elected to return for an emergency landing. Shortly later, the seaplane crashed into the sea about 150 km west of Laoag, Philippines. Five crew members were rescued by the crew of a USCG Catalina while ten other occupants were killed.

At 06:15 local time, the RB-50G 'Little Red Ass', temporarily attached to the 91st SRS, was intercepted by two MiG-15 of the 88 GvIAP in 42°38'3"N, 132°20'9"E at 20,000 feet over the Sea of Japan after it had violated the Soviet air space near Cape Gamov. What happened next is disputed, according to Soviet reports the fighter pilots instructed the aircraft to land but the gunners opened fire and hit the MiG flown by 1st Lt. Aleksandr D. Rybakov, who subsequently attacked the RB-50 together with his wingman 1st Lt. Yuri M. Yablonskiy and shot it down with cannon fire. US reports claim that the interceptors opened fire first, disabling the #1 engine and the gunners then only returned fire in self-defense, but could not prevent another attack that set #4 engine on fire. The RB-50 went in a sharp dive, but parts of the damaged right wing and tail assembly tore off and the aircraft disintegrated and crashed into the sea about two minutes after being fired upon. At least seven crew members succeeded in bailing out, but only the copilot was rescued after 22 hours by the US destroyer USS Picking (DD 685) from a liferaft that had been dropped for him by a SB-29 about 12 hours after the crash. The destroyer also recovered the body of the pilot who had died of injuries and exposure and the body of a flight engineer was later located on the coast of Japan, while the remaining 13 were reported missing in action. It was suspected that at least some of them were taken prisoner by Soviet PT boats observed to be operating in the area, but it is not known if this was actually the case.
Crew:
Cpt Stanley Keith O'Kelley, pilot,
Cpt John Ernst Roche, copilot,
Cpt John Cyrus Ward,
Maj Francisco Joseph Tejeda,
1st Lt Frank Ernest Beyer,
1st Lt Edmund Joseph, navigator,
1st Lt James Gordon Keith, navigator,
1st Lt Lloyd Clayton Wiggins, navigator,
1st Lt Warren John Sanderson,
1st Lt Robert Elbon Stalnaker,
M/Sgt Francis Luther Brown, flight engineer,
S/Sgt Donald Wayne Gabree,
S/Sgt Donald George Hill,
A1c Roland Edgar Goulet,
A2c Earl Wilbur Radelin Jr.,
A2c Charles Joseph Russall,
A2c James Edwin Woods, tail gunner.
Source:
http://documents.blackvault.com/documents/dod/readingroom/11/384.pdf

The crew was completing a maritime patrol flight over the North Pacific Ocean when the radio operator informed ATC he would divert to Adak for an emergency landing due to a fire on board. While approaching Adak Airport, the seaplane hit the water surface and crashed into the ocean few miles off shore, killing all 12 crew members.

The crew was taking part to SAR operations for a missing Beechcraft Bonanza registered N8449A. En route, an engine failed. All five crew members decided to bail out and abandoned the aircraft that crashed in the Kings Park National Park. All five occupants were recovered uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed.