Date & Time:
Dec 29, 1943 at 1933 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
42-97493
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Gander – Valley
MSN:
6858
YOM:
1942
Country:
Canada
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
10
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The airplane took off from runway 27 into the wind in 'a normal manner'. It was departing Gander for RAF Valley, Wales. According to the crash report, the aircraft climbed steeply – so steeply that one witness, F/O Fisher, remarked that the climb was similar to that of a single engine bomber rather than a B-17 – to about 500 to 600 feet then banked to the left to turn to the south. At approximately 15 degrees into the turn, the nose of the aircraft dropped suddenly. Cpl. George W. Stiffler witnessed the crash from the Gander Control Tower, and stated that the engines did not appear to be having trouble, with the exception that three engines were exhausting blue flame and the #1 engine was exhausting yellow flame. The aircraft was still in a turn when it crashed. Witnesses and investigators agree that the left wing touched first, the aircraft caught fire immediately, skidded several hundred feet, and then exploded with flames shooting 500 to 600 feet into the air. All ten crew members were killed.
Crew:
1st Lt Bruce E. Ryan, pilot,
2nd Lt Stephen A. Wooten, pilot,
2nd Lt John J. Gentile, navigator,
Sgt Charles Thayer, flight engineer,
Cpl Frederick A. Norton, radio operator,
2nd Lt Ballard D. McCain, pilot,
2nd Lt Paul J. Lineham, navigator,
S/Sgt Thomas R. Killela, flight engineer,
Sgt Howard W. Nightower, radio operator,
Sgt Daniel L. Boucher, gunner.
Source & photo:
http://www.planecrashgirl.ca/2017/01/10/usaaf-b-17-and-thdf/
Crew:
1st Lt Bruce E. Ryan, pilot,
2nd Lt Stephen A. Wooten, pilot,
2nd Lt John J. Gentile, navigator,
Sgt Charles Thayer, flight engineer,
Cpl Frederick A. Norton, radio operator,
2nd Lt Ballard D. McCain, pilot,
2nd Lt Paul J. Lineham, navigator,
S/Sgt Thomas R. Killela, flight engineer,
Sgt Howard W. Nightower, radio operator,
Sgt Daniel L. Boucher, gunner.
Source & photo:
http://www.planecrashgirl.ca/2017/01/10/usaaf-b-17-and-thdf/
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty.
