*[[September 9]] — A low-flying [[British Army]] [[Westland Lynx|Lynx]] [[AH.9 Lynx crash (September 2004)|AH Mk.9]] helicopter, ''ZE382'', of 661 Squadron, was caught in high-voltage electric wires during an Anglo-Czech joint military training exercise near the village [[Kuroslepy]] (near [[Brno]]). All six persons on board died.<ref>Stamford, Lincs., U.K.: Air Forces Monthly, compiled by Dave Allport, March 2005, Number 204, page 74.</ref>
*[[September 9]] — A low-flying [[British Army]] [[Westland Lynx|Lynx]] [[AH.9 Lynx crash (September 2004)|AH Mk.9]] helicopter, ''ZE382'', of 661 Squadron, was caught in high-voltage electric wires during an Anglo-Czech joint military training exercise near the village [[Kuroslepy]] (near [[Brno]]). All six persons on board died.<ref>Stamford, Lincs., U.K.: Air Forces Monthly, compiled by Dave Allport, March 2005, Number 204, page 74.</ref>
*[[September 11]] — A [[Hellenic Army]] [[CH-47]]SD [[Chinook]], ''EZ-916'', of 4 TEAS, ditches into the [[Aegean Sea]] off [[Mount Athos]], [[Greece]] killing all 17 on board. Among those killed was [[Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria]].<ref>Stamford, Lincs., U.K.: Air Forces Monthly, compiled by Dave Allport, December 2004, Number 201, page 74.</ref>
*[[September 11]] — A [[Hellenic Army]] [[CH-47]]SD [[Chinook]], ''EZ-916'', of 4 TEAS, ditches into the [[Aegean Sea]] off [[Mount Athos]], [[Greece]] killing all 17 on board. Among those killed was [[Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria]].<ref>Stamford, Lincs., U.K.: Air Forces Monthly, compiled by Dave Allport, December 2004, Number 201, page 74.</ref>
[[November 26]] - [[USMC]] M[[V-22]]B, ''BuNo 165838'', lost a substantial piece of a prop-rotor blade during test flight in [[Nova Scotia]], [[Canada]], but was able to make safe precautionary landing at [[CFB Shearwater]] despite severe airframe vibration.<ref>Stamford, Lincs., U.K.: Air Forces Monthly, compiled by Dave Allport, April 2005, Number 205, page 73.</ref>
*[[December 2]] — The pilot of a [[Blue Angels]] [[F/A-18]], BuNo ''161956'', ejects approximately one mile off [[Perdido Key]], [[Florida]], after reporting mechanical problems and loss of power. Lt. Ted Steelman suffered minor injuries and fully recovered.
*[[December 2]] — The pilot of a [[Blue Angels]] [[F/A-18]], BuNo ''161956'', ejects approximately one mile off [[Perdido Key]], [[Florida]], after reporting mechanical problems and loss of power. Lt. Ted Steelman suffered minor injuries and fully recovered.
*[[December 10]] - Two Canadian Forces [[CT-114 Tutor]]s of 431 [[Snowbirds]] Air Demonstration Team, ''114064'' and ''114173'', flying as opposing solo '8' and '9' (unclear which was which), collided at the top of a loop during practice over [[RCAF Station Mossbank|Mossbank Airfield]], an abandoned [[WW II]] aerodrome. Captain Miles Selby, pilot of '8' was killed instantly, but Captain Chuck Mallet was thrown clear of the wreckage of '9', released his lap belt and pulled his chute release, landing with minor injuries.<ref>Stamford, Lincs., U.K.: Air Forces Monthly, compiled by Dave Allport, April 2005, Number 205, page 72.</ref>
*[[December 10]] - Two Canadian Forces [[CT-114 Tutor]]s of 431 [[Snowbirds]] Air Demonstration Team, ''114064'' and ''114173'', flying as opposing solo '8' and '9' (unclear which was which), collided at the top of a loop during practice over [[RCAF Station Mossbank|Mossbank Airfield]], an abandoned [[WW II]] aerodrome. Captain Miles Selby, pilot of '8' was killed instantly, but Captain Chuck Mallet was thrown clear of the wreckage of '9', released his lap belt and pulled his chute release, landing with minor injuries.<ref>Stamford, Lincs., U.K.: Air Forces Monthly, compiled by Dave Allport, April 2005, Number 205, page 72.</ref>
This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. For more exhaustive lists, see the Aircraft Crash Record Office or the Air Safety Network.
March 23 - In an all-night training flight, a U.S. Navy free balloon launches from NAS Pensacola, Florida, with five crew and drifts over the Gulf of Mexico. Two messages received by pigeon indicate it first is 20 miles from St. Andrews Bay, then that all ballast had been dropped and that it was at 100 feet and descending. Nothing is ever found of the balloon or Chief Quartermaster E.W. Wilkinson, enlisted men R.V. Wyland, E.L. Kershaw, and J.P. Elder, and Marine Corps member W.H. Tressey.[1]Rescuers scramble across the wreckage of British R-38/USN ZR-2 airship, 24 August1921.
February 21 - U.S. Army semi-rigid (blimp with a keel) Roma, bought from Italy, formerly T34, buckled in flight, nosed into the ground, struck power lines at Army supply base, Norfolk, Virginia, and burst into flames, killing 34 of 45 on board. This would remain the worst American aviation accident until the loss of the USS Akron in 1933.[1]1922 newspaper about the Roma Tragedy
October 22: 1st Lt. Harold R. Harris becomes the first member of the U.S. Army Air Service to save his life by parachute, when the LoeningPW-2A he is testing out of McCook Field, Ohio, suffers vibration, loses part of left wing or aileron, so he parts company with the airframe, landing safely.[4]
1923
September 23 - 1st Lts. Robert S. Olmsted and John W. Shoptaw enter U.S. Army balloon S-6 in international balloon race from Brussels, despite threatening weather which causes some competitors to drop out. S-6 collides with Belgian balloon, Ville de Bruxelles on launch, tearing that craft's netting and knocking it out of the race. Lightning strikes S-6 over Nistelrode, Holland, killing Olmsted outright, and Shoptaw in the fall. Switzerland's Génève is also hit, burns, killing two on board, as is Spain's Polar, killing one crew immediately, second crewman jumps from 100 feet, breaking both legs. Three other balloons are also forced down.[4][1]Middletown Air Depot, Pennsylvania, was later renamed Olmsted AFB.
September 3 - The USS Shenandoahairship, ZR-1, crashed after encountering thunderstorms near Ava, Ohio after an in flight break up due to cloud suck about 4:45 a.m. Fourteen of 43 aboard are killed. The ship's commanding officer, Lt. Cdr. Zachery Lansdowne is killed on what was to have been his final flight before reassignment to sea duty.[1]
December 14 - RAF pilot Douglas Bader (February 21, 1910 – September 5, 1982), undertaking a low-level roll in Bristol Bulldog Mk. IIA, K1676, of 23 Squadron at Woodley, Great Britain, hooks a wingtip, rolls the biplane into a ball, and loses both his legs. Undeterred, he returns to the air and becomes a renowned World War II fighter pilot with 22 credited "kills" before being downed over France, August 9, 1941. As a POW, he has such determination to escape that he is eventually sent to Colditz Castle for recidivist escapees.[5]
February 12 - The US Navy's last rigid airship, the USS Macon, ZRS-5, loses its upper fin off Point Sur, California, sinks to the surface of the Pacific Ocean in a controlled crash, and is lost, although the inclusion of lifevests on board allows the saving of 81 of 83 crew. The airship's remains lie unfound until 1990 when a fisherman brings up a girder. Wreck is subsequently found by manned Navy submersible Sea Cliff.[1]
June 20 - Douglas Y1O-35, 32-319, of the 88th Observation Squadron, suffers loss of power on right engine during takeoff from Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California for flight to Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, at approximately 10 a.m. Pilot, Cadet Tracy R. Walsh, manages to hop over soldiers breaking camp alongside runway but does not have sufficient flying speed. Airplane crashes through a tent, a fence, and into an automobile, demolishing itself, the vehicle, and killing three civilians in the car. Three crew on plane unhurt. O-35 surveyed and dropped from records, October 15, 1935.[6]
Summer - Prototype Junkers Ju 87V1, fitted with a pair of vertical fins, suffers tail section oscillation during medium-angle test dive, loses starboard fin during attempted recovery, crashes at Dessau, Germany. All subsequent Ju 87s have single fin tail unit.[7]
March 26 - The fifth P-47B Thunderbolt, 41-5899, is lost when pilot George Burrell is forced to bail out after fabric-covered tail surfaces balloon and rupture. Future P-47s have enlarged all-metal surfaces.[10]
The HalifaxV9977, which crashed killing Alan Blumlein and several other key British radar technicians on June 7
August 8 - The sole XP-47B Thunderbolt, 40-3051, operating out of the Republic plant at Farmingdale, New York, is lost when the pilot interrupted wheel retraction, leaving the tailwheel in the superchargers' exhaust gases. This set the tire alight which ignited the magnesium hub. When the burning unit retracted into the fuselage, it severed the tail unit control rods, forcing the pilot, a former naval aviator, to bail out with the airframe crashing in the waters off Long Island.[10]
October 21 - B-17D, 40-3089, of the 5th Bomb Group/11th Bomb Group, with Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker aboard on a secret mission, is lost at sea in the central Pacific Ocean when the bomber goes off-course. After 24 days afloat, he and surviving crew are rescued by the U.S. Navy after having been given up for lost.
1943
April 9 - P-38G-10-LO, 42-12937, flown by Col. Ben Kelsey, gets into inverted spin during dive flap test, loses one wing and entire tail section. Kelsey bails out, suffers broken ankle, while P-38 hits flat on hillside near Calabasas, California.[9]
May 3 - During an inspection tour, Lt. Gen. Frank Maxwell Andrews (1884-1943) is killed in crash of a B-24 on Mt. Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula after an aborted attempt to land at the Royal Air Forcestation at Kaldadarnes, Iceland. Andrews and thirteen others died in the crash; only the tail gunner survived. Andrews was the highest-ranking Allied officer to die in the line of duty to that point in the war. At the time of his death, he was Commanding General, United States Forces, European Theatre of Operations. Camp Springs Army Air Field, Maryland, is renamed Andrews Field (later Andrews Air Force Base), for him on February 7, 1945.[3]
July 31 - Noted aviation pioneer and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry vanishes without a trace while flying a Free French ForcesLockheedF-5, a variant of the P-38 Lightning, over the Mediterranean Sea; his fate remains a mystery until 2004 when the wreckage of his plane is discovered. While the cause of the crash is unknown, analysis of the wreckage and enemy wartime records suggests that the crash was an accident unrelated to enemy action.
July 25 – A US Army Air Forces B-25D-20-NC Mitchell bomber, 41-30577, "Old John Feather Merchant", crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building in fog, killing 3 on aircraft plus 11 on ground and causing over $1 million in damage [3].
August 17 - During Operation Dodge, the RAF airlift of troops home from Italian deployment, Avro Lancaster, ME834, 'K-OG', of 115 Squadron, based at RAF Graveley, struck HK798, 'K-OH', of the same squadron, and PB754, 'TL-A', of Graveley-based 35 Squadron when it swerves off runway while taking off from Bari, Italy.[12]
August 17 - Two B-29 Superfortress bombers collide over Weatherford, Texas during a bomber training exercise. 18 crew members were killed, 2 managed to escape from the falling wreckage and parachute to safety.
September 14 - Hurricane destroys several wooden hangars at Naval Air Station Richmond, Florida, southwest of Miami, with 140 mph winds. Fire consumes twenty-five blimps, 31 non-Navy U.S. government aircraft, 125 privately-owned aircraft, and 212 Navy aircraft. Thirty-eight Navy personnel injured, civilian fire chief killed.[1]
December 5 – Flight 19, a training flight of 5 TBM Avengertorpedo bombers, manned by 14 US Navy and Marine personnel from Ft LauderdaleNaval Air Station, Florida, USA, vanishes over the Bermuda Triangle under mysterious circumstances. Avengers were four TBM-1Cs, BuNo 45714, 'FT3', BuNo 46094, 'FT36', BuNo 46325, 'FT81', BuNo 73209, 'FT117', and TBM-3, BuNo 23307, 'FT28'. A US NavyPBM-5 Mariner, BuNo 59225, carrying 13 sailors searching for the missing planes also disappears after a large mid-air explosion is seen near its last reported position.[13]
1946
March 7 - SilverplateB-29-30-MO, 42-65387, from Kirtland Army Air Field, New Mexico, on practice mission to Los Lunas bombing range, releases 10,150 pound Fat Man shape, and then disintegrates for unknown reasons and spins in from 32,000 feet. Ten crew die, wreckage strewn up to 16 miles from main portion.[14]
July 7 - Eccentric, iconoclastic millionaire and aviator Howard Hughes is gravely injured when he mishandles a propeller pitch control failure and crashes his controversial XF-11 reconnaissance plane, 44-70155, during its maiden flight.
February 21 - United States Air ForceB-29-95-BW Superfortress, 45-21768, "Kee Bird", of the 46th/72nd Reconnaissance Squadrons, on mission out of Ladd Field, runs out of fuel due to a navigational error and is forced to land in a remote area of northern Greenland. The aircrew is rescued unharmed 3 days later, but the plane is abandoned in place. The accident achieves continuing notability for the exceptionally fortuitous rescue and later for a well-publicized and ultimately disastrous 1994 recovery attempt.
September 20 - First prototype USAF XB-45 Tornado, 45-59479, in a dive test at Muroc Air Force Base, California, to test design load factor, suffers engine explosion, tearing off cowling panels that shear several feet from the horizontal stabilizer, aircraft pitches up, and both wings tear off under negative g load. Crew has no ejection seats, and George Krebs and Nick Piccard are killed.[15]
1949
November 1 – A P-38 Lightning, 42-26927, c/n 422-7931, NX-26927, flown by a Bolivian Air Force pilot, collides in midair with Eastern Airlines Flight 537, a DouglasDC-4 (C-54B-10-DO) airliner, N88727, (ex-USAAF 43-17165), c/n 18365, on its final approach to National Airport. All 55 people on board the DC-4 die; the P-38 pilot, Rios Bridoux, survives with injuries. DC-4 wreckage comes down on Virginia shoreline of the Potomac River, north of Mount Vernon. It was (at the time) the worst plane crash in the history of civil aviation. The P-38 pilot was accused of causing the accident, later tried and cleared of the charges, which now is believed to have been an ATC error.
February 22 - On its 102nd flight, the USAF XF-89, 46-678, crashed near Hawthorne, California during a high-speed low pass for Air Force officials. Right horizontal stabilizer peeled off, aircraft disintegrated, throwing pilot Charles Tucker clear, parachuted safely, but flight engineer Arthur Turton died in mishap. Cause was found to be high-frequency, low-amplitude flutter of both the vertical and horizontal stabilizers.
April 11 - A USAFB-29 on a routine flight crashes into mountain three minutes after take-off from Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, killing 13 crew. One fully-assembled bomb casing (probably a Mark 4 nuclear bomb) on board is completely shattered when triggers explode. A fuel capsule, carried separately, is recovered.[16]
July 13 - A USAFB-50D-110-BO, 49-267, of the 97th Bomb Wing out of Biggs AFB, Texas, carrying a nuclear weapon bomb casing (but no fuel capsule), stalls at 7,000 feet at about 2:54 p.m. EST, crashes between Lebanon, Ohio and Mason, Ohio, killing four officers and twelve airmen.[16] No radio communication was received before the crash, and although all crew wore parachutes, none bailed out. HE in bomb casing explodes on impact leaving crater 200X25 feet, explosion heard for 25 miles. One account states that the weather was clear, but Joe Baugher reports that bomber was in a storm system.
August 5 - A USAFB-29 Superfortress carrying a Mark 4 nuclear bomb, suffers two runaway propellers, as well as landing gear problems on takeoff at Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base, Fairfield, California, USA. Attempts emergency landing, crashes. The nuclear bomb's high-explosive trigger detonates, causing a huge chain-reaction explosion that kills 19 aboard the plane and on the ground, including mission commander Brig. Gen. Robert F. Travis; the airfield is later renamed Travis Air Force Base in his honor.[16] The Air Force official explanation was that the Superfortress was carrying ten to twelve conventional 500 pound bombs.
November 10 - A USAFB-50 on a routine weapons ferrying flight between Goose Bay, Labrador and its home base at Davis-Monthan AFB, New Mexico, loses two of four engines. To maintain altitude it jettisons empty Mark 4 nuclear bomb casing just before 4 p.m. at 10,500 feet above the St. Lawrence River near the town of St. Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, about 90 miles NE of Quebec, Canada. HE in the casing observed detonating upon impact in the middle of the twelve-mile-wide river, blast felt for 25 miles. Official Air Force explanation at the time is that the Superfortress released three conventional 500-pound HE bombs.[16]
March 14 - RAFCoastal CommandAvro Lancaster GR.3, TX264, 'BS-D', of 120 SquadronKinloss, off-course in high winds and heavy overcast during a night-time navigation exercise between the Faroes and Rockall, crashes into Beinn Eighe's Triple Buttress at ~2 a.m., just 15 feet below the top of the 2,850 foot westernmost gully of the buttress known as Coire Mhic Fhercair in the Scottish Highlands, killing all eight crew. Wreck not found until March 17, crew remains not recovered until March 30. Due to remoteness of the crashsite the wreckage is still there.[17]
September 16 - A damaged F2H-2 Bansheejet fighter, BuNo124968, returning to the US Navy aircraft carrierUSS Essex (CV-9) misses the recovery net and crashes into several planes parked on the ship's deck, killing 7 people and destroying 4 aircraft. This crash led the USN to equip all future carriers with angled flight decks for safer airplane recovery.
1952
January 12 - Prototype RAFVickers Valiant, WB210, catches fire during in-flight relight trials, crew bails out but co-pilot, Squadron Leader Foster, is killed when his ejection seat strikes tail.
April 8 - B-52 bomber carrying pilot and co-pilot crashes into Mt. Tom near Golden, Colorado when it failed to clear the tall peak.
August 29 - Boulton Paul P.120, VT951, first flown August 6, 1952, crashes this date on Salisbury Plain, Wilts, Great Britain after control failure. Pilot A.E. "Ben" Gunn ejects safely. Airframe had accumulated only ~eleven hours flying time. This is the first recorded loss of a delta-wing-design airframe.
September 1 - Several tornados sweep across Carswell AFB, Texas destroying B-36B-10-CF, 44-92051, and damaging 82 others of the 7th and 11th Bomb Wings, including ten at the Convair plant on the other side of the Fort Worth base. Gen. Curtis LeMay is forced to remove the 19th Air Division from the war plan, and the base went on an 84-hour work week until repairs were made. 26 B-36s were returned to Convair for repairs, and the last aircraft deemed repairable was airborne again on May 11, 1953.[18]
Jan 31 - A USAF F-86F Sabre crashes in bad weather while on final approach to Truax Field, Wisconsin killing the pilot Major Hampton E.Boggs a former Korean War and WW2 ace with the 459th Fighter Squadron.
May 15 - An errant USAFF-84 Thunderjet collides with 2 USAF C-119 Flying Boxcars flying in formation near Weinheim, Germany, sending all 3 planes down in flames. C-119C-70-FA, 51-8235, c/n 10783, struck by the fighter, which then struck C-119C-70-FA, 51-8241, c/n 10789, 3 Flying Boxcar crew KWF, 3 injured. F-84 pilot parachutes to safety.
November 17 - USAFC-119F-KM, 51-8163, c/n 166, crashed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, during a joint airborne operation. One of 12 C-119s on a troop drop, it lost an engine, dropped out of formation, hit and killed ten troopers in their chutes that had been dropped from other aircraft, that in addition to 4 crew members and one medical officer that went down with the plane.[20]
December 17 - A USAFB-29 Superfortress making an emergency landing at Andersen AFB, Guam, failed to reach the runway and crashed into an officers housing area at the base, demolishing ten homes and damaging three more. Nine of sixteen crew were killed, as were seven on the ground - an officer, his wife, and five children.[21]
May 13 - On seventh and final flight of Northrop N-69A test vehicle for the SM-62 Snark, only two of which were successful, mission was cut short when the missile collided with its T-33A photo plane.[16]
October 6 - McDonnell company pilot George Mills bails out of F3H-1N Demon near St. Louis, Missouri after what appears to be a massive systems failure, including the J40 engine. Instead of crashing, fighter circles over two states for more than an hour sans canopy, ejection seat and pilot. It eventually impacts in cornfield near Monticello, Iowa, 250 miles from ejection.
1956
January 10 - The most notorious incident of aircraft pitch-up known as the "Sabre dance" was the loss of F-100C-20-NA Super Sabre54-1907 during an attempted emergency landing at Edwards AFB, California which was caught by film cameras set up for an unrelated test. The pilot fought to retain control as he rode the edge of the flight envelope, but fell off on one wing, hit the ground, and exploded with fatal results. These scenes were inserted in the movie The Hunters, starring Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner.
May 15 - A RCAFAvroCF-100 Canuck Mk. IVB, 18367, of 445 Squadron, out of CFB Uplands, falling from 33,000 feet crashed into Villa St. Louis, a convent of the Grey Nuns of the Cross in Orleans, Ontario, Canada at roughly 11 p.m. (reports vary). 15 people were killed; both crewmen of the aircraft, pilot William J. Schmidt, and navigator Kenneth D. Thomas, a priest, 11 nuns and one other woman.[26][27]
June 9 - A GrummanF9F-4 Panther fighter jet of VMF-213, flown by a USMC Reserve pilot crashes into a row of houses near Wold-Chamberlain Field, striking the home at 5820 46th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. In addition to killing the pilot, Maj. George Armstrong, the crash kills 5 and injures 12 on the ground, most of whom are young children. This is the second time in 5 days that a military jet operating from this airport crashes and kills multiple civilians on the ground.[28]
September 27 - Test pilot Mel Apt is killed on the 20th flight of the Bell X-2, 46-674, out of Edwards Air Force Base, California, when he attempts a turn at Mach 3.2 (nearly 2,100 mph), and the airframe goes into a vicious case of inertia coupling. Apt jettisons the escape capsule but runs out of height before he can bail out of the falling nose section.[29]
October 1 - The RAF's first Avro Vulcan B 1, XA897, which completed a fly-the-flag mission to New Zealand in September, approaches Heathrow in bad weather on GCA approach, crashing short of the runway. Two pilots eject, but four crew do not have ejection seats and are killed. Aircraft Captain Squadron Leader"Podge" Howard and co-pilot Air Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst survive. Signal delays in the primitive Ground-Controlled Approach system of the time may have let the aircraft descend too low without being warned. Undercarriage damaged in contact short of runway with control lost during attempted go-around. Pathe News report
May 31 - A Royal Canadian NavyMcDonnellF2H-3 Banshee, BuNo 126313, fighter jet spirals out of control and crashes, killing its pilot, after its right wing breaks in half during a high-speed flyby at naval air station HMCS Shearwater, Nova Scotia, Canada. The crash is attributed to improperly manufactured fittings in the folding wing mechanism, and most RCN and US Navy Banshees are grounded until improved fittings can be installed.
December 12 – A U.S. Air ForceB-52D-75-BO, 56-0597, crashes on takeoff at Fairchild AFB near Spokane, Washington. All crew members are killed except the tail gunner. The incident is caused by trim motors that were hooked up backwards. The aircraft climbed straight up, stalled, fell over backwards and nosed straight down.
1958
January 31 - During simulated Strategic take-off from overseas base, a USAFB-47 suffers failure of left-rear landing gear, tail strikes ground, rupturing fuel tank. Aircraft burns. Fortunately, nuclear weapon on board, in strike configuration, does not detonate.[16]
February 1 – A USAFDouglasC-118A Liftmaster military transport, 53-3277, c/n 44648, of the 1611th ATW, and a U.S. NavyP2V-5F Neptune patrol bomber, BuNo 127723, collided over Norwalk (a suburb of Los Angeles), California at night. 47 servicemen were killed as well as a 23-year-old civilian woman on the ground who was hit by falling debris. Two crew on P2V-5F survive. A plaque commemorating the disaster was erected by the American Legion in 1961 at the location of the accident, the corner of Firestone Boulevard and Pioneer Boulevard.
September 9 – Two B-52s collide over the town of Airway Heights near Fairchild AFB, Washington. B-52D-30-BW, 56-661, c/n 464032, and B-52D-40-BW, 56-681, c/n 464052, both crash. Thirteen crew members are killed, while three survive. There were no casualties on the ground.
September 30 - A Rolls-Royce test pilot flying an Avro Vulcan, VX770, in an airshow at RAF Syerston pulls up too hard after a high-speed flyby and exceeds the airframe's structural limits, collapsing the plane's right wing. The craft spirals out of control and crashes, killing the entire aircrew and 3 people on the ground.
November 4 - A USAFB-47 catches fire during take-off from Dyess AFB, Texas, crashes from 1,500 feet altitude. Three crew eject, okay, one killed. Fire sets off single bomb casing on board, creating crater 35X6 feet. Some tritium contamination at crash site.
November 26 - A USAFB-47 on Alert Status at Chennault AFB, Louisiana, accidentally ignites RATO assisted take-off bottles, is pushed off runway into tow vehicle, catches fire, completely destroying single nuclear weapon on board. Contamination limited to area within aircraft wreckage.
October 15 - A USAFB-52F-100-BO, 57-036, collides with KC-135 tanker, 57-1513, over Hardinsberg, Kentucky, crashes with two nuclear weapons on board, killing four of eight on the bomber and all four tanker crew. One bomb partially burned in fire, but both are recovered intact.[16] Bombs moved to the AEC's Clarksville, Tennessee storage site for inspection and dismantlement. Both aircraft deployed from Columbus AFB, Mississippi.
1960
July 6 - GoodyearZPG-3W, BuNo 144242, lost hull pressure, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off of New Jersey, eighteen of twenty-one crew lost. This was the last U.S. Navy lighter-than-air loss as it leads to cancellation of airship operations in June 1961.[1]
January 24: A USAFB-52G-95-BW, 58-0187, on airborne alert suffers structural failure, fuel leak, of starboard wing over Goldsboro, North Carolina, wing fails when flaps are engaged during emergency approach to Seymour Johnson AFB, two weapons on board break loose during airframe disintegration, one parachutes safely to ground, second impacts on marshy farm land, breaks apart, sinks into quagmire. Air Force excavates fifty feet down, finds no trace of bomb, forcing permanent digging easement on site. Five of eight crew survive.[16]
March 14: Failure of a pressurization system forces USAFB-52 to fly low, accelerating fuel-burn, bomber has fuel starvation at 10,000 feet over Yuba City, California, crashes, killing aircraft commander. Two nuclear weapons on board tear loose on impact but no explosion or contamination takes place.[16]
June 13: A United States NavyGrummanS-2 Tracker lost complete power in one engine and partial power in the other. Flying instructor Lt.j.g Loren Vern Page, 24, died 6 hours later at Iberia Parish Hospital, in New Iberia, Louisiana. He intentionally attempted ditching the aircraft in Spanish Lake, near the Naval Auxiliary Air Station New Iberia, after losing power. Students Lt.j.g. Donald L. Miller and a second unnamed student were both hospitalized with treatable injuries. Lt.j.g. Page was posthumously promoted to full Lieutenant status by the Secretary of the Navy, John B. Connally, for courage and valor. Also named for courage during the rescue of the pilot and the 2 students were LCDR Alvin E. Henke, who commanded the rescue mission, Dr. Lt. Donald E. Hines (MC), and hospital corpsman 3rd class Arthur J. Hoeny. Lt.j.g. Miller was also credited with assisting in the rescue. Lt. Page was survived by his wife Elsa and a daughter, Deborah Anne.[32]
March 20 - McDonnellF3H-2 Demon, BuNo 145281, of VF-14 suffers either cold cat launch or failure of cat harness before launch off USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, CV-42, and goes over the bow. Pilot Lt.j.g. Joseph Janiak, Jr. killed, body not recovered.
December 10: Test pilot Charles Chuck Yeager, out of Edwards AFB, California, zoom climbs NF-104A, 56-0762, modified with XL-102 rocket engine in tail unit, to over 100,000 feet, but aircraft enters flat spin when directional jets in nose run out of propellant, forcing him to eject. He suffers injuries when his helmet collides with the ejection seat. This mission was very loosely depicted in the film The Right Stuff. Aircraft was originally built as F-104A-10-LO. See also flying accident during a test flight.
1964
January 4 - NRB-57D, 53-3973, of the Wright Air Development Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, suffers structural failure of both wings at 50,000 feet (15240 meters), comes down in schoolyard at Dayton, Ohio, crew bails out. The USAF subsequently grounds all W/RB-57D aircraft.[34]
January 13 - United States Air ForceB-52D-10-BW, 55-060, suffers structural failure in turbulence of winter storm, crashes approximately 17 miles SW of Cumberland, Maryland. Pilot, co-pilot, eject, survive. Navigator, tail gunner, eject, die of exposure. Radar nav fails to eject, rides airframe in with two nuclear weapons on board. Both bombs survive intact and are recovered.[16]
June 10 - First LockheedXV-4A, 62-4503, crashes, killing civilian Army test pilot. Aircraft had just transitioned from conventional to vertical flight at 3,000 feet (914 meters) when control was lost. Airframe came down between Dobbins AFB and Woodstock, Georgia, injuring one civilian on ground.
December 8 - United States Air ForceB-58A, 60-1116, taxiing for take-off on icy taxiway at Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana, is blown off the pavement by exhaust of another departing B-58, strikes concrete manhole box adjacent to the runway, landing gear collapses, burns. Navigator killed in failed ejection, two other crew okay. Four B43 nuclear bombs and either a W39 or W53 warhead are on board the weapons pod, but no explosion takes place and contamination is limited to crash site.[16]
April 27 - RyanXV-5A, 62-4505', noses over from 800 feet (244 meters) and crashes at Edwards AFB, California, during a demonstration in front of several hundred reporters, military personnel, and civilians. Ryan test pilot Lou Everett attempts failed low-altitude ejection, dies.
August 25 - First Curtiss-Wright X-19A prototype, 62-12197, was destroyed in a crash at NAFEC Caldwell, New Jersey following loss of propellers. Both crew ejected safely. The program was subsequently cancelled.
July 30 - Lockheed A-12, 60-6941, Item 135, modified as an M-21, D-21 drone carrier for Project Tagboard, is lost during test over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California when the drone strikes the Blackbird during separation at launch. Lockheed employees, pilot Bill Park and launch control officer Ray Torick, both successfully eject, but Torick tragically drowns in a feet-wet landing.[36]
October 5 - RyanXV-5A, 62-4506, crashes at Edwards AFB, California, killing Air Force test pilot Maj. David Tittle. During hover, the aircraft began uncontrolled roll to left, pilot ejected at 50 feet (15.24 meters), but chute failed to deploy.
1967
January 5 - Lockheed A-12, 60-6928, Item 125, lost during training/test flight. Pilot Ken Collins successfully ejects but is killed when he fails to separate from his seat.
January 5 - Martin MGM-13 Mace, launched from Site A-15, Santa Rosa Island, Hurlburt Field, Florida, by the 4751st Air Defense Squadron, fails to circle over Gulf of Mexico for test mission with two Eglin AFBF-4s, but heads south for Cuba. Third F-4 overtakes it, fires two AAMs with limited success, then damages unarmed drone with cannon fire. Mace overflies western tip of Cuba before crashing in Caribbean Sea 100 miles south of the island. International incident narrowly avoided. To forestall the possibility, the United States State Department asks the Swiss Ambassador in Havana to explain the circumstances of the wayward drone to the Cuban government.[37]
April 13 - Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7966, Item 2017, crashed near Las Vegas, New Mexico, after a night refuelling devolved into a subsonic high-speed stall. Pilot Boone and RSO Sheffield eject safely.
April 21 - Fourth prototype F-111B, BuNo 151973, suffers flame-out of both engines at 200 feet after take-off, killing the project pilot Ralph Donnell and co-pilot Charles Wangeman.[10]
November 15 - On the 191st flight of the X-15 program out of Edwards AFB, California, the third of three, 56-6672, suffers problems during reentry from 266,000 foot altitude, 3,750 mph mission. Airframe has massive structural failure, killing pilot Michael J. Adams, the only fatality in X-15s.[38]
1968
January 11 - Lockheed SR-71B, 61-7957, Item 2008, one of only two dual control pilot trainers, is lost on approach to Beale Air Force Base, California, due to fuel cavitation induced engine failure. Instructor pilot Lt. Col. Robert G. Souers and student Capt. David E. Fruehauf eject safely.
October 10 - Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7977, Item 2028, lost at end of runway, Beale Air Force Base, California after tire explosion and runway abort. Pilot Maj. Gabriel A. Kardong rode airframe to a standstill. RSO James A. Kogler ejected safely. Both survived.
October 11 - Fifth prototype U.S. NavyF-111B BuNo 151974 crash landed at Point Mugu, California. Scrapped. Navy abandons the F-111B program completely and both houses of Congress refuse to fund production order in May 1968.
March 10 or March 14 - LockheedXV-4B, 62-5404, on conventional test flight out of Dobbins AFB, Georgia, suddenly entered rapid roll while climbing through 8,000 feet (2438 meters), pilot Harlan Quamme, unable to recover, ejects, suffering minor injuries.
May 18 - USMC KC-130F BuNo 149814, c/n 3723, of VMGR-352, collided head-on with F-4B BuNo 151001 of VMFA-542, MAG-13, from Chu Lai (both crew killed), while refuelling two F-4Bs of VMFA-314 over South Vietnam near Phu Bai. Two crew of F-4B BuNo 151450, survived after jettisoning bombs and ejecting, while the second F-4B recovered safely to Chu Lai. Lars Olausson states that the KC-130F was from VMGR-352, while Chris Hobson claims it was assigned to VMGR-152.
May 23 - A drunken U.S. Air Force crew chief started up a C-130E, 63-7789, c/n 3856, of the 36th Tactical Airlift Squadron at RAF Mildenhall and took off in it headed for Langley AFB, Virginia. He crashed into the English Channel off Alderney shortly thereafter. There is speculation whether the Hercules was shot down.[39]
October 9 - A USAFB-52F-70-BW, 57-0172, of the 329th Bomb Squadron, crashed about 1,000 feet beyond end of runway while doing touch-and-goes at Castle AFB, California. All six crew died in the 11:45 p.m. accident as the Stratofortress exploded on impact.[41]
October 25 - Two United States Air Force Academy faculty are killed when their T-33A crashed and burned in a meadow near the main runway while landing at Peterson Field, Colorado. Pilot was Maj. Donald J. Usry, 32, of the academy faculty, and back-seater was Capt. Martin Bezyack, of the academy's athletic department.[42]
April 3 - A USAFB-52D-60-BO Stratofortress, 55-089, c/n 464-17205, of the 26th Bomb Wing caught fire and crashed during landing at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, skidding into a brick storage building containing 25,000 gallons of jet fuel. Heroic efforts by crash crew save all nine on board, although one suffered broken limbs, and three firefighters were injured. One of the eight jet engines ran for forty minutes following crash.[44]
April 28 - A USAFF-4 being ferried from Robins AFB, Georgia to Torrejon Air Base, Spain, was disabled by a severe thunderstorm, forcing the crew to eject at 36,000 feet 150 miles east of Charleston, South Carolina, suffering minor injuries from hail while descending. Pilot Capt. Daniel Heitz, 25, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and navigator Lt. MacArthur Weston, 28, of Jacksonville, North Carolina are spotted by rescue aircraft, and are recovered by the oil tanker Texaco Illinois, diverted from 8 miles away.[45]
May 10 - Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7969, Item 2020, crashed near Korat RTAFB, Thailand, after a refuelling resulted in a subsonic high-speed stall. Pilot Lawson and RSO Martinez eject safely.
May 22 - A USAFT-33A of the 1st Composite Wing, Andrews AFB, Maryland, crashes just short of the north runway on approach to that base, killing pilot Maj. Jerry H. McDowell, 36, Clinton, Maryland, and Lt. Edwin D. Billmeyer, 24, of Baltimore, Maryland, and injuring three motorists on the ground.[46]
May 24 - A USAFC-5A makes an emergency landing at Dobbins AFB, Georgia, suffering an electrical malfunction that knocks out landing lights, causes minor damage to the nosegear and flattens four of 28 tires.[47]
May 27: A USAFC-5A catches fire while taxiing at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, due to an electrical fire in the cargo compartment. Five crew escape, but seven firefighters suffer minor injuries fighting blaze.[48]
November 11 -A USAFF-4 crashes in the North Sea after an engine fire. Both crew eject. Capt. Johnny Jones, 28, of Snow Hill, North Carolina, and Capt. David Allen, 27, of Darien, Connecticut are rescued by helicopter, officials at Ruislip, England said.[50]
January 7 - An unarmed USAFB-52C-45-BO, 54-2666, of the 9th BW, Westover AFB, Massachusetts, crashed into Lake Michigan near Charlevoix, Michigan during a practice bomb run, exploding on impact. Only a small amount of wreckage, two life vests, and some spilled fuel was found in Little Traverse Bay. Bomber went down six nautical miles from the Bay Shore Air Force Radar Site. Nine crew KWF.[52]
September 28 - A United States NavyP-3 Orion, on patrol over the Sea of Japan, is fired on by a SovietSverdlov class cruiser in international waters. The P-3 was checking a group of Soviet Navy ships cruising off the shore of Japan when crew members reported seeing tracer rounds fired well ahead of the Orion. Immediately following the incident, authorities recalled the P-3 to its base at Iwakuni, and all surveillance craft were pulled back five miles.[54][55]
September 29 - A USAFC-5A of the 443rd Military Airlift Wing, Altus AFB, Oklahoma, one of six used for training, had its number one (port outer) engine tear off the pylon while advancing take-off power before brake release, setting the wing on fire. The crew evacuated safely within 90 seconds and the fire was extinguished by emergency equipment. The engine had flown up and behind the Galaxy, landing some 250 yards to the rear. The Air Force subsequently grounded six other C-5s with similar flight hours and cycles. Further investigation found cracks in younger C-5s and the entire fleet was grounded.[56][57]
October 29 - A USAFT-33A crashes near Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, both crew ejecting before the airframe impacted in a sugar cane field; one seriously injured, one with minor injuries.[58]
November 7 - A USAFF-4 and a USAFF-106A-130-CO, 59-0125, of the 84th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Hamilton AFB, California, suffer mid-air and crash in isolated areas near Nellis AFB, Nevada. All three crew eject and survive. F-4 crew, Maj. Henry J. Viccellio and Maj. James A. Robertson, okay. Phantom comes down 35 miles from Caliente, Nevada, Delta Dart attempts recovery to Nellis but pilot Maj. Clifford L. Lowrey ejects eight miles NE of base.[59]
1972
February 19 - C-130E62-1813, c.n. 3775, of the 16th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron, mid-air collision with Cessna T-37 from Biggs AFB, Texas, 6 kilometers northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas - four killed on Hercules. Two Tweet pilots eject safely.
March 14 - Two F-4 Phantoms have mid-air collision over the town of El Buste, Spain, about 30 miles from the joint US-Spanish base at Zaragoza. All four crewmen are KWF. Debris showered down onto the town, damaging communications and starting several roof fires, but no injuries to townspeople. Aircraft were returning to base in strong winds and broken clouds after a routine gunnery mission.[60]
March 31 - Twenty minutes after take-off from McCoy AFB, Florida, a USAFB-52D-80-BO, 56-0625, of the 306th Bomb Wing, suffers in-flight fire in engine number seven which spreads to starboard wing; attempts emergency landing at McCoy, crashes one quarter mile short of runway, killing seven on board, injuring eight civilians on the ground, destroys four houses.[61][62]
October 13 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, a Fairchild FH-227D, T-571, c/n 572, carrying a rugby union team from Montevideo to a match in Santiago, Chile, crashes in a remote region of the Andes on the Chile-Argentina border. Of the 45 on board, 12 died in the crash, five died by the following morning, and one died from his injuries a week later. The survivors were eventually forced to resort to cannibalism to live, feeding off the bodies of the dead that had been preserved by the freezing temperatures. On December 12, the remaining survivors sent three of their own to find help. After sending one of the party back to the crash site to preserve rations, the remaining two found help. The 14 survivors remaining at the crash site were rescued in a mission that ended on December 23. The story would spawn a critically-acclaimed book in 1974, along with several film adaptations.
November 24 - Two USAFRF-4Cs of the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Shaw AFB, South Carolina, suffer mid-air collision over the Atlantic Ocean about 30 miles of off Pawley's Island at about 2:50 p.m. Two crew from one Phantom recovered by UH-1N of Detachment 8, 44th ARRSq, out of Myrtle Beach AFB, but two others including one officer of HQ 9th Air Force, Shaw AFB, are lost.[63]
April 12 - A United States NavyP-3C-125-LO Orion, BuNo 157332, c/n 185-5547, of VP-47 and a Convair 990, N711NA, '711', "Galileo", (formerly N5601G), belonging to NASA, collided while on final approach to NAS Moffett Field in Sunnyvale, California and crashed short of the runway. The planes fell on the Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course and 16 of the 17 people aboard the two planes were killed.[65]
1974
February 8 - A USAFB-52G-95-BW, 58-0174, of the 744th BS, 456th BW, veered off the runway during night take-off from Beale AFB, California, skidded 1,500 feet through a muddy field before overturning, destroyed by four massive explosions and fire. One crew, the first pilot, was thrown free with severe burns, but seven others perished.
February 9 - Two USAFF-105s of the 457th TFS (TH tailcode), 506th TFG, 301st Reserve TFW, Carswell AFB, Texas, suffer mid-air collision, downing one Thud ~1 mile from Holliday, Texas, pilot Capt. Frank E. Peck ejecting, suffering broken right leg on landing, recovered by helicopter. Second F-105 recovers to Carswell despite damage, pilot Lt. Hays C. Kirby uninjured.[66]
March 4 - A USAF CIM-10 Bomarc missile of the 4751st ADS, Hurlburt Field, Florida, explodes on Santa Rosa Island due to a malfunction shortly after launch from Site A-15, impacting on government property adjacent to the launchsite. Eglin AFB authorities confirmed that there were no personnel injuries, and local law enforcement agencies had received no damage reports.[70]
March 5 - A United States NavyRA-5C crashes in the Gulf of Mexico 35 miles west of Tampa, Florida. Both crew eject, two chutes observed, but only the navigator is recovered.[71]
March 5 - A USAFKC-135A of the 91st Air Refuelling Squadron, 384th Air Refuelling Wing, crashed and burned shortly after take-off from McConnell AFB, Kansas, killing two of seven crew. Air Force spokesmen reported that the aircraft was carrying 136,000 pounds of fuel when it crashed 3,000 feet from the main runway, after it apparently lost power.[72]
April 29 - A USAFMartinMGM-13 Mace crashed in a wooded area of Eglin AFB, Florida, approximately ~1.5 miles north of Auxiliary Field 4 after launch from Eglin Site A-10 about noon for a routine Air National Guard training mission. There were no injuries or property damage although a small brushfire was ignited, quickly extinguished.[75]
October 14 – An RAFAvro Vulcan B2, XM645, of 9 Sqn RAF Waddington breaks up over Zabbar, Malta, after a hard landing shears off the port-side undercarriage, piercing a wing fuel tank and starting a fire. The pilot and co-pilot initiate a second landing attempt but eject when they realize that the plane cannot make it back to the runway. The subsequent explosion kills 5 crew members who remained aboard, and an electrical cable severed by falling debris kills a bystander on the ground.
October 25 - Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7965, Item 2016, lost near Lovelock, Nevada during night training sortie following INS platform failure. Pilot St. Martin and RSO Carnochan eject safely.
March 27 - A USNF-14 Tomcat crashes and catapults across scrub grass to come to rest against a concrete highway divider on I-163 on approach to NAS Miramar, San Diego, CA, exploding in flames. Both crew members eject seconds before impact; one fatality, no civilian deaths.
October 19 - A USAFB-52D-75-BO, 56-0594, of the 22nd Bomb Wing, crashes at 7:30 a.m. in light fog in a plowed field ~2 1/2 miles SE of March AFB, near the rural community of Sunnymead, California, shortly after take-off. Five crew killed, but one is able to escape the burning wreckage and was reported in stable condition at the base hospital. Traffic was disrupted on nearby Interstate 15E. [83]
April 24 - Operation Eagle Claw - A contingent of American military aircraft embarks on a commando raid to rescue a group of American hostages held by Iran. An unexpected sandstorm forces 2 USMCRH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters to divert before reaching the first rendezvous point and causes serious mechanical damage to a third, prompting commanders to abort the mission. While attempting to evacuate personnel and equipment that had already arrived at the rendezvous point, the pilot of another Sea Stallion loses situational awareness in dustcloud during takeoff and collides with a USAFC-130 Hercules, killing 8 US servicemen aboard both aircraft.
May 6 - A mechanical failure caused an abrupt nose pitch-down of USAF EC-135N ARIA, 61-0328, c/n 18235, to crash in a farmer's field, in Walkersville, Maryland. All 21 aboard were killed. Some of those aboard were family members. A memorial has been built at Walkersville Heritage Farm Park. Aircraft was originally delivered as a C-135A-BN Stratolifter.
October 30 - A USAFB-52D-55-BO, 55-078, of the 22nd Bomb Wing, March AFB, California, crashes on the eastern Colorado prairie near La Junta at 6:30 a.m. while on a low-level (400 foot altitude) training mission, killing all eight crew. No weapons were onboard.[85]
November 29 - Shortly after completing a training mission, a USAFB-52G-130-BW, 59-4766, suffered hydraulics fire in nose gear, exploded at the end of the runway at Castle AFB, California, but crew of nine escaped before it was fully engulfed. Aircraft commander ordered evacuation as soon as he learned of the wheel fire.[86][87]
1983
January 27 - Five are killed and eight injured when a USAFB-52G Stratofortress catches fire and explodes at 9:30 a.m. on the ramp at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota. The Stratofortress was undergoing routine maintenance after flying a training mission the previous night.[88]
1984
October 16 - An unarmed USAFB-52G-80-BW, 57‑6479, of the 92nd Bomb Wing out of Fairchild AFB, Washington, crashed about 9 p.m. into a mesa on the Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona 13 miles NE of Kayenta, during a low-level training flight. Eight crew eject and recovered in a day; one ejects, missing; gunner KWF.[89]
December 12 – Arrow Air Flight 1285, a chartered DC-8-63CF, N950JW, c/n 46058, line number '433', crashes just after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, killing 256 people, of whom 248 were soldiers in the US Army101st Airborne Division returning from overseas duty in the Sinai desert, Egypt. This remains the greatest peacetime loss of military personnel in US history.[94]
April 24 - Marine Corps Colonel Jerry Cadick, then commanding officer of MAG-11, was performing stunts at the MCAS El Toro Air Show before a crowd of 300,000 when he crashed his F/A-18 Hornet at the bottom of a loop that was too close to the ground.[20] The aircraft was in a nose-high attitude, but still carrying too much energy toward the ground when it impacted at more than 300 mph (480 km/h). Col. Cadick was subjected to extremely high G forces that resulted in his face making contact with the control stick and sustaining serious injury. He broke his arm, elbow and ribs, exploded a vertebra and collapsed a lung. Col. Cadick survived and retired from the Marine Corps. The F/A-18 remained largely intact but was beyond repair.[96][97]
May 6 - CH-53D with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-46 crashed into South China Sea killing all 17 on board.
August 28 – Ramstein airshow disaster: Three of the ten Aermacchi MB-339PAN jets from the Italian Air Force display team Frecce Tricolori collide in mid-air in front of the audience while performing their 'pierced heart' formation. One aircraft crashes directly into the crowd. Sixty-seven spectators and all three pilots are killed and 346 seriously injured in the resulting explosion and fire.
December 6 - A USAFB-52H-150-BW, 60-0040, crashed on the runway at 1:15 a.m. EST at K.I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan, while doing touch-and-goes after a seven-hour training flight. No weapons were aboard the bomber, which broke into three parts. All crew survived, crawling or being helped from the nose section, without sustaining burns.[99]
January 29 - A RCAF CC-130E, 130318, formerly 10318, c/n 4124, of 43 Squadron, participating in annual Brim Frost exercises hits runway lights and a river bank short of the runway and crashes onto the runway at Wainwright AAF, Alaska at -46 degrees Fahrenheit. Eleven of the eighteen occupants are killed.[100]
April 21 - Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7974, Item 2025, outbound on operational sortie from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, suffers engine explosion, total hydraulic failure. Pilot Maj. Dan E. House and RSO Capt. Blair L. Bozek both eject safely.
January 23 - Mid-air collision between two Blue AngelsF/A-18 aircraft during a practice session at El Centro. One airplane, Angel Number 2, BuNo 161524, piloted by Capt. Chase Moseley (ejected) was destroyed and the other, Angel Number 1, badly damaged but managed to land safely. Both pilots survived unharmed.[102]
December 6 - An MB-326 jet from the Italian Air Force crashes into a high school in Casalecchio di Reno, Italy. Twelve students are killed, 84 more are severely injured. The pilot ejected after losing control of the plane.
1991
January 24 - A-7E Corsair II, BuNo 158830, 'AC 403', of VA-72 has the dubious distinction of being the last of the type in US Navy service to need a barricade landing aboard a carrier when the nose gear was damaged on catapult launch from the USS John F. Kennedy, CV-67, at start of mission 12.41 against a target in western Iraq, losing one tire. Pilot, Lt. Tom Dostie, succeeds in hooking 1-wire and aircraft snags safely in barricade. Since the A-7 type was about to be retired, airframe is stripped for parts and buried at sea January 25 with full military honors, but refuses to sink until strafed by air wing jets.[103]
March 21 – Two US NavyP-3 Orion anti-submarine planes are lost during a training mission off the San Diego coast. The crash occurs in a storm 60 miles southwest of San Diego at 2:30 a.m., as one plane flies to relieve the other, which had been airborne for seven hours. Search-and-rescue workers discover wreckage from the downed planes but all 27 crewmen are lost. The two aircraft were assigned to Patrol Squadron 50, based at Moffett Naval Air Station in Mountain View.
February 6 - A Kentucky Air National GuardC-130B, 58-0732, c.n. 3527, of the 165th Tactical Airlift Squadron, stalls and crashes into the JoJo's restaurant and Drury Inn while practicing touch and go maneuvers at the Evansville, Indiana Airport. All five crew members and nine people on the ground were killed. Several others were injured.
April - A Marine Corps CH-46 suffers a catastrophic explosion and crashes into the Red Sea, killing four Marines including the pilot and injuring eight Marines.
July 20 - A V-22 Osprey prototype, BuNo 163914, catches fire and falls into the Potomac River at MCAS Quantico, Virginia, USA, killing 5 crew members in front of an audience of high-ranking US government officials; this is the first of a series of fatal accidents involving the controversial tiltrotor aircraft.
1993
April 27 – A Zambian Air Force DHC-5 Buffalo crashed shortly after takeoff from Libreville, Gabon. One engine caught fire and failed; the tired pilot then shut down the wrong engine, causing a complete loss of power during the climb and leading to a crash 500 metres offshore. The plane was carrying the Zambia national football team to a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Senegal. All 30 on board, including 18 players, the coach, and team support staff, were killed.
August 8 - A JAS 39 Gripen crashed on the central Stockholm island of Långholmen, near the Västerbron bridge, during a slow speed manoeuver during a display over the Stockholm Water Festival. The same pilot as in the 1989 incident ejected safely. Despite large crowds standing by watching, no one on the ground was seriously injured. This crash was caused by a PIO.
1994
B-52H61-0026Czar 52 about to crash. Note that the co-pilot's hatch has been blown in a failed attempt to eject.
March 23 - Green Ramp Disaster A mid-air collision between a C-130 Hercules, 68-10942, and a F-16D Fighting Falcon, 88-0171, causes a ground crash between the F-16 and a C-141 Starlifter, 66-0173. This propelled the wreckage of the F-16 into paratroopers preparing for a practice drop killing 24 and injuring many more. The C-130 landed safely.
June 24 - 'Czar 52', a USAFB-52H-170-BW Stratofortress, 61-0026, crashes during an airshow practice at Fairchild AFB. After having rehearsed the maneuvers profile that in itself was dangerous to fly in a B-52, the aircraft came into land. Due to a KC-135 Stratotanker still being on the runway, the aircraft was required to make a 'go around'. After beginning a 360-degree turn left, the aircraft exceeded 90 degrees angle of bank, stalled and crashed into the ground. All four aircrew members were killed in the crash.[106]
1995
May 21-May 22 - Historic B-29-95-BW Superfortress, 45-21768, "Kee Bird", of the 46th/72nd Reconnaissance Squadrons, abandoned in 1947 and recently restored to flying condition after a number of highly calamitous setbacks, is severely damaged by fire while attempting to take off from a frozen lakebed in Greenland. Its remains are abandoned to sink into the melting ice.
September 22 – A USAFE-3B Sentry, 77-0354, c/n 21554, of the 961st AACS, 552nd ACW, crashes shortly after take off from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, when a flock of Canadian snow geese were ingested by its engines. All 26 crew members die, including 2 Canadian air crew members. This was the first loss of an E-3 since the type entered service in 1977.[109]
July 15 – At approximately 18.03 hrs, a BelgianLockheedC-130H Hercules, registration number CH-06, c/n 4473, crashed at Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands after bird strikes stopped three engines. A total of 34 people lost their lives as a result of the accident, and seven people were seriously injured.
September 13 - German Air ForceTupolev 154M, 11+02, of 1 Staffel/FBS, used for Open Skies treaty verification, collided with a US Air ForceC-141B Starlifter, 65-9405, of the 305th AMW, about 120 km (75 miles) west of the coast of Namibia over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 24 aboard. Accident investigations by both countries, released March 31, 1998, found that the Tu-154 was flying at the wrong altitude, 35,000 feet (11,600 m.) instead of 39,000 feet (12,900 m.), and was thus primarily at fault.[111]
January 21 - Royal Air ForcePanavia Tornado GR.1 ZA330 crashed into a Cessna 152, G-BPZX near Mattersley Nottinghamshire. In the Air Accident Report 3/2000 the conclusion was none of the pilots saw each other in time to take avoiding action. Both crew of the Tornado Flight Lieutenant Greg Hurst and Sottotenete Matteo Di Carlo as well as the pilot and passenger in the Cessna were killed.
April 18 - Royal Australian Air ForceF-111G, A8-291, of 6 Sqn., crashes about 2230 hrs. while on exercises in Malaysia. Believed to have hit one of two peaks on small island Pulua Aur, off the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, and then crashed into the South China Sea. The two crew, Sqn. Ldr. Steve Hobbs and Flt. Lt. Anthony Short, are killed.[119]
May 27 - An Indian Air ForceMiG-21MF, C-1539, of 17 Golden Arrows Sqn., is shot down by a PakistaniFIM-92 Stinger while searching for downed MiG-27 pilot during the Kargil conflict. Aircraft comes down at 1105 hrs., some 7.5 miles (12 km.) inside occupied Kashmir. Although pilot Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja ejected safely, Pakistan claimed he had been killed. After his body was returned May 28, "initial examination found bullet wounds which suggested he had been shot after ejecting. This was the first time since 1971 that India had lost an aircraft to hostile fire."[121]
June 12 - Russian Air ForceSukhoiSu-30MK-1 demonstrator '01' with vectored thrust crashes on opening day of the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport. At the completion of a downward spiralling maneuver, the tail contacted the grass surface. With almost no forward speed the fighter was able to pull away from the ground, wings level, with an up pitch of 10-15 degrees and climb to ~150 feet (46 meters), with the right jet nozzle deflected fully up and flames engulfing the left engine. Sukhoi test pilot Vyacheslav Averynov initiated ejection with navigator Vladimir Shendrikh departing the aircraft first. The Zvezda K-36D-3.5 ejection seats work perfectly and both crew descend on a taxiway unhurt. The Su-30 impacted some distance from the crew. Video of this accident is widely available on the internet.[123][124]
September 20 - A Swedish Air ForceJAS-39 Gripen, 39156, '56', of F7 Wing, 2nd Sqn., crashes into Lake Vänern at about 1430 hrs. during an air-to-air combat exercise. Aircraft sank in about 260 feet of water (80 meters). Pilot ejected safely and was recovered by Hkp 10 SAR helicopter. The accident was caused by a design flaw in the plane's control system, rendering it in a stalled mode after passing another plane's vortex. This was the first loss of a Gripen since the type became operational.[126][127]
December 10 – A United States Air ForceC-130E Hercules, 63-7854, of 61st Airlift Squadron, 463rd Airlift Group, crashes during landing at Ahmed Al Jaber air base, Kuwait City, Kuwait killing three of the 94 people on board. Investigation report, released March 31, 2000, blamed crew complacency and failure to follow governing directives during approach to the runway, failing to monitor instruments, a critical function for night flying in reduced visibility.[128]
April 19 – A Rwandan Air ForceAntonov An-8, TL-ACM, c/n 9340706, chartered from Centrafricain Airlines, crashes near Pepa, Democratic Republic of the Congo after engine failure caused by a suspected bird strike. All 24 on board were killed. A Rwanda army major, two captains, two lieutenants, and some soldiers were killed along with the 4 Russian crewmembers on take-off from Pepa. The soldiers were returning on home leave, while others were planning to attend the president's swearing-in ceremony. Other sources report a death toll of around 57 and suggest the Antonov might have been imported into Rwanda illegally.[129][130]
December 11 - An MV-22B Osprey prototype, BuNo 165440, c.n. 90018, of VMMT-204, crashes near MCAS New River, Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA, after an engine fails and a glitch in the flight control software prevents the pilots from maintaining control of the aircraft; all 4 crew members are killed. Cause of crash was a burst hydraulic line.
April 1 - Hainan Island incident- An AmericanEP-3E Aries II surveillance plane, BuNo 156511, 'PR-32', of VQ-1, collides with a ChineseJ-8D Finback fighter jet and is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days; the Chinese fighter pilot, Wang Wei, is missing and presumed dead. Chinese refuse to let Orion be flown out, so it is dismantled and transported on chartered An-124.[132]
April 4 – A Sudan Air ForceAntonov An-24 crashes during a sandstorm in Adar Yeil, Sudan. Of the 30 people on board, 14 were killed; among them, Sudan’s deputy defense minister as well as other high-ranking officers.
June 2 – An Angolan Armed ForcesMil Mi-17 helicopter crashes in poor weather killing 20 of the 25 on board. Among those on board were top military officials that were going to attend a disarmament ceremony by UNITA rebels.
July 27 – A Ukrainian Air ForceSu-27UB Tragedy at Lviv airshow. During the airshow an Su-27 crashed on the ground killing 85 spectators, 5 of them children. 199 were injured. Pilots managed to eject, but the plane crashed on spectators watching the airshow from the ground. The plane lacked the altitude to escape the crash, and it hit the tribune and fell on the ground. As stated by Ukrainian Def. Ministry, the crash was caused because of engine failure. Pilots, unit commanders later jailed.
March 22 - During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, two Royal NavyWestland Sea King ASaC7 AEW helicopters, XV650, 'CU-182', and XV704, 'R-186', collided in mid-air five miles from their aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal while one had been leaving on a mission as the other returned from the same operation. One American exchange pilot was on board, a former E-2C Hawkeye pilot formerly from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron One One Five was killed. [4][139]
August 18 – A PolishSu-22M-4K, of 8 ELT, flying at 3000 meter (10,000 ft) altitude, during antiaircraft artillery exercises, was shot down at 1600 hrs. within the confines of the Wicko Morskie range, near Ustka by 2K12 Kub missile. Another account ascribes the downing merely to a "technical malfunction". The pilot, Lt. Col. Andrzej Andrzejewski, safely ejected and alighted in Baltic Sea 21 km (11 nmi) from the coast, and - after one-and-half hour spent in water - picked up by Mi-14PS SAR helicopter from Siemirowice Air Base.[140]
September 9 — A low-flying British ArmyLynxAH Mk.9 helicopter, ZE382, of 661 Squadron, was caught in high-voltage electric wires during an Anglo-Czech joint military training exercise near the village Kuroslepy (near Brno). All six persons on board died.[142]
November 26 - USMC MV-22B, BuNo 165838, lost a substantial piece of a prop-rotor blade during test flight in Nova Scotia, Canada, but was able to make safe precautionary landing at CFB Shearwater despite severe airframe vibration.[144]
December 2 — The pilot of a Blue AngelsF/A-18, BuNo 161956, ejects approximately one mile off Perdido Key, Florida, after reporting mechanical problems and loss of power. Lt. Ted Steelman suffered minor injuries and fully recovered.
December 10 - Two Canadian Forces CT-114 Tutors of 431 Snowbirds Air Demonstration Team, 114064 and 114173, flying as opposing solo '8' and '9' (unclear which was which), collided at the top of a loop during practice over Mossbank Airfield, an abandoned WW II aerodrome. Captain Miles Selby, pilot of '8' was killed instantly, but Captain Chuck Mallet was thrown clear of the wreckage of '9', released his lap belt and pulled his chute release, landing with minor injuries.[145]
January 31 – A Colombian government UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on an anti-narcotics mission crashes in heavy fog near Manguipayan, Colombia killing all 20 on board.
September 15 - Russian Air Force Su-27Flanker of the 6th Air Force, 177th Fighter Regiment, during a flight between St.Petersburg and Kaliningrad, for unknown reasons veered off its course while travelling over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, went into Lithuanian airspace and crashed in Jurbarkas region, Lithuania. No one was has harmed during the incident, including pilot Maj. Velery Troyanov, who ejected safely.[147]
April 3 - USAFC-5B Galaxy, 84-0059, of 436th AW/512th AW, crashes in field ~one mile short of runway during landing approach to Dover AFB, Delaware. All 17 on board survive, although three are seriously injured. Cause was found to be aircrew error as the pilots and flight engineers did not properly configure, maneuver and power the aircraft during approach and landing.[148]
May 23 – A GreekF-16C Fighting Falcon, 514, of 343 Mira, and TurkishF-16C Fighting Falcon, 93-0684, of 192 Filo, collide over the Aegean Sea as the Greek pilot attempted to intercept the Turkish, after an alleged airspace violation. The Greek pilot is presumed dead, but the Turkish pilot was rescued.[149]
February 2 – A HAL Dhruv helicopter, part of the Saarang Helicopter Aerobatics team lost altitude and crashed while practicing for the Aero India-2007 at the Yelahanka Air Base near Bangalore, India. The pilot was severely injured, and the co-pilot was killed. The Saarang team continued their planned performance for the airshow.
April 21 – A United States NavyBlue AngelsF/A-18 Hornet, BuNo 162437, crashes into a residential neighborhood while performing at an airshow in Beaufort, South Carolina, in the United States, killing the pilot. Military investigators blame pilot for his fatal crash. A report obtained by The Associated Press said that Lieutenant Commander Kevin Davis got disoriented and crashed after not properly tensing his abdominal muscles to counter the gravitational forces of a high-speed turn.[156]
August 8 – An RAFPuma HC.1, ZA934, 'BZ', of 33 Squadron, crashes in a wooded area of Hudswell Grange, W of Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, UK. Two RAF crew, pilot and aircraft commander Flt. Lt. David Oxer Hanson Sale, and crewman Sgt. Phillip Anthony "Taff" Burfoot died in the crash, while Army Pvt. Sean Tait, Royal Regiment of Scotland, died two days later in hospital. Nine others injured but survive.
January 28 - A Portuguese Air ForceF-16 crashes in Monte Real, Portugal while performing a test run after going through extensive maintenance. The pilot safely ejected.
July 30 - A U.S. Air ForceF-15D Eagle crashed on the Nevada Test and Training Range approximately 50 miles east of Goldfield, Nevada, at approximately 11:30 a.m. The F-15D, assigned to the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base was participating in a combat training mission as part of Exercise Red Flag 08-03. Air Force officials identified the pilot who died in the crash as Lt. Col. Thomas A. Bouley, who was commander of the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base. A United Kingdom Royal Air Force pilot was with him and is at Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital at Nellis. The pilot arrived about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Air Force said. The pilot was in stable condition and under observation. The Royal Air Force pilot's name is being withheld while the investigation into the crash continues.[159][160]
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^ abcdefghijMueller, Robert, "Air Force Bases Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982", United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1989, ISBN 0-912799-53-6, page 97. Cite error: The named reference "Mueller" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ abMaurer Maurer, "Aviation in the U.S. Army, 1919-1939", United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1987, ISBN 0-912799-38-2, page 163. Cite error: The named reference "Maurer" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^Stamford, Lincs., U.K.: FlyPast, Ford, Daniel, "Bulldog Pedigree", June 1999, Number 215, page 44.
^Pelletier, Alain J., "Bombers As Postmen", Air Enthusiast No.122, Stamford, Lincs., U.K., March/April 2006, pages 38-40.
^Green, William, "The Warplanes of the Third Reich", Galahad Books, New York, 1986, Library of Congress card number 86-80568, ISBN 88365-666-3, page 428.
^Bowers, Peter M., "Fortress In The Sky", Sentry Books, Granada Hills, California,1976, Library of Congress Card No. 76-17145, ISBN 0-913194-04-2, page 37
^ abc Bodie, Warren M. "The Lockheed P-38 Lightning". Hayesville, North Carolina.: Widewing Publications, 1991, ISBN 0-9629359-5-6, pages 33-42. Cite error: The named reference "Bodie" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ abcdLake, Jon, "P-47 Thunderbolt Part 1: Early development and combat in the ETO", International Air Power Review, Volume 1, AIRtime Publishing Inc., Westport, Connecticut, Summer 2001, ISBN 1473-9917, page 143. Cite error: The named reference "Lake" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
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Richard H. Campbell (2005). The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 48, 59. ISBN 0-7864-2139-8.
^Mizrahi, Joe, Wings, "The Last Great Bomber Fly Off", Sentry Books, Granada Hills, California, June 1999, Volume 29, Number 3, page 35.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstu Gibson, James N. Nuclear Weapons of the United States - An Illustrated History . Atglen, Pennsylvania.: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1996, Library of Congress card no. 96-67282, ISBN 0-7643-0063-6, page 61. Cite error: The named reference "Gibson" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^Stamford, Lincs., U.K.: FlyPast, Morgan, David, "Clouds with Rocks Inside", June 2003, Number 263, page 88-89.
^ Jenkins, Dennis R., Moore, Mike and Pyeatt, Don, compilers, B-36 Photo Scrapbook . North Branch, Minnesota.: Specialty Press, 2003, ISBN 1-58007-075-2, page 53.
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New Iberia, Louisiana: The Daily Iberian, June 14, 1961, Vol. 68, No. 265, verified by daughter-Deborah Anne Page Williams.
^ Columbia, South Carolina: The State, Friday, October 20, 1978, page 3-A.
^ abWillis, David, "Martin B-57: The American Canberra", International Air Power Review, Volume 21, AIRtime Publishing Inc., Westport, Connecticut, 2006, ISBN 1473-9917, page 125. Cite error: The named reference "Willis" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ Winchester, Jim, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk: Heineman's Hot Rod. Barnsley, Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books, 2005, ISBN 1-84415-085-2, page 199.
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San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun, Wednesday, 3 November 1971, page C-8.
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Washington, D.C.: Washington Post, Saturday, October 30, 1970, page A-9.
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San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun, Monday, November 8, 1971, page B-2.
^ Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, March 15, 1972, page 2, Part I.
^ Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Times, Saturday, April 1, 1972, page A-1.
^San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun-Telegram, Saturday, April 1, 1972, page A-2.
^
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: Sun-News, Tuesday, November 28, 1972, Vol. 22, No. 52, page 1A.
^Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: Sun-News, Richmond, Mary and Thompson, Eldridge, staff writers, Thursday, December 7, 1972, Vol. 22, No, 56, pages 1A-2A.
^Mersky, Peter B., "SLUF swansong : A-7 Corsair II in the Gulf, 1990-1991", International Air Power Review, Volume 1, AIRtime Publishing Inc., Westport, Connecticut, Summer 2001, ISBN 1473-9917, pages 123-126.
