From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
- September 17 - Army Signal Corps Wright Model A, Army serial number 1, piloted by Orville Wright, crashed at Ft. Myer, Virginia, killing Lt. Thomas B. Selfridge. Rebuilt. Retired May 4, 1911, and now in Smithsonian Institution National Air & Space Museum, Washington, D.C. Selfridge AFB, Michigan, was later named for the first U.S. military aircrash victim.
- 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 Loening PW-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.[1]
- 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. Lightning strikes S-6 over Nistelrode, Holland, killing Olmsted outright, and Shoptaw in the fall.[1] Middletown Air Depot, Pennsylvania, was later renamed Olmsted AFB.
- 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.[2]
- April 23 - A U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 43-38856 M of the 381st Bombardment Group (Heavy) crashes on the east facing slope of North Barrule in the Isle of Man killing 31 US service personnel.
- July 25 – A US Army Air Forces B-25 Mitchell bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building, killing 14 people and causing over $1 million in damage [1].
- August 6 - All-time highest-scoring American flying ace Richard Bong is killed trying to bail out of a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter after a fuel pump failure during a test flight at Burbank Airport, Burbank, California, USA.
- December 5 – Flight 19, a training flight of 5 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers manned by 14 US Navy and Marine personnel from Ft Lauderdale Naval Air Station, Florida, USA, vanishes over the Bermuda Triangle under mysterious circumstances. A US Navy PBM-5 Mariner carrying 13 sailors searching for the missing planes also disappears after a large mid-air explosion is seen near its last reported position.
- August 17 - Two B-29 Superfortress bombers collide over Weatherford, Texas during a bomber training exercise. 18 crew members were killed instantly, 2 managed to escape from the falling wreckage and parachute to safety.
- 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 during its maiden flight.
- September 27 - Geoffrey de Havilland, Jr., is killed when DH. 108, TG306, second prototype, breaks up in flight, coming down in the Thames near Egypt Bay.
- February 13 - A U.S. Air Force B-36B in transit from Eielson AFB, Alaska to Carswell AFB, Texas, loses three of six engines, suffers icing. To lighten aircraft crew jettisons nuclear weapons bomb casing over the Pacific Ocean from 8,000 feet. High explosives detonate on contact, large shockwave seen, crew later bails out safely over Prince Royal Isle.[3]
- February 15 - de Havilland DH. 108, VW120, flown by RAE's OC, Squadron Leader J.S.R. Muller-Rowland, enters steep dive from 27,000 feet (8230 meters), breaking up around 10,000 feet (3048 meters) with fatal result. Wreckage comes down at Birkhill, near Bletchley.
- April 11 - A USAF B-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.[3]
- May 1 - Third and final de Havilland DH. 108, TG283, crash near Hartley Whitney, Hants., during stall tests, kills replacement RAE OC, Squadron Leader G.E.C. Genders. Aircraft entered uncontrollable spin, pilot bails out, parachute fails.
- July 13 - A USAF B-50 carrying a nuclear weapon bomb casing (but no fuel capsule), stalls at 7,000 feet, crashes, killing 16 crew.[3]
- August 5 - A USAF B-29 Superfortress carrying a Mark 4 nuclear bomb and a number of conventional bombs, 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.[3]
- November 10 - During an unspecified in-flight emergency over water, a USAF B-50 jettisons empty nuclear bomb casing at 10,500 feet, observes detonation upon ocean impact.[3]
- January 12 - Prototype RAF Vickers 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 3 - A United States Air Force B-29 Superfortress crashes at night. Suspected reason - Fuel line issues. Unknown number of fatalities. Majority of the crew bail out and land in farmers field 8 miles north, 5.5 miles west of Onaga, Kansas, USA.
- April 4 - A United States Air Force C-124 Globemaster II collides in midair with a C-47 Skytrain over Mobile, Alabama, USA; 15 die.
- November 23 - A United States Air Force C-124 Globemaster II on approach to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, USA crashes into a remote glacier, killing all 52 aboard.
- December 20 - A United States Air Force C-124 Globemaster II carrying 115 US servicemen crashes at Moses Lake, Washington, USA; 87 die, the highest confirmed death toll of any disaster in aviation history at the time.
- January 10 - The most notorious incident of aircraft pitch-up known as the "Sabre dance" was the loss of F-100C-20-NA Super Sabre 54-1907 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.
- March 10 - One of four U.S. Air Force B-47s out of MacDill AFB, Florida, misses tanker meet over the Mediterranean. Extensive search never turns up plane, crew, or two nuclear weapons.[3]
- May 15 - A RCAF Avro CF-100 Canuck crashed into Villa St. Louis, a convent of the Grey Nuns of the Cross in Orleans, Ontario, Canada. 15 people were killed; both crewmen of the aircraft, a priest, 11 nuns and one other woman.
- June 5 - A USAF Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet strikes an automobile during an aborted take-off at Wold-Chamberlain Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, killing 3 of the 5 occupants of the vehicle; both F-89 crew members survive.
- June 9 - A Grumman F9F Panther fighter jet flown by a USMC Reserve pilot crashes into a row of houses near Wold-Chamberlain Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. In addition to killing the pilot, 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.
- July 27 - A U.S. Air Force B-47 crashes while making touch-and-goes at RAF Lakenheath, skidding off runway and into nuclear weapons storage igloo holding three Mark 6 nuclear bombs, burns. No weapons in the facility go off and all are later repaired. Stratojet was unarmed.
- 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. Undercart damaged in contact short of runway with control lost during attempted go-around.
- October 10 - A United States Air Force C-118 lost at sea about 150 miles north of the Azores. 59 died.
- December 5: An SM-62 Snark, 53-8172, N-69D test model, fitted with new 24 hour stellar inertial guidance system, launches from Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex, Florida, wanders off-course, ignores destruct command, disappears over Brazil. It is found by a farmer in January 1983.[3]
- December 31 - A United States Air Force C-121 crashed in Saudi Arabia while flying UN troops into the Suez Canal. It was also carrying Hungarian refugees back to Charleston AFB, South Carolina.
- March 17 - The official plane of the President of the Philippines, a Philippine Air Force C-47 named "Mt. Pinatubo", crashes on the slopes of Mount Manunggal, Cebu, Philippines, killing Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others. The crash is blamed on metal fatigue; one journalist on board survives.
- March 21 - A United States Air Force C-97 lost at sea over Pacific Ocean. 67 died.
- May 22 -A U.S. Air Force B-36 ferrying a Mk-17 hydrogen weapon from Biggs AFB, Texas to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, accidentally drops bomb through closed bomb doors, impacting 4.5 miles south of Kirtland tower. High explosives detonate creating crater 25X12 feet, but no fuel capsule fitted, no injuries.[3]
- May 31 - A Royal Canadian Navy McDonnell F2H-3 Banshee 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 Force B-52 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.
- January 31 - During simulated Strategic take-off from overseas base, a USAF B-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.[3]
- February – A US Douglas C-118A Liftmaster military transport and a U.S. Navy P2V-5F Neptune patrol bomber, 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. 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.
- February 5 - A USAF B-47 out of Homestead AFB, Florida mid-air collision with USAF F-86 Sabre on simulated combat mission, jettisons nuclear weapons casing from 7,200 feet over Wassaw Sound off Tybee Beach, Georgia. Stratojet recovers to Hunter AFB, Georgia, bomb is still missing.[3]
- March 11 - A USAF B-47 from Hunter AFB, Georgia, jettisons nuclear weapons casing from 15,000 feet over rural section of Florence, South Carolina, high-explosives detonate on impact causing property damage, several civilian injuries. No fuel capsule installed on bomb.[3]
- March 27 - A USAF C-124 Globemaster II collides in midair with a USAF C-119 Flying Boxcar over Bridgeport, Texas, USA, killing all 18 servicemen aboard both aircraft.
- July 26 - Fabled USAF test-pilot Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr. is killed after the engine of his Lockheed F-104A fighter jet fails during takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA. While flying a Bell X-2, Kincheloe became the first man to exceed 100,000 ft (30,500 m) of altitude, and he is often credited as the first man to enter outer space.
- September 8 – Two B-52s collide over the town of Airway Heights near Fairchild AFB. 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 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 USAF B-47 catches fire during take-off, crashes. Fire sets off single bomb casing on board, creating crater 35X6 feet.
- November 26 - A USAF B-47 on Alert Status catches fire, completely destroying single nuclear weapon on board.
- January 24: A USAF B-52 on airborne alert suffers structural failure of starboard wing over Goldsboro, North Carolina, 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.[3]
- March 14: Failure of a pressurization system forces USAF B-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.[3]
- December 12 - Mid-air collision of two Belgian Air Force C-119 Flying Boxcar at Chièvres Air Base, Belgium. 15 died.
- January 13: United States Air Force B-52D 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.[3]
- May 11 - A United States Air Force C-135 crashes at Clark Air Force Base, Philippines. 75 died. The crash occurred while attempting to land during a rainstorm at approximately 1920 hrs.
- June 10 - First Lockheed XV-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 Force B-58 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, burns. Navigator killed in failed ejection, two other crew okay. Four B43 nuclear bombs and either a W-39 or W-53 warhead are on board the weapons pod, but no explosion takes place and contamination is limited to crash site.[3]
- January 16 - A United States Air Force KC-135 crashed after an engine failure shortly after take off from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, United States of America. The fuel laden plane crashed at the intersection of 20th and Piatt causing a huge fire. 30 were killed 23 on the ground and the 7 member crew.
- April 27 - Ryan XV-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.
- June 25 - A United States Air Force C-135 crashed on take off Los Angeles Airport, California, United States of America. 85 died.
- December 5 - A-4 Skyhawk on nuclear alert status, armed with one bomb, probably a Mk-57, rolls off of elevator on a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. Airframe, pilot, and bomb are lost.[3]
- January 17 – A B-52 Stratofortress collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker during aerial refueling near Palomares, Spain in the Palomares hydrogen bombs incident. Seven crew members are killed in the crash, and two of the B-52's Mark 28 nuclear bombs rupture, scattering radioactive material over the countryside. One bomb lands intact near the town, and another is lost at sea. It is later recovered intact 5 miles (8 km) offshore.[3]
- June 8 – Second XB-70 Valkyrie prototype crashes at Edwards AFB, California, following a mid-air collision with a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter while the aircraft were in close formation for a photo shoot at the behest of General Electric. The pilot of the F-104 and the copilot of the XB-70 are killed.
- October 5 - Ryan XV-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.
- January 5 - Martin TGM-13 Mace, launched from 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 AFB F-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.[5]
- April 21 - Fourth prototype F-111B suffers flame-out of both engines at 200 feet after take-off, killing the project pilot and co-pilot.[6]
- 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.[7]
- March 10 - Lockheed XV-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 unable to recover, ejects, suffering minor injuries.
- April 15 - North Korean MiG-21s shoot down a Navy EC-121M Warning Star over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 aboard.
- June 5 – Crash of Rivet Amber, the U.S. Air Force's sole Boeing RC-135E.
- September 20 - An Air Vietnam Douglas DC-4 collided on approach to landing with an American United States Air Force F-4 Phantom near Da Nang, Vietnam. 77 died.
- 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.[8]
- December 22: A United States Navy F-8 Crusader of VF-194 crashes into hangar at NAS Miramar, California during emergency landing, killing 14 and injuring 30. Pilot ejected safely. Five other fighters, including two F-4s, are damaged in the repair facility fire that ensues.[9]
- April 28 - A USAF F-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. Spotted by rescue aircraft, they are recovered by the oil tanker Texaco Illinois.[10]
- May 22 - A USAF T-33A of the 1st Composite Wing, Andrews AFB, Maryland, crashes just short of the north runway on approach to that base, killing two crew, and injuring three on the ground.[11]
- May 24 - A USAF C-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.[12]
- May 27: A USAF C-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.[13]
- June 6: A USAF C-5A, fifteenth off the production line, but first to be delivered to any operational Military Airlift Command wing, loses one tire and blows another on landing at Charleston AFB, South Carolina for the 437th MAW.[14]
- August 5 - A USAF F-4 of the 36th TFW, Bitburg, Germany, TDY to Zaragoza Air Base, Spain, crashes on a gunnery range near Zaragoza, killing two crew.
- November 11 -A USAF F-4 crashes in the North Sea after an engine fire. Both crew eject and are rescued by helicopter.[15]
- November 16 - A U.S. Navy F-4 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean 30 miles east of the Virginia Capes shortly after launch from the carrier USS Forrestal, CVA-59. Two crew, out of NAS Oceana, Virginia, are lost, the Navy reported on November 17.[16]
- September 11: Lockheed C-121 of the West Virginia Air National Guard, carrying five state governors to a conference in Puerto Rico, experiences engine problems, force-lands at Homestead AFB, Florida. Governors of Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, Texas and Utah, transfer to another aircraft to continue flight.[17]
- September 28: A United States Navy P-3 Orion, on patrol over the Sea of Japan, is fired on by a Soviet Sverdlov 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.[18][19]
- October 29 - A USAF T-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.[20]
- November 7 - A USAF F-4 and a USAF F-106 suffer mid-air and crash in isolated areas near Nellis AFB, Nevada. All three crew eject and survive. Phantom comes down 35 miles from Caliente, Nevada, Delta Dart attempts recovery to Nellis but pilot ejects eight miles NE of base.[21]
- February 19 - C-130E 62-1813, 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.
- October 13 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, a Fairchild FH-227D 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.
- February 8 - A USAF B-52 of the 744th BS, 456th BW, veered off the runway during night take-off from Beale AFB, California, skidded 1,500 through a muddy field before overturning, destroyed by four massive explosions and fire. One crew, the first pilot, was thrown free before the fire but seven others perished.
- February 9 - Two USAF F-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 ejecting, suffering broken right leg on landing, recovered by helicopter. Second F-105 recovers to Carswell despite damage.[22]
- February 10: A USAF T-39A returning to McClellan AFB, California collides with a USAF NKC-135A at 23,000 feet, over Peterson Field, Colorado, killing all seven on board T-39. Sabreliner had experienced landing gear trouble, rendezvoused with NKC-135 for look-over, accidentally strikes rear fuselage and fin of Boeing. NKC-135 lands safely, was en route from Seattle, Washington to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico.[23][24][25]
- 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.[26]
- March 5 - A United States Navy RA-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.[27]
- April 29 - A USAF Martin CGM-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.[28]
- July 31 - A United States Navy E-2 Hawkeye based at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, crashed on take-off from CGAS Elizabeth City, North Carolina during a touch-and-go, striking a maintenance facility, triggering a fire in a fibreglas and upholstry shop. Instructor pilot, three civilians killed, student pilot, and 12-18 others injured.[29]
- August 18 - Lockheed C-141A of the 437th MAW, Charleston AFB, South Carolina, hits Mount Potosi at the 19,000 foot level, ~17 miles from destination, John F. Kennedy International Airport, La Paz, Bolivia, killing seven crew.[30][31][32][33]
- April 4 – A USAF C-5A Galaxy taking part in Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon, experiences an explosive decompression about 40 mi (64 km) outside Saigon when the rear ramp and pressure door blow out, damaging the plane's flight controls. The plane, carrying over 300 crew, children, and adult escorts, crashes into a rice paddy after the pilot loses control while trying to return to Tan Son Nhut Air Base; 138 die, including 127 orphans.
- October 14 – An RAF Avro Vulcan 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.
- January 30 - A Convair PQM-102A, belonging to the Fairchild Corporation according to a press report, crashed on landing at Bob Sikes Airport, Crestview, Florida when the landing gear collapsed. Airframe destroyed by fire. Sperry Flight Systems pilot, Earl C. Pearce, was unhurt.[34]
- December 21 - Imperial Iranian Air Force C-130H c.n. 4463, delivered as 5-148, September 1972, renumbered 5-142, November 1973, renumbered 5-8536, 1976, crashed during approach in bad weather to Shiraz, Iran.
- May 6 - A mechanical failure caused Air Force EC-135N ARIA 328 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.
- June 27 – An RAF C-130 Hercules and a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter collide in cloud north of the Falkland Islands, at around 300 ft. The Hercules lost the wing beyond its #1 engine but still managed to land. The Sea King, based at RNAS Culdrose, was lost and all four on board killed.[35][36][37]
- July 13 – Blue Angels Aircraft 5 and 6 (Douglas A-4F) collide at Niagara Falls, killing Lt. Cmdr. Michael Gershon.[38]
- December 12 – Arrow Air Flight 1285, a chartered DC-8 crashes just after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, killing 256 people, of whom 248 were soldiers in the US Army 101st Airborne Division returning from overseas duty in the Sinai desert, Egypt. This remains the greatest peacetime loss of military personnel in US history.
- 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.
- May 6 - CH-53D with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-46 crashed into South China Sea killing all 17 on board.
- January 23 - Mid-air collision between two Blue Angels aircraft during a practice session at El Centro. One airplane was destroyed and the other badly damaged. Both pilots survived unharmed.[40]
- 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.
- March 21 – Two US Navy P-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.
- June 5 - A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 crashes 100 kilometres north east of Weipa, Queensland. The pilot was killed. The wreckage was found in July 1994.
- October 29 - A Royal Australian Air Force Boeing 707 stalled and crashed into the sea near RAAF Base East Sale, VIC, Australia killing all five crew. The crash was attributed to a simulation of asymmetric flight resulting in a sudden and violent departure from controlled flight.[41]
- February 6 - A Kentucky Air National Guard C-130 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 catches fire and falls into the Potomac River in 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.
- April 14 - Two U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters are mistakenly shot down by USAF F-15 Eagle jets while patrolling the no-fly zone over Iraq, killing 26 personnel in what is known as the Black Hawk Incident.
- June 2 - A Royal Air Force Boeing Chinook helicopter crashes near Campbeltown, Scotland, killing 29 crew and passengers, including several top officials of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
- June 24 - 'Czar 52', a USAF B-52H Stratofortress, 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.[42][43]
- May - Historic B-29 Superfortress "Kee Bird", 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 USAF E-3 Sentry crashes shortly after take off when a flock of Canadian snow geese were ingested by its engines. All 26 crew members die, including 2 Canadian air crew members.
- April 3 - A USAF Boeing CT-43, on an official trade mission, crashed on approach to Dubrovnik Airport, Croatia, killing United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other people.
- June 12 – Two Australian Army S-70A Black Hawk helicopters collide during a night training exercise near Townsville, Queensland, killing 18 soldiers.
- July 15 – at approximately 18.03 hrs, a Belgian Lockheed C-130 Hercules, registration number CH-06, crashed at Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands. A total of 34 people lost their lives as a result of the accident, and seven people were seriously injured.
- January 21 – A Nicaraguan Air Force Antonov An-26 crashes into a mountain near Bluefields, Nicaragua killing all 28 on board.
- January 21 - Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado GR1 (ZA 330) crashed into a Cessna 152 (G-BPZX) near Mattersley Nottinghamshire. In the Air Accident Report 3/2000 the conclusion was non 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.
- March 7 – An Indian Air Force Antonov An-32 crashes upon landing in New Delhi, India during poor weather. All 19 people on board are killed.
- April 18 - Royal Australian Air Force F-111 A8-291 crashes while on exercises in Malaysia. The two crew are killed.
- May 27 - An Indian Air Force MiG-27 plane is shot down by Pakistan,during kargil conflict.The Mig-27 pilot, Flt Lt Nachiketa successfully ejected, and he was captured by Pakistani ground forces as a POW.
- May 27 - An Indian Air Force MiG-21 plane is shot down by Pakistan,during kargil conflict.
- May 28 - An Indian Air Force MI-17 Helicopter is shot down by Pakistan air defence units,during kargil conflict.Four IAF personnel were killed .
- August 10 - A Pakistan Navy Breguet Atlantic plane is shot down by Indian Air Force jets, citing airspace violation. Dubbed the Atlantique Incident, it raises tensions between India and Pakistan.
- September 20 - A Swedish Air Force JAS-39 Gripen crashes into a lake Vänern during an air-to-air combat exercise. 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. The pilot ejects and survives.[44]
- December 10 – A United States Air Force C-130 Hercules crashes during landing in Kuwait City, Kuwait killing three of the 94 people on board.
- February 21 – A Russian Navy Antonov An-26 crashes in Lakhta, Russia during an emergency landing. Of the 20 people on board, 17 were killed.
- March 9 - A Portuguese Air Force F-16 crashes in Monte Real, Portugal, while practicing acrobatic maneuvers, killing the pilot.
- May 3 - An Indian Air Force MiG-21 pilot ejects after takeoff, with the aircraft crashing into a Jalandhar bank building, killing eight on the ground (see 2002 Jalandhar India MiG-21 crash).
- June 2 – An Angolan Armed Forces Mil 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 – An Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 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.
- August 19 – A Russian Air Force Mil Mi-26 helicopter was shot down by Chechen rebels in Khankala, Russia. Of the 147 on board, 127 were killed.
- February 19 – An Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Ilyushin Il-76 crashes into a mountain in poor weather near Shahdad, Iran. All of the 276 people on board were killed.
- February 20 – A Pakistan Air Force Fokker F-27 crashes near Kohat, Pakistan. All 17 people on board died, including Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir.
- February 27 – A Canadian Forces Air Command H-3 Sea King helicopter crashes into the deck of the HMCS Iroquois in the Persian Gulf. No one was killed, but the ship's mission in the Gulf was postponed.
- March 21 - During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, two Royal Navy Westland Sea King ASaC7 AEW helicopters 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. [2]
- August 19 – A Polish Su-22, flying at 3000 meter (10,000 ft) altitude, during antiaircraft artillery exercises, was shot down near Ustka military proving area by 2K12 Kub missile. 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 helicopter.
- November 15 – Two United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters collide near Mosul, Iraq. Twenty-two soldiers were on both aircraft and 17 were killed.
- November 29 – An Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Antonov An-26 blew out a tire during landing in Boende, Democratic Republic of the Congo and overran the runway and crashed into a market square. Of the 24 people on board, 20 were killed and 13 people on the ground died.
- January 24 – Ecuadorian Defence Minister Guadalupe Larriva, her 17-year-old daughter and five army officers are killed when two Aérospatiale Gazelle military helicopters collided during a night training.[45]
- 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.
- February 18 – A United States Army CH-47 Chinook crashed in southeastern Afghanistan due to a sudden, unexplained loss of power and control killing eight and wounding 14.
- April 12 – An unarmed Tornado ECR of the German Air Force crashed in a rock face near Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, killing the pilot. The weapons system officer ejected and was rescued severely injured from the rock face by a local helicopter rescue team. The crash occurred minutes after refueling in Emmen during an authorized navigation training in the Swiss Alps while returning to Germany from a long-distance flight to Corsica, France.[46][47][48]
- April 21 – A United States Navy Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet crashes into a residential neighborhood while performing at an airshow in Beaufort, South Carolina, in the United States, killing the pilot.
- April 27 – A Russian military Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter crashes near Shatoy, Chechnya in Russia. The incident occurred during the Battle of Shatoy and killed the crew and 17 spetsnaz (Russian special forces) soldiers on board.
- May 6 – A French Air Force de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter transporting Multinational Force and Observers crashes into a truck while making an emergency landing near El-Thamad, Egypt killing all nine people on board.
- May 11 – A Republic of China Air Force Northrop F-5 crashes in Hukou, Taiwan, killing five people.
- May 24 – A Peruvian Air Force de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter crashes in dense jungle after taking off from Pampa Hermosa, Peru. Of the 20 people on board, 13 were killed.
- June 13 – A Mongolian military Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashes in Selenge Province, Mongolia while en route to a forest fire killing 15 of the 22 people on board.
- August 8 – An RAF Puma crashes near Catterick.
- November 7 - An Romanian Air Force IAR-330 Puma SOCAT crashes in Argeş County, Romania, killing all three crew members on board.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[3] AVIATION WEEK
[edit] References
- ^ a b Maurer 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.
- ^ a b c Bodie, Warren M. "The Lockheed P-38 Lightning". Hayesville, North Carolina.: Widewing Publications, 1991, ISBN 0-9629359-5-6, pages 33-42.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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.
- ^ Geschichte der Feuerwehr München - Teil 3. Feuerwehr München. Retrieved on 2007-07-08. (in German)
- ^ Washington, D.C.: Washington Daily News, January 5, 1967.
- ^ a b Lake, Jon, editor, "Grumman F-14 Tomcat", AIRtime Publishing Inc., Westport, Connecticut, 1998, ISBN 1-880588-13-7, page 16.
- ^ Miller, Jay "USAF X-Series Aircraft - Part II", Aerophile, San Antonio, Texas, March/April 1977, Volume 1, Number 2, page 75.
- ^ San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun, Monday, 27 October 1969.
- ^ Redlands, California: Redlands Daily Facts, Thursday, December 22, 1969, page one.
- ^ Washington, D.C.: Washington Post, Tuesday, April 29, 1970.
- ^ Washington, D.C.: Washington Post, Saturday, May 23, 1970.
- ^ San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun, Thursday, 28 May 1970.
- ^ San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun, Thursday, 28 May 1970.
- ^ San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun-Telegram, Sunday, 7 June 1970, page A-2.
- ^ Washington, D.C.: Washington Post, Thursday, November 12, 1970, page A-6.
- ^ Washington, D.C.: Washington Post, Wednesday, November 18, 1970, page B-7.
- ^ San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun-Telegram, Sunday, 12 September 1971, page A-2.
- ^ Redlands, California: Redlands Daily Facts, Thursday, 30 September 1971, page one.
- ^ San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun, Friday, 1 October 1971, page A-1.
- ^ Washington, D.C.: Washington Post, Saturday, October 30, 1970, page A-9.
- ^ San Bernardino, California: San Bernardino Sun, Monday, November 8, 1971, page B-2.
- ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida: Playground Daily News, Sunday, February 10 , 1974, page A-1.
- ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida: Playground Daily News, Monday, February 11 , 1974, page A-1.
- ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida: Playground Daily News, Tuesday, February 12 , 1974, page A-1.
- ^ Pensacola, Florida: Pensacola News, Monday, February 11 , 1974, page 6A or 8A.
- ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida: Playground Daily News, March 5, 1974, page A-1.
- ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida: WNUE 1400 AM, news reports, Tuesday, March 5, 1974, Wednesday, March 6, 1974.
- ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida: Playground Daily News, Tuesday, April 30, 1974, page 1A.
- ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida: Playground Daily News, Thursday, August 1, 1974, page 2A.
- ^ Gainesville, Georgia: WFOX-FM radio, Monday, August 19, 1974.
- ^ Columbia, South Carolina: The State, Thursday, August 22, 1974, page 2B.
- ^ Columbia, South Carolina: The State, Tuesday, August 27, 1974, page 10A.
- ^ Greenville, South Carolina: Greenville News, Tuesday, August 27, 1974, page 3.
- ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida: Playground Daily News, Monday, February 2, 1976, page 2A.
- ^ The Times Sat June 29 1985 page 2
- ^ Men and Women of the ROYAL NAVY lost 1945-present
- ^ PPRUNE The Professional Pilots Rumour Network
- ^ "Navy Blue Angel Aviators Die in Crash", October 28, 1999, accessed April 23, 2007
- ^ Sveriges Television, News footage of the 1989 and 1993 crashes (in Swedish)
- ^ "Pilot Blamed In Blue Angel Crash", Pensacola News Journal, June 13, 1990, archived at The Moneymaker Family Tree, accessed April 23, 2007
- ^ ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-368C A20-103 East Sale, VIC, Australia
- ^ Footage of the crash from YouTube
- ^ An in-depth case study by Major Tony Kern of the USAF
- ^ The accident report from the Swedish Accident Investigation Board (in Swedish)
- ^ Crash kills Ecuador defence chief. BBC News (2007-01-25). Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
- ^ Jagdbomber der Luftwaffe in der Schweiz abgestürzt. German Air Force (2007-04-12). Retrieved on 2007-05-03. (in German)
- ^ Kampfjet abgestürzt!. Blick (2007-04-12). Retrieved on 2007-05-03. (in German, map source)
- ^ German Military Jet Crashes in Switzerland; One Dead. Bloomberg (2007-04-12). Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
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