List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1960–1974)

This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. Combat losses are not included except for a very few cases denoted by singular circumstances.

Aircraft terminology

Information on aircraft gives the type, and if available, the serial number of the operator in italics, the constructors number, also known as the manufacturer's serial number (c/n), exterior codes in apostrophes, nicknames (if any) in quotation marks, flight callsign in italics, and operating units.

1960

4 January

US Army de Havilland Canada U-1A Otter

De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter

The de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and highly successful Beaver, but was overall a larger aircraft.-Design and...

, 55-2974, c/n 47, disappeared over the Gulf of Sirte. Aircraft was never found. 10 killed.

25 February

The 1960 Rio de Janeiro air crash
1960 Rio de Janeiro air crash
The 1960 Rio de Janeiro air crash was an aerial collision between two aircraft over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 25, 1960. In the crash, a United States Navy Douglas R6D-1 flying from Buenos Aires - Ezeiza to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão Air Force Base collided in the air over Guanabara Bay,...

was an aerial collision between two aircraft over Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. In the crash, a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

a Douglas R6D-1, BuNo 131582, flying from Buenos Aires - Ezeiza

Ministro Pistarini International Airport

Ministro Pistarini International Airport , more commonly known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location within the Ezeiza Partido in the Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport located south-southwest of Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina...

to Galeão International Airport/Galeão Air Force Base collided with a Real Transportes Aéreos

Real Transportes Aéreos

Real Transportes Aéreos was a Brazilian airline founded in 1945. It was merged into Varig in 1961, when Varig bought the Consórcio Real-Aerovias-Nacional, of which Real was the main carrier....

Douglas DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

registration PP-AXD, which was flying from Campos dos Goytacazes

Bartolomeu Lysandro Airport

Bartolomeu Lysandro Airport is the airport serving Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil. It is named after the Congressman Bartholomeu Lysandro de Albernaz , a local plantation owner in whose land, the Fazenda Bonsucesso, the airport was built....

to Rio de Janeiro - Santos Dumont Airport, over Guanabara Bay

Guanabara Bay

Guanabara Bay is an oceanic bay located in southeastern Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lies the city of Rio de Janeiro, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and São Gonçalo. Four other municipalities surround the bay's shores...

, close to the Sugarloaf Mountain. Of the 38 occupants of the American aircraft, 3 survived. All 26 passengers and crew of the Brazilian aircraft died.

5 March

Late pre-production English Electric Lightning F.1

English Electric Lightning

The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...

, XG334, c/n 95023, of the Air Fighting Development Squadron, RAF Coltishall

RAF Coltishall

The former Royal Air Force Station Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall , was a Royal Air Force station, a military airbase, North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, from 1938 to 2006....

, Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, aircraft 'A', crashed near Wells-next-the-Sea

Wells-next-the-Sea

Wells-next-the-Sea, known locally simply as Wells, is a town, civil parish and seaport situated on the North Norfolk coast in England.The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 2,451 in 1,205 households...

after suffering complete hydraulic failure, resulting in loss of all control-surface power and hydraulic services. The pilot, Sqn. Leader Harding, ejected safely, descending near Syderstone

Syderstone

Syderstone is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk near the town of Fakenham.It covers an area of and had a population of 532 in 224 households as of the 2001 census....

, in North Norfolk

North Norfolk

North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, United Kingdom. Its council is based in Cromer. The council headquarters can be found approximately out of the town of Cromer on the Holt Road.-History:...

. Total flights 34, hours flown 23 h 35 min. This was the first loss of the type. Extensive sea search around Roaring Middle Light

Lightvessels in the United Kingdom

The history of Lightvessels in the United Kingdom goes back over 250 years. This page also gives a list of lightvessel stations within the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.-History:...

failed to find any trace of the missing Lightning.

5 March

A Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar, 53-8152A, c/n 255, of the 12th Troop Carrier Squadron

12th Troop Carrier Squadron

The 12th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 322d Air Division stationed at Dreux-Louvilliers Air Base, France...

, 322d Air Division, Dreux Air Base, France, departed Adana, Turkey with 3 crew, 15 passengers and 7,614 lbs. of cargo, made a fuelling stop at Athens, Greece, departing at 1600 hrs. for Naples, Italy. Two hours into an expected 3:02 flight, the port engine began to over-speed. Attempts to cut off and/or feather the propeller failed and the aircraft lost altitude. The pilot elected to shut down the engine by turning off the fire wall shut off. The engine did stop, but the propeller shaft sheared with the propeller wind-milling at an increased rate. The aircraft began to descend at a rate of 500 feet per minute. Realizing that the aircraft will not reach the chosen emergency airfield, at Crotone, Italy, the pilot circled the aircraft over the small town of Botricello

Botricello

Botricello is a town and comune in the province of Catanzaro, in the Calabria region of southern Italy....

ordering the passengers and radio operator to bail out;All landing safely with only minor injuries. Pilot Harold Cliffton Hardesty and co-pilot Harry Francis Dawley, Jr. then landed the C-119 on the nearby beach at 1830 hrs. (dusk) with gear down, full flaps, landing light on, with an approach speed of 120 kts. and touch-down at 90 kts. The roll out was straight for 800-1,000 feet before the C-119 veered to the right and into the water, with the cockpit filling to about the level of the side window. The two crew evacuated through the top hatch, sliding off the left wing and swam ashore. Although the plane had stopped basically intact, the wave action overnight destroyed the airframe.

12 March

A B-47E-35-DT Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...

, 52-1414, of the 384th Bomb Wing, 545th Bomb Squadron

545th Bombardment Squadron

The 545th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 384th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It was inactivated on 1 September 1964-History:...

, is overstressed, exploding in mid-air over Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

at ~0645 hrs., debris falling on neighbourhoods of the city, setting many houses afire. Only the co-pilot, Lt. Thomas G. Smoak, 26, survived, parachuting after being thrown clear of the explosion; three other crew die, plus two civilians on the ground. The dead crewmen were Capt. Herbert Aldridge, 37, aircraft commander; Lt. Col. Reynolds S. Watson, 43, navigator, and S/Sgt. Kenneth E. Brose, 25. Civilian victims were Mrs. Andrew L. Clark, 62, who was alone in her home at 211 Colonial Court, where a major portion of the plane fell, and James LaRoy Hollabaugh, 29, adopted son of Mrs. Agnes Nilsson Grove of 1920 Maryland Avenue. Both of those houses were destroyed by fire but Mrs. Grove escaped with burns on her feet and abrasions on her legs. "Smoak came to rest entangled in a tree behind the house at 509 Midland Street. He spoke rationally to rescuers who had watched his parachute fall but was in a severe shock. He received emergency treatment on the spot from physician who lived in the neighbourhood and was taken to Arkansas Baptist Hospital. His wife is a nurse at Arkansas Children's Hospital, two blocks from the Maryland - Summit crash scene. The scene of the heaviest destruction to property was at the intersection of Maryland and Summit Avenues. Two homes, that of Mrs. Marie Milligan at 824 Summit and that of Mrs. Grove, and an apartment building of three units on the south-east corner were destroyed by fire."

4 April

A USAF North American F-100D-65-NA Super Sabre

F-100 Super Sabre

The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...

, 56-2994, of the 77th Tactical Fighter Squadron

77th Fighter Squadron

The 77th Fighter Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force, and is one of the oldest fighter squadrons in the United States military....

, 20th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Wethersfield

Wethersfield

Wethersfield may refer to:* RAF Wethersfield, a British Ministry of Defence training facility in Essex, England* Wethersfield, Connecticut* Wethersfield, Essex, an English village near RAF Wethersfield* Wethersfield, New York* Wethersfield, Vermont...

, Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, crashed into mud flats at the Holbeach Range

RAF Holbeach

RAF Holbeach is a Royal Air Force bombing range situated between Boston and Kings Lynn in Gedney Drove End on The Wash, in Lincolnshire, eastern England. Most of the range, including the control tower and four observation towers are in Gedney, but it does overlap with Holbeach to the west...

in eastern England, killing pilot 1st Lt. Thomas R. Winsford. A cause was never clearly determined.

1 May

A CIA

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

Lockheed U-2

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...

A, 56-6693, Article 360, flown by Francis Gary Powers is shot down by a SA-2 (Guideline) missile

S-75 Dvina

The S-75 Dvina is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude, command guided, surface-to-air missile system...

near Degtyarsk

Degtyarsk

Degtyarsk is a town under the administrative jurisdiction of the Town of Revda in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazovka River , west of Yekaterinburg...

in the Soviet Union during an overflight codenamed Operation GRAND SLAM, the twenty-fourth and most ambitious deep-penetration flight of the U-2 program. Powers parachutes down and is captured. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev

Nikita Khrushchev

Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...

announces on 7 May to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, and thus the world, that a "spyplane" has been shot down but intentionally makes no reference to the pilot. Powers is later produced in a 'show trial'. On 10 February 1962, twenty-one months after his capture, Powers is exchanged along with American student Frederic Pryor

Frederic Pryor

Frederic L. Pryor is a Senior Research Scholar of Economics at Swarthmore College. He is best known for his subsidiary role in a Cold War spy swap.-Cold War incident:In August, 1961, Pryor was arrested and held without charge by the East German police...

in a spy swap for Soviet KGB

KGB

The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

Vilyam Fisher

Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher

Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher was a noted Soviet intelligence officer...

(aka Rudolf Abel) at the Glienicke Bridge

Glienicke bridge

The Glienicke bridge is a bridge on the edge of Berlin that spans the Havel River to connect the cities of Potsdam and Berlin near Klein Glienicke...

in Berlin, Germany.

8 June

During a ground test run at Edwards AFB, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, the XLR-99 rocket engine of North American X-15

North American X-15

The North American X-15 rocket-powered aircraft/spaceplane was part of the X-series of experimental aircraft, initiated with the Bell X-1, that were made for the USAAF/USAF, NACA/NASA, and the USN. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the early 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and...

-3, 56-6672, exploded, destroying the aircraft aft of the wing, and throwing the forward fuselage with pilot Scott Crossfield in it 30 feet forward. Fortunately, Crossfield was not injured. Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXpEPZ6ZZIs

27 June

A KC-97G-27-BO Stratotanker

KC-97 Stratotanker

The Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker was a United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.-Design and development:...

, 52-2728, of the 380th Air Refueling Squadron

380th Air Refueling Squadron

The 380th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 380th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Plattsburgh AFB, New York...

, Plattsburgh AFB, New York, suffers failure of lubrication on an engine impeller shaft, during an evening four-hour training mission to refuel a B-47 Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

. During rendezvous at 15,500 feet, bomber crew sees the tanker's number one (port outer) engine burst into flames, burning fuel threatening the wing integrity. As the bomber moves away from the burning tanker, the crew tries unsuccessfully to put out the blaze. The plane goes into a spin as the wing fails outboard of the engine and crashes on Jonathan Smith Mountain, a hill east of Puzzle Mountain

Puzzle Mountain (Maine)

Puzzle Mountain is a mountain located in Oxford County, Maine, and is one of the easternmost mountains in the Mahoosuc Range. The mountain also has a false peak to the north-northwest of the true summit, known as Little Puzzle Mountain...

in Newry, Maine

Newry, Maine

Newry is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 344 at the 2000 census. Newry is the home of Sunday River Ski Resort and has a proportionately large seasonal population.-History:...

. The flash of the fire is seen from as far away as Lewiston

Lewiston, Maine

Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...

and Bridgton, and several people witness the crash, including hundreds of movie-goers at the Rumford Point Drive-In. All five crew are killed - two are found wearing unused parachutes. KWF are Lt. William Burgess, commander, of Indian Lake, New York

Indian Lake, New York

Indian Lake is a town in Hamilton County, New York, United States. The population was 1,471 at the 2000 census. The name is from a large lake partly inside the town.The Town of Indian Lake is on the east border of the county and is northeast of Utica....

; Technical Sgt. Robert Costello, boom operator, of Springfield, Illinois

Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...

; Lt. Raymond Kisonas, navigator, of Waterbury, Connecticut

Waterbury, Connecticut

Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...

; Lt. Lewis Turner, co-pilot, of Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...

; and Master Sgt. Harold Young, flight engineer, of Selma, Alabama

Selma, Alabama

Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....

. Wreckage covers five acres and is still there.

6 July

Goodyear

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....

ZPG-3W, BuNo 144242, lost hull pressure, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, 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 on 28 June 1961. Contributing reason of suspension of airship operations is improved speed of Soviet subs.

7 July

A Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

Vickers Varsity T1

Vickers Varsity

-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1.* Ellis, Ken. Wrecks & Relics. Manchester, UK: Crecy Publishing, 21st edition, 2008. ISBN 9-780859-791342....

WJ914 collided at 1500 ft near RAF Oakington

RAF Oakington

RAF Oakington was an RAF base situated in Cambridgeshire, England.Construction was started in 1939, but was affected by the outbreak of war, the original plan called for Type C hangars two type J were erected instead. It was used by No. 2 Group in July 1940 for No. 218 Squadron which had recently...

, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom with a RAF de Havilland Vampire T11

De Havilland Vampire

The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...

XD549, all six occupants of the Varsity and two in the Vampire died.

14 July

Lockheed U-2

A, 56-6720, Article 387, the 27th airframe of the first USAF production batch, delivered in October 1957 and assigned to the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Laughlin AFB, Texas, as a "ferret" aircraft, crashes this date in the early morning ~30 miles NE of Laughlin. Pilot Maj. Raleigh Myers experiences an oxygen fire in the cockpit after a pressure-reducing switch fails, ignited by the 24-volt power supply line to the switch. He bails out at 24000 feet (7,315.2 m), escaping safely. The oxygen supply system is subsequently redesigned.

19 July

In the wake of the Congo Crisis

Congo Crisis

The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...

, a Belgian Air Force

Belgian Air Force

The Air Component, formerly the Belgian Air Force, is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces. Originally founded in 1909, it is one of the world's first air forces, and was a pioneer in aerial combat during the First World War...

C-119 Flying Boxcar

The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute...

crashes into a mountain in Rushengo near Goma

Goma

Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the western branch of the Great Rift Valley, and Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active...

after an engine caught fire. 41 died.

27 July

F-100C Super Sabre, assigned to the USAF Thunderbirds on 28 March 1960, is destroyed this date during a solo proficiency flight when it crashes fifty miles from Nellis AFB, Nevada, killing Capt. John R. Crane.

12 August

RAF Vickers Valiant

Vickers Valiant

The Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant was a British four-jet bomber, once part of the Royal Air Force's V bomber nuclear force in the 1950s and 1960s...

Bk.1 XD864

United Kingdom military aircraft serials

In the United Kingdom to identify individual aircraft, all military aircraft are allocated and display a unique serial number. A unified serial number system, maintained by the Air Ministry , and its successor the Ministry of Defence , is used for aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force , Fleet...

crashes at RAF Spanhoe

RAF Spanhoe

thumb|C-47s of the 310th TCS on a mission.RAF Station Spanhoe is a former World War II airfield in Northamptonshire, England. The airfield is located approximately east of Uppingham; about north-northwest of London...

3 minutes after takeoff from RAF Wittering

RAF Wittering

RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire....

, Cambs

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

. Five crew killed.

6 September

A GAM-77 Hound Dog missile launched from a B-52 Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...

over the Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....

, Florida test range at ~2 p.m. this date goes astray, coming down on a farm near Samson

Samson, Alabama

Samson is a city in Geneva County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Dothan, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 2,071.-Geography:Samson is located at .According to the U.S...

, Alabama. Lt. Col. Gerry Garner, Eglin Air Force Base public information director, stated that an investigation is underway into the errant missile's failure.

17 December

A United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

C-131D Samaritan

C-131 Samaritan

The Convair C-131 Samaritan was an American military transport produced from 1954 to 1956. It is the military version of the Convair CV-240.-Design and development:...

, 55-291, c/n 212, on take-off from München-Riem for a flight to Norfolk, England, comes down in Munich, Germany, hits a tramcar at Bereich Bayerstraße/Martin-Greif-Straße. 53 died in the Munich Convair crash.

1961

12 January

Two Convair F-102 Delta Daggers of the 111th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Texas Air National Guard

Texas Air National Guard

The Texas Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Texas and a component of the Texas Military Forces...

, Ellington AFB, Texas, are scrambled to intercept an unidentified aircraft approaching the Texas Gulf coast. For unknown reasons, F-102A-55-CO, 56-1015, catches fire and crashes in a rice field near Alvin, Texas

Alvin, Texas

Alvin is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and Brazoria County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 21,413. Alvin's claim to fame is Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who moved with his family to the city in 1947 as...

, killing the pilot.

19 January

Boeing B-52B-35-BO Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 53-0390, c/n 16869, of the 95th Bomb Wing

95th Air Base Wing

The 95th Air Base Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command Air Force Flight Test Center. The unit is stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and is the host unit at Edwards....

, Biggs AFB, Texas, crashes in Utah after failure of tail section in turbulence-induced accident.

24 January

A USAF

United States Air Force

B-52G-95-BW Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 58-0187, on airborne alert suffers structural failure, fuel leak, of starboard wing over Goldsboro

Goldsboro, North Carolina

Goldsboro is a city in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 37,597 at the 2008 census estimate. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The nearby town of Waynesboro was founded in 1787 and Goldsboro was...

, 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. According to the Wikipedia article pertaining to this incident, parts of the weapon WERE recovered. The tail was found at 22 feet down, along with the plutonium core as well as other fragments. The project is abandoned before the entire uranium mass could be recovered, due to uncontrollable ground-water flooding. The USAF purchased the land, to safeguard the in situ remains. Five of eight crew survive.

4 February

During minimum interval takeoff (MITO) from Pease AFB, New Hampshire, B-47E-130-BW Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

, 53-4244, of the 100th Bomb Wing, number 2 in a three-ship cell, loses control, crashes into trees, burns. Killed are aircraft commander, Capt. Thomas C. Weller, co-pilot 1st Lt. Ronald Chapo, navigator 1st Lt. J. A. Wether, and crew chief S/Sgt. Stephen J. Merva.

10 March

Douglas

Douglas Aircraft Company

The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...

RB-66C Destroyer

B-66 Destroyer

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Baugher, Joe. USAAC/USAAF/USAF Bomber Aircraft: Third Series of USAAC/USAAF/USAF Bombers, 2001. Retrieved: 27 July 2006....

, 54-0471, of the 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

The 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, being stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina...

, suffers explosion in starboard engine on climb-out from Shaw AFB, South Carolina, attempts emergency landing in zero-zero visibility weather at Donaldson AFB at Greenville

Greenville, South Carolina

-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...

, South Carolina. On second attempt, aircraft strikes embankment to right of runway threshold, slides onto airfield, burns. Crew escapes with only minor injuries.

14 March

Failure of a cabin pressurization system forces USAF

United States Air Force

B-52F-70-BW Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 57-0166, c/n 464155, to fly low, accelerating fuel-burn, bomber has fuel starvation

Fuel Starvation

Fuel starvation and fuel exhaustion are problems that can affect internal combustion engines fuelled by either diesel, kerosene, petroleum or any other combustible liquid or gas. If no fuel is available for an engine to burn, it cannot function...

at 10,000 feet over Yuba City

Yuba City, California

Yuba City is a Northern California city, founded in 1849. It is the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 64,925 at the 2010 census....

, California, crashes, killing aircraft commander. Two nuclear weapons on board tear loose on impact but no explosion or contamination takes place. See also 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash

1961 Yuba City B-52 crash

The 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash refers to an accident on March 14, 1961, at Yuba City, California. A B-52F-70-BW Stratofortress bomber, AF Serial No. 57-0166, c/n 464155, carrying two nuclear weapons, that had departed from Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento, experienced an uncontrolled...

15 March

Capt. Gary L. Herod

Gary L. Herod

Captain Gary L. Herod was a Texas Air National Guard pilot who was killed when his T-33 jet trainer crashed on the night of March 15, 1961....

of the Texas Air National Guard

Texas Air National Guard

The Texas Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Texas and a component of the Texas Military Forces...

was killed when his T-33A Shooting Star

T-33 Shooting Star

The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star is an American-built jet trainer aircraft. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948, piloted by Tony LeVier. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then designated T-33A. It was used by the...

trainer crashed in a vacant field in suburban Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

. He was posthumously award the Distinguished Flying Cross

Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)

The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...

for his heroism in not ejecting, but rather staying with his plane and guiding it to a vacant field saving the lives and homes of area residents.

17 March

A3J-1 Vigilante, BuNo 146700, c/n NA247-9, crashes over NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Pilot Lt. Cdr. Grimes ejects safely.

19 March

Eleventh Lockheed U-2

Lockheed U-2

A, 56-6684, Article 351, delivered to the CIA 18 May 1956, modified to U-2C by July 1959; returning from a night celestial nav training sortie, crashes on landing at Taoyuan Air Base, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, killing Republic Of China Air Force pilot Chih Yao Hua. During a touch-and-go landing, he applied power but lost control, the aircraft veering left, crashing and exploding. Unit was the CIA's Detachment H, ROCAF 35th Squadron.

23 March

Valentin V. Bondarenko

Valentin Bondarenko

Valentin Vasiliyevich Bondarenko was a Soviet fighter pilot and cosmonaut. He died during a training accident in Moscow, USSR, in 1961. A crater on the Moon's far side is named for him.-Education and military training:...

, a Soviet Air Force pilot selected for cosmonaut training in 1960, dies while training in a ground-based spacecraft simulator. Fire broke out in the capsule, which was filled with a pure oxygen atmosphere, and he was unable to escape, a grim parallel to the 1967 Apollo 1

Apollo 1

Apollo 1 was scheduled to be the first manned mission of the Apollo manned lunar landing program, with a target launch date of February 21, 1967. A cabin fire during a launch pad test on January 27 at Launch Pad 34 at Cape Canaveral killed all three crew members: Command Pilot Virgil "Gus"...

accident.

30 March

A B-52G-125-BW Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 59-2576, c/n 464339, of the 341st Bombardment Squadron

341st Bombardment Squadron

The 341st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4038th Strategic Wing. It was last stationed at Dow Air Force Base, Maine, and was inactivated on 1 February 1963.-History:...

, 4038th Strategic Wing, Dow Air Force Base

Dow Air Force Base

-History:Dow Air Force Base began as "Godfrey Field" in 1927, on land owned by local attorney Edward Rawson Godfrey . Commercial flights began at the field in 1931 under Northeast Airlines...

, Maine, explodes in flight at 2115 hrs. with the wreckage falling near Denton, North Carolina

Denton, North Carolina

Denton is a town in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Denton is located at .The highest elevation In Davidson county...

. Debris was scattered over a ten-mile (16 km) area, setting fires in woods and fields. Of eight crew, only six have ejection seats, only five eject and only two survive. Dead are Capt. William D. McMullen, 36, commander/pilot, Bad Axe, Michigan; Capt. William W. Farmer, 29, co-pilot, Wilson, North Carolina

Wilson, North Carolina

Wilson is a city and the county seat of Wilson County in the Coastal Plain region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The 18th largest city in the state, Wilson had a population of 49,167 according to the 2010 census.- Geography :...

; Capt. Robert M. Morgenroth, 31, radar navigator, Christiana, Pennsylvania

Christiana, Pennsylvania

Christiana is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,124 at the 2000 census. In 1851 it was the site of the Battle of Christiana .-Geography:...

; Capt. George W. Beale, 34, competition observer, Bowling Green, Virginia

Bowling Green, Virginia

Bowling Green is an incorporated town in Caroline County, Virginia, United States. The population was 936 at the 2000 census.The county seat of Caroline County since 1803, Bowling Green is best known as the "cradle of American horse racing", the home of the second oldest Masonic Lodge, and the...

; Sgt. James H. Fults, 29, instructor gunner, Tracy City, Tennessee

Tracy City, Tennessee

Tracy City is a town in Grundy County, Tennessee, United States. Incorporated in 1915, the population was 1,481 at the 2010 census. Named after Benjamin Franklin Tracy, the city developed out of railroad and mining interests after coal was found in 1840. Tracy City is also home to the oldest family...

; and A1C Robert N. Gaskey, 28, Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

. The survivors are Major Wilbur F. Minnich, 40, Des Plaines, Illinois

Des Plaines, Illinois

Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is next to O'Hare International Airport...

; and 1st Lt. Glen C. Farnham, 25, electronics warfare officer, Loveland, Texas. The survivors bailed out at 50000 feet (15,240 m) and landed six to seven miles (11 km) away from the crash site. Maj. Minnich, the navigator, suffered a dislocated arm when he bailed out. Lt. Farnham complained of back pains but was apparently unhurt. There were no nuclear weapons on board the bomber. Minutes before the explosion the plane had attempted to make contact with a KC-135 jet tanker to be refuelled in flight. Col. Oscar V. Jones, commander of the 4241st Strategic Air Command Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro, North Carolina, stated that the bomber was in "the observation position 100 to 200 feet behind and below the tanker just before the explosion, but never made contact." Col. Jones arrived at the site before dawn today [31 March] to take charge of operations.

7 April

Boeing B-52B-30-BO Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 53-0380, c/n 16859, "Ciudad Juarez", of the 95th Bomb Wing

95th Air Base Wing

, Biggs AFB, Texas, shot down by inadvertent launch of AIM-9 Sidewinder

AIM-9 Sidewinder

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...

from a 188th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, New Mexico ANG

Air National Guard

The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...

F-100A-20-NA Super Sabre

F-100 Super Sabre

, 53-1662. Two F-100s, piloted by 1st Lt. James W. van Sycoc and Capt. Dale Dodd, had made five passes at the bomber when, on the sixth pass, pilot 1st Lt. van Sycoc radioed "Look out! One of my missiles is loose!" The heat-seeker missile struck one of the BUFF's engine pods on the port wing causing failure of the wing structure, and subsequent break-up of the bomber. Pilot, co-pilot, crew chief and tail gunner successfully eject, but three other crew are KWF when the B-52 crashed on Mount Taylor, New Mexico.

11 April

A USAF F-101 Voodoo

F-101 Voodoo

The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force...

of the 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, returning from an Air Defense Command patrol over the Atlantic Ocean, dropped too low in poor visibility on approach to Dow AFB, Maine, and struck Bald Mountain, near Ellsworth, Maine

Ellsworth, Maine

Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Maine, United States. The 2010 Census determined it had a population of 7,741. Ellsworth was Maine's fastest growing city from 2000-2010 with a growth rate of nearly 20 percent...

, killing pilot Capt. Vernal Johnson and Lt. Edward Masaltis. Wreckage remains in place and the Maine Aviation Historical Society has erected a plaque commemorating the crew and asking that the wreck remain undisturbed.

18 May

Commander J. L. Felsman, US Navy, is killed in a McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...

, BuNo 145316, during the first attempt at "Operation Sageburner" speed record at Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...

, California, when his aircraft disintegrated in the air after pitch damper failure. This was the first fatal Phantom II accident.

24 May

USAF C-124A Globemaster II

C-124 Globemaster II

The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....

, 51-0174, of the 63d Troop Carrier Wing, MATS

Military Air Transport Service

The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...

, Donaldson AFB, South Carolina, loses power on number two (port inner) engine, catches fire at 500 feet altitude one minute after 0230 hrs. take-off from McChord AFB, Washington, hits trees two miles south of runway, explodes, 18 of 22 on board KWF. The transport was en route to Lawton Municipal Airport, Lawton

Lawton, Oklahoma

The city of Lawton is the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in the southwestern region of Oklahoma approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Oklahoma, with 12 soldiers from Fort Sill

Fort Sill

Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...

, who had been taking part in Exercise Lava Plains at the Yakima Firing Center. In addition, the Globemaster carried a truck, several jeep

Jeep

Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...

s and two trailers. One additional badly burned survivor died en route to hospital. Air Force Board of Investigation, relying heavily on two eyewitness accounts of the aircraft's final moments, determined the accident was probably caused by a ruptured fuel line resulting in engine failure during takeoff, the plane's most vulnerable period. One of the four survivors was Master Sergeant Llewellyn Morris Chilson

Llewellyn Morris Chilson

Master Sergeant Llewellyn Morris Chilson was a United States Army career soldier who served heroically in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Chilson performed remarkably on several occasions thoughout the war. The U.S...

(1920–1981), whom President Harry S Truman (1884–1972) referred to as a "one-man army." On December 6, 1946, in a ceremony at the White House, President Truman had bestowed seven combat decorations on Sergeant Chilson for killing 56 German soldiers and helping to capture 243 others during five months of combat during World War II (1941–1945). Sgt. Chilson received three Distinguished Service Crosses, two Silver Stars, the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit. He had previously received two Purple Hearts, a Distinguished Unit Citation, the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the French Army's Croix de guerre

Croix de guerre

The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

with palms. Chilson, described as one of the nation's greatest soldiers, died 2 October 1981, while visiting friends in Florida.

25 May

Brigadier General Barnie B. McEntire, Jr., commander of the South Carolina Air National Guard

South Carolina Air National Guard

The South Carolina Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is, along with the South Carolina Army National Guard, an element of the South Carolina National Guard...

, is killed when his F-104A-25-LO Starfighter

F-104 Starfighter

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units...

, 56-0853, suffers engine failure on take off from Olmsted Air Force Base

Olmsted Air Force Base

Harrisburg Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Harrisburg International Airport, Pennsylvania. It is located west-southwest of Middletown, Pennsylvania....

, Pennsylvania, and he stays with the jet to crash into the Susquehanna River

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

rather than risk it crashing into populated areas of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

. Congaree Air National Guard Base near Eastover, South Carolina

Eastover, South Carolina

Eastover is a town in Richland County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 830 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Eastover is located at ....

is subsequently renamed in his honor in October 1961 by Governor Ernest F. Hollings.

4 June

Lieutenant Colonel David F. "Snapper" McCallister, Jr. (Commander, 142d Fighter Bomber Squadron, Delaware Air National Guard

Delaware Air National Guard

The Delaware Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is, along with the Delaware Army National Guard, an element of the Delaware National Guard...

) and Brigadier General William W. Spruance (Assistant Adjutant General for Air) were flying a T-33A jet trainer out of Scott AFB, Illinois, when the aircraft lost power, and crashed. Colonel McCallister died and General Spruance received serious burn injuries. Milton Caniff

Milton Caniff

Milton Arthur Paul Caniff was an American cartoonist famous for the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comic strips.-Biography:...

is said to have based the character of Hotshot Charlie in the comic strip Terry and the Pirates
Terry and the Pirates (comic strip)
Terry and the Pirates was an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff. Captain Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, had admired Caniff’s work on the children's adventure strip Dickie Dare and hired him to create the new adventure strip,...

on McCallister. He set a fighter record by flying his F-86 Sabre

F-86 Sabre

The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...

, "Cindee Lind 7th" , 1,922 miles in 3 hours, 30 minutes to win the Air Force Association

Air Force Association

The Air Force Association is an independent, 501 non-profit, civilian education organization, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia...

's Earl T. Ricks Memorial Trophy in 1956, given to Air Guard members for outstanding airmanship.

13 June

A United States Navy

United States Navy

Grumman S-2 Tracker

S-2 Tracker

The Grumman S-2 Tracker was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare aircraft to enter service with the US Navy. The Tracker was of conventional design with twin engines, a high wing and tricycle undercarriage. The type was exported to a number of navies around the world...

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.

16 June

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

pilot SubLt. I.K. Rassow is killed when he flies his McDonnell

McDonnell Aircraft

The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 16, 1939 by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II, and manned spacecraft including the Mercury capsule...

F2H-3 Banshee

F2H Banshee

The McDonnell F2H Banshee was a single-seat carrier-based jet fighter aircraft deployed by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps from 1948 to 1961. It was one of the primary American fighters used during the Korean War and was the only jet-powered fighter ever deployed by the Royal...

, BuNo 126434 of VF-870, into a rocky knoll during aerobatic practice near Indian Harbour

Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia

Indian Harbour is a small fishing community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on the Chebucto Peninsula. It is located between the communities of Peggy's Cove and Hackett's Cove.- History :...

, Nova Scotia.

July

On the 20th and final flight in July 1961, the Hiller X-18

Hiller X-18

The X-18 was an experimental cargo transport aircraft designed to be the first testbed for tiltwing and VSTOL technology.-Development:...

had a propeller pitch control problem when attempting to convert to a hover at 10,000 ft and went into a spin. The crew regained control and landed at Edwards AFB, California,, but the X-18 never flew again.

26 September

An RB-47 bomber crashed on take-off at Forbes Air Force Base, at Topeka, Kansas, killing all three crewmen.

21 October

Vought

Vought is the name of several related aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace , Vought Aircraft Companies, and the current Vought Aircraft Industries. The first incarnation of Vought was established by Chance M...

F8U-1 Crusader

F-8 Crusader

The Vought F-8 Crusader was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass...

, BuNo 145357, 'AB 12', of VF-11, arrestor hook and right landing gear broke during heavy landing on USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, with aircraft catching alight and going over port side. A series of nine photographs taken by Photographer's Mate L.J. Cera showed the crash sequence with pilot Lt. J.G Kryway ejecting in Martin-Baker

Martin-Baker

Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of ejection seats and safety related equipment for aviation. The company origins were as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats...

Mk. F-5 seat just as the fighter leaves the deck. These images were widely distributed in the Navy to assure pilots that the seat could save them. Kryway escapes with minor injuries, being picked up by helicopter ten minutes later. Joe Baugher

Joe Baugher

Joseph F. Baugher is a retired physicist, software engineer, and author, who has also written articles on aviation.He graduated from Gettysburg College in 1963 and studied physics under Philip J. Bray at Brown University, receiving a Ph.D...

notes that date of 21 August 1961 has also been reported.

25 October

Sikorsky HSS-1N Seabat, BuNo 149132, c/n 58-1374, coded '139', of the Koninklijke Marine

Royal Netherlands Navy

The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

, ditches at Moray Firth

Moray Firth

The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland...

, near Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

12 December

Mid-air collision of two Belgian Air Force

Belgian Air Force

C-119 Flying Boxcar

at Chièvres Air Base

Chièvres Air Base

Chièvres Air Base is a United States Air Force airfield located in the Belgian town of Chièvres and about 12 miles from Headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , in Casteau. It is mainly used to provide logistic support to NATO and SHAPE...

, Belgium. 15 died.

14 December

Second prototype Hawker P.1127

Hawker P.1127

The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 were the experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first vertical and/or short take-off and landing jet fighter-bomber...

, XP836, crashes at RNAS Yeovilton

RNAS Yeovilton

Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, or RNAS Yeovilton, is an airfield of the Royal Navy, sited in South West England a few miles north of Yeovil in Somerset...

when a 'cold' nozzle is lost in flight. Aircraft becomes uncontrollable on approach to Yeovilton and pilot A. W. "Bill" Bedford ejects at 200 feet altitude.

1962

5 January

Three crew killed in crash of USAF B-47E-105-BW Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

, 52-615, of the 22d Bomb Wing, at March AFB, California. This will be the last fatal crash at that base until 19 October 1978. Pilot was Major Clarence Weldon Garrett.

16 January

A Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...

B-47E Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

of the 380th Bomb Wing

380th Air Expeditionary Wing

The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional unit of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is attached to the United States Air Forces Central component of ACC and is stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates....

, Plattsburgh AFB, New York, on low-altitude bombing run training mission, is reported overdue at 0700 hrs. Last radio call was at ~0200 hrs. After four day search, wreckage is spotted in the Adirondack High Peaks. Bomber clipped the top of Wright Peak

Wright Peak

Wright Peak is the 16th highest peak in the High Peaks of the Adirondack Park, and is located in the MacIntyre Range in the town of North Hudson, in Essex County, New York. Named for N.Y. Governor Silas Wright , Wright is the northern-most peak in the MacIntyre Range, and is known to be one of the...

(16th tallest mountain in the Adirondacks, at 4580 feet) after veering 30 miles off course in inclement weather, high winds. Aircraft Commander 1st Lt. Rodney D. Bloomgren, of Jamestown

Jamestown, New York

Jamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...

, New York, copilot 1st Lt. Melvin Spencer, navigator 1st Lt. Albert W. Kandetski and observer A1C Kenneth R. Jensen KWF. Pilot, copilot remains found after ~a week, navigator found later. Observer's remains never recovered. A memorial plaque was erected on a rock near the summit by the 380th Bomb Wing.

1 March

Fourth Lockheed U-2

Lockheed U-2

A, Article 344, 56-6677, delivered to the CIA on 20 November 1955, converted to U-2F by October 1961, crashes near Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

, California, during aerial refueling training, killing Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

pilot Capt. John Campbell. Airframe entered jetwash behind the KC-135 Stratotanker

KC-135 Stratotanker

The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling military aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratotanker...

, and broke up.

15 May

During refuelling at Whiteman AFB, Missouri, B-47E-135-BW Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

, 53-6230, of 340th Bomb Wing catches fire, 10,000 gallons of fuel ignite. Four firemen are killed and 18 others injured when fireball engulfs all within 100 feet of burning aircraft.

17 May

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

Blackburn Beverly C.1

Blackburn Beverley

The Blackburn B-101 Beverley was a 1950s British heavy transport aircraft built by Blackburn and General Aircraft and flown by squadrons of Royal Air Force Transport Command from 1957 until 1967.-Design and development:...

, XL132, c/n 1033, bound for RAF Thorney Island, suffers engine fire while on approach, ditches in Chichester Harbour

Chichester Harbour

Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour to the south west of the city of Chichester on the Solent. It straddles the boundary of West Sussex and Hampshire. Geographically it is a ria. It is one of four natural harbours in that area of the coastline, the others being Portsmouth Harbour,...

, UK. Two crew killed.

24 May

USAF C-124A-DL Globemaster II, 51-0147, c/n 43481, on local training flight out of Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, strikes Oku-Chichibu Mountains, killing seven crew.

5 June

A number three following Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

Hawker Siddeley Hunter

Hawker Hunter

The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...

T7 trainer (XL610) from No. 111 Squadron

No. 111 Squadron RAF

No. 111 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operated the Panavia Tornado F3 from RAF Leuchars, Scotland until March 2011, when the squadron was disbanded, ending the Tornado F3's RAF service.-In World War I:...

based at RAF Wattisham

RAF Wattisham

RAF Wattisham was a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front-line air force base...

on a routine training flight flying in formation with 2 other aircraft crashes near Silk Willoughby

Silk Willoughby

Silk Willoughby is a small village of a little over 100 households located 2 miles south of Sleaford; it lies within the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England and had a total resident population of 282 in 129 households at the time of the 2001 census. There are a number of council and...

, Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

, UK killing the 2 crew.

19 June

Two Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs out of Nellis AFB, Nevada, are lost in separate accidents near Indian Springs, Nevada

Indian Springs, Nevada

Indian Springs is an unincorporated town in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 1,302 at the 2000 census.-History:Indian Springs is named for the artesian spring that provides the area with water...

, this date. F-105D-5-RE, 59-1740, is lost near Indian Springs due to control failure, pilot successfully ejecting. F-105D-6-RE, 60-0410, written off at Indian Springs due to engine fire, pilot ejected successfully. Following this pair of major accidents, all F-105B and D aircraft are grounded for correction of chafing and flight control deficiencies. The project, called Look Alike and started in July 1962, is expected to be completed quickly but due to continued operational problems will grow to an extensive two-year modification program costing U.S.$51 million.

28 August

While on an intermediate stop during a ferry flight to Moscow for acceptance testing, Kamov Ka-22

Kamov Ka-22

|-See also:...

, 0I-01, rolled to the left and crashed inverted, killing the entire crew. The cause was found to be the rotor linkage, and further inspection found that two of the other three Ka-22s suffered from the same defect. Subsequently, in order to improve stability and control, a complex differential autopilot was installed. This sensed attitude and angular accelerations, and fed into the control system.

10 September

A USAF Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker, 60-0352, c/n 18127/466, assigned at Ellsworth Air Force Base

Ellsworth Air Force Base

Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota....

, South Dakota, crashes into a fog-shrouded ravine on 5,271-foot tall Mount Kit Carson, ~20 miles NE of Spokane, Washington

Spokane, Washington

, at ~1105 hrs. while on approach to Fairchild AFB, Washington, killing four crew and 40 passengers. Thirty-nine were members of the 28th Bomb Wing

28th Bomb Wing

The 28th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force. It is stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota...

, being sent TDY to Fairchild while runways were being repaired at Ellsworth. One civilian was on board. The aircraft mowed through a 25 X 200 yard swath of evergreens before striking the terrain and exploding. Visibility was near zero. Col. Floyd R. Cressman, of Fairchild AFB, said that it appeared that the pilot tried to pull up at the last moment. A spokesman at SAC

Strategic Air Command

headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, said that this was the worst accident involving the C-135 type to date.

26 September

A USAF Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

RB-47K-BW Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

, either 53-4270, 4272 or 4279, of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, loses number six engine during take-off from Forbes AFB, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, crashes, killing all four crew, aircraft commander Lt. Col. James G. Woolbright, copilot 1st Lt. Paul R. Greenwalt (also reported as Greenawalt), navigator Capt. Bruce Kowol, and crewchief S/Sgt. Myron Curtis. Cause was contaminated water-alcohol in assisted takeoff system.

23 October

A USAF Boeing C-135B-BN Stratolifter, 62-4136, c/n 18476/C42, of the Military Air Transport Service

Military Air Transport Service

, delivering a load of ammunition from McGuire AFB, New Jersey, to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...

, Cuba, as part of the military response to the Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...

, stalls and crashes short of the runway, killing all seven crew. This was the first cargo C-135 hull loss.

27 October

Major Rudolf Anderson, a Greenville

Greenville, South Carolina

, South Carolina native and 1948 graduate from Clemson University

Clemson University

Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....

's cadet corps and pilot with the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing is tasked with an overflight of Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

on mission 3128, in a CIA Lockheed U-2F

Lockheed U-2

spyplane, remarked with USAF insignia, to take photos of the Soviet SS-N-4 medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) and SS-N-5 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBMs) build-ups. Anderson had first qualified on the U-2 type on 3 September 1957. This would be his sixth Cuban overflight. He departed McCoy AFB, Florida at 0909 hrs ET. Contrary to Moscow orders to not engage reconnaissance flights, a single Soviet-manned SA-2 missile battery at Banes fired at Anderson's high-flying U-2F, 56-6676, (Article 343), at 1021 hrs, Havana time (1121 hrs. ET). Although not a direct hit, several pieces of shrapnel punctured the canopy and the pilot's partial pressure suit and helmet, resulting in Anderson's immediate death. A censored Central Intelligence Agency document dated 28 October 1962, 0200 hours, states "The loss of the U-2 over Banes was probably caused by intercept by an SA-2 from the Banes site, or pilot hypoxia, with the former appearing more likely on the basis of present information." Actually, it was both.

27 October

A USAF Boeing

Boeing

RB-47H-BW

B-47 Stratojet

, 53-6248, of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, experienced loss of thrust and crashed at Kindley AFB, Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, killing all four crew, aircraft commander Maj. William A. Britton, copilot 1st Lt. Holt J. Rasmussen, navigator Capt. Robert A. Constable, and observer Capt. Robert C. Dennis. Cause was contaminated water-alcohol. This aircraft had spotted the Soviet freighter Grozny with missiles bound for Cuba on its deck on 26 September.

30 October

Third prototype Hawker P.1127

Hawker P.1127

, XP972, first flown 5 April 1962, is severely damaged when the Bristol-Siddeley Pegasus 2 fails following a main bearing seizure during a high-G turn. Hawker's chief experimental test pilot Hugh Merewether attempts forced landing at RAF Tangmere

RAF Tangmere

RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, located at Tangmere village about 3 miles east of Chichester in West Sussex, England. American RAF pilot Billy Fiske died at Tangmere and was the first American aviator to die during World War II...

, but the undercarriage

Undercarriage

The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...

collapses, followed by a titanium

Titanium

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....

fire. Pilot escapes unhurt but the airframe is not repaired.

9 November

An engine failure forced Jack McKay, a NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

research pilot, to make an emergency landing at Mud Lake, Nevada

Mud Lake (Nevada)

There are several lakes named Mud Lake within the U.S. state of Nevada.* Mud Lake, Churchill County, Nevada. * Mud Lake, Douglas County, Nevada. * Mud Lake, Elko County, Nevada. * Mud Lake, Humboldt County, Nevada....

, in the second X-15, 56-6671 on flight 2-31-52. The aircraft's landing gear collapsed and the X-15 flipped over on its back. McKay was promptly rescued by an Air Force medical team standing by near the launch site, and eventually recovered to fly the X-15 again. But his injuries, more serious than at first thought, eventually forced his retirement from NASA. The aircraft was sent back to the manufacturer, where it underwent extensive repairs and modifications. It returned to Edwards AFB in February 1964 as the X-15A-2, with a longer fuselage and external fuel tanks.

11 November

A USAF Boeing

Boeing

RB-47H-BW

B-47 Stratojet

, 53-4297, of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, crashes at MacDill AFB, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, when the Stratojet loses power on an outboard engine, rolls, and crashes within the confines of the base. All three crew KWF – aircraft commander Capt. William E. Wyatt, copilot Capt. William C. Maxwell, and navigator 1st Lt. Rawl.

20 December

NASA

research pilot Milton O. Thompson

Milton O. Thompson

Milton Orville Thompson was a NASA research pilot who was selected as an astronaut for the United States Air Force X-20 Dyna-Soar program in April 1960. After the Dyna-Soar program was cancelled on 10 December 1963, he remained a NASA research pilot, and went on to fly the X-15 rocket plane...

, after making an X-15 weather evaluation flight for an impending launch in NASA Lockheed JF-104A-10-LO Starfighter, 56-0749, c/n 183-1037, makes simulated X-15 approach at Rogers Dry Lake

Rogers Dry Lake

Rogers Dry Lake is an endorheic desert salt pan in the Mojave Desert of Kern County, California. The lake derives its name from the Anglicization from the Spanish name, Rodriguez Dry Lake. It is the central part of Edwards Air Force Base as its hard surface provides a natural extension to the...

, Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

, California, experiences assymetric flap condition that results in uncommanded roll. Unable to resolve problem by repeatedly cycling the roll and yaw dampers, flap-selector switch and speed brakes, he ejects inverted at 18,000 feet after the airframe makes four complete rolls. Fighter impacts nose first on Edwards bombing range. Pilot descends safely and walks to near-by road where NASA Flight Operations chief Joe Vensel, speeding to the crash site expecting the worst as Thompson had not radioed that he was ejecting, finds him waiting uninjured. Investigation finds that the crash had most likely been the result of an electrical malfunction in the left trailing-edge flap.

1963

24 January

B-52C-40-BO Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 53-0406, of the 99th Bomb Squadron, out of Westover AFB, Massachusetts on a low-level flight training mission, commanded by Col. Dante Bulli, 40, of Cherry

Cherry, Illinois

Cherry is a village in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 509 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area...

, Illinois, hits turbulence while flying ~ 100 ft. above the ground as it approached Elephant Mountain

Elephant Mountain

Elephant Mountain is an album by the American folk rock band The Youngbloods, released in 1969. It reached number 118 on the Billboard 200 chart.-History:...

near Greenville

Greenville, Maine

Greenville is a town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,623 at the 2000 census. The town is centered around the lower end of Moosehead Lake, the largest body of fresh water in the state. Greenville is the historic gateway to the north country and a center for...

, Maine, loses vertical fin

1963 Elephant Mountain B-52 crash

On January 24, 1963 a USAF Boeing B-52C Stratofortress with nine crew members on board lost its vertical stabilizer due to buffeting stresses during turbulence at low altitude and crashed on Elephant Mountain in Piscataquis County, Maine, six miles from Greenville...

. Conditions were reported as air speed of 280 knots, outside temperature 14 degrees below zero, with the winds gusting to 40 knots. As the bomber went out of control, the pilot ordered ejection. Only three crew got out: Bulli and Capt. Gerald Adler, 31, of Houston

Houston, Texas

, Texas, survived, though Adler was badly injured. The copilot, Major Robert J. Morrison was killed when he hit a tree while parachuting to the ground. Lt. Col. Joe R. Simpson, Jr, Maj. William W. Gabriel, Maj. Robert J. Hill, Capt. Herbert L. Hansen, Capt. Charles G. Leuchter, and TSgt. Michael F. O'Keefe did not have time to eject, and perished. A C-54 Skymaster

C-54 Skymaster

The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...

from Goose Bay, Labrador drops a team of paramedics to aid the two survivors, who are then transported by helicopter to Dow Air Force Base

Dow Air Force Base

-History:Dow Air Force Base began as "Godfrey Field" in 1927, on land owned by local attorney Edward Rawson Godfrey . Commercial flights began at the field in 1931 under Northeast Airlines...

, Bangor, Maine, where they are pronounced to be in "good condition."

30 January

A B-52E-90-BO Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 57-0018, of the 6th Bomb Wing from Walker Air Force Base

Walker Air Force Base

Walker Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base located three miles south of the central business district of Roswell, a city in Chaves County, New Mexico, US...

, New Mexico, crashes in snow-covered mountains in northern New Mexico, with at least three crew surviving. Aircraft commander Lt. Col. Donald L. Hayes, 39, of Alta

Alta, Iowa

Alta is a city in Buena Vista County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,865 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Alta is located at . It is located 6 miles from the city of Storm Lake...

, Iowa, and another officer walked through heavy snow to a near-by town in search of aid. Survivors, who parachuted from the bomber, include Lt. Col. Nicholas P. Horangic, 39, radio operator, of Boydtown, Pennsylvania, and Maj. Thomas J. McBride, 42, co-pilot, of Panama City

Panama City, Florida

-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...

, Florida. Horangic was treated for shock and a possible broken left elbow at a Mora

Mora, New Mexico

Mora or Santa Gertrudis de lo de Mora is an unincorporated community in, and the county seat of, Mora County, New Mexico, United States. It is located about half way between Las Vegas, New Mexico and Taos on Highway 518 at an altitude of 7,180 feet...

, New Mexico hospital. McBride walked to safety and telephoned the base. Three T-33 Shooting Star

T-33 Shooting Star

s and, later, three C-54 Skymaster

C-54 Skymaster

s, circled the area trying to locate other survivors. The pilots reported that they saw two other survivors after the first man walked to safety. The crew also included Maj. Emil B. A. Goldbeck, 40, navigator, of Kennelworth, New Jersey; Maj. George J. Szabo, 44, electronics countermeasures officer, of Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

, Ohio; and M/Sgt. Burl D. Deas, 39, gunner, of Charleston

Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...

, West Virginia. The vertical fin was torn off in turbulence. The ECM operator and tail gunner were killed.

31 January

Sikorsky HSS-1N Seabats, BuNo 149133, c/n 58-1375, coded '140', and BuNo 147635, c/n 58-1160, coded '145', ex-'H-9', both from 8 Squadron of the Koninklijke Marine

Royal Netherlands Navy

, both ditch near Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

and are lost.

1 February

Over 200 are injured and 73 killed when a Turkish Air Force C-47 Dakota

C-47 Skytrain

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...

, CBK28, and a Mid East Airlines Vickers 745D Viscount

Vickers Viscount

The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...

turboprop airliner, OD-ADE, c/n 244, collide in a cloud bank in the afternoon over Ankara, Turkey, the press initially reports. Most of the victims were pedestrians and occupants of buildings lining Ulus Square in the Turkish capital. Eleven passengers and three crew aboard the commercial flight, and three crew aboard the Dakota were included in the fatalities. The C-47 was on a training flight. The body of one its crew was found on top of a building near the square with a partially opened parachute. Later description of the accident reported that the Viscount, Flight Number 265, from Cyprus to Ankara, was descending into Ankara-Esenboga Airport (ESB/LTAC), when it overtook the Dakota, which was returning to Etesmigut Airport. The airliner's number 3 (starboard inner) prop sliced off the Dakota's port horizontal stabilizer, while the starboard side of the Viscount was torn open with some passengers sucked out of the fuselage. An attempt to avoid the Dakota by the Viscount crew at the last moment was unsuccessful. This account gives ground fatalities as 87, and reports conditions as clear.

20 March

McDonnell F3H-2 Demon

F3H Demon

The McDonnell F3H Demon was a subsonic swept-wing United States Navy carrier-based jet fighter aircraft. After severe problems with Westinghouse J40 engine that was ultimately abandoned, the successor to the McDonnell F2H Banshee served starting in 1956 redesigned with the J71 engine...

, BuNo 145281, of VF-14 suffers either cold catapult

Aircraft catapult

An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...

launch or failure of catapult 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. Navy photo captured moment the Demon tipped over the bow.

27 March

North American T-28A Trojan, 52-1242, c/n 189-57, converted to first prototype RA-28 (a proposed turboprop combat version for use in SE Asia), later redesignated YAT-28E. Deficiency in tailfin area (tail unit separated in flight) led to its entering a flat spin and crashing this date, killing the pilot when he was unable to bail out due to a jammed canopy.

24 May

Central Intelligence Agency

pilot Ken Collins is forced to eject from Lockheed A-12, 60-6926, Article 123, during subsonic test flight when aircraft stalls due to inaccurate data being displayed to pilot. Airframe impacts 14 miles (22.5 km.) S of Wendover

Wendover, Utah

Wendover is a city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Elko Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,537 at the 2000 census, with a 2006 estimated population of 1,632....

, Utah. Official cover story refers to it as a Republic F-105 Thunderchief

F-105 Thunderchief

The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been...

. Cause was found to be pitot-static system failure due to icing. Airframe had made 79 flights for a total time of 136:10 hours.

16 June

During the Paris Air Show

Paris Air Show

The Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...

, first prototype Hawker P.1127

Hawker P.1127

, XP831, flown by A. W. "Bill" Bedford, is demonstrating low level hovering when a tiny fragment of debris fouls a nozzle actuating motor causing the aircraft to lose height rapidly and crash. Pilot unhurt and the airframe is repaired. Upon retirement, this historic airframe is preserved in the Sir Sydney Camm Memorial Hall at the RAF Museum

RAF Museum

The Royal Air Force Museum London, commonly known as the RAF Museum, is a museum located on the former Hendon Aerodrome, dedicated to the history of aviation and the British Royal Air Force. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and a registered charity...

, Hendon

Hendon

Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...

26 June

A Belgische Luchtmacht (Belgian Air Force

Belgian Air Force

) Kaiser-Frazier C-119G Flying Boxcar

C-119 Flying Boxcar

, CP45, c/n 246, en route to Royal Air Force Station Gütersloh

RAF Gütersloh

The former Royal Air Force Station Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airbase, the nearest Royal Air Force airbase to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of Gütersloh. It was constructed by the Germans prior to World War II...

, crashes near Detmold

Detmold

Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...

, Germany after being accidentally hit by a British mortar

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....

bomb over the Sennelager Range. 5 crewmen and 33 paratroopers died, while 9 paratroopers managed to jump into safety using their parachutes.

7 July

Marine Corps Reserve pilot Capt. John W. Butler, 30, of Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, suffers electrical failure in F-1E Fury

FJ Fury

The North American FJ-2/-3 Fury were a series of swept-wing carrier-capable fighters for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Based on the United States Air Force's F-86 Sabre, these aircraft featured folding wings, and a longer nose landing strut designed to both increase angle of attack upon...

BuNo 143609 during ground control intercept mission in a flight with three other aircraft, losing directional instruments, radio contact, at 36,000 feet. Ejects at low altitude after trying everything he can to regain control. Fury strikes ballfield at Green Hill Day Camp, Willow Grove

Willow Grove, Pennsylvania

Willow Grove is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. A community in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, the population was 15,726 at the 2010 census. It is located in Abington Township and Upper Moreland Township...

, Pennsylvania, skids 500 yards through some trees, a high hedge, and strikes a bathhouse in which ~30 persons have taken shelter from a severe thunderstorm. Seven on ground are killed, 15 injured.

15 July

Two North American F-100 Super Sabre

F-100 Super Sabre

s of the 492nd Tactical Fighter Squadron

492d Fighter Squadron

The 492d Fighter Squadron is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Mission:The 492d FS is a combat-ready F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States...

, 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...

, Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, suffer mid-air collision during routine gunnery exercise on the Holbeach Range

RAF Holbeach

, both aircraft coming down in the sea five miles off King's Lynn

King's Lynn

King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....

. Pilot 1st Lt. L.C. Marshall parachuted from F-100D-45-NH

F-100 Super Sabre

, 55-2792, c/n 224-59, rescued from his dinghy by helicopter, but 1st Lt. D.F. Ware rode F-100D-45-NH

F-100 Super Sabre

, 55-2786, c/n 224-53, to his death.

19 August

A USAF QB-47E Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

, of the 3205th Drone Director Group, veers off course on touchdown at Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....

, Florida

Florida

, crashing onto Eglin Parkway parallel to runway 32/14. Two cars were crushed by the Stratojet, killing two occupants, Robert W. Glass and Dr. Robert Bundy, and injuring a third, Dorothy Phillips. Mr. Glass and Dr. Bundy both worked for the Minnesota Honeywell Corporation at the time, a firm which had just completed flight tests on an inertia guidance sub-system for the X-20 Dyna-Soar

X-20 Dyna-Soar

The X-20 Dyna-Soar was a United States Air Force program to develop a spaceplane that could be used for a variety of military missions, including reconnaissance, bombing, space rescue, satellite maintenance, and sabotage of enemy satellites...

project at the base utilizing an NF-101B Voodoo

F-101 Voodoo

The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force...

. Mrs. Phillips was the wife of Master Sergeant

Master Sergeant

A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...

James Phillips, a crew chief at the base. Mrs. Phillips was treated for moderate injuries and released later that day. Both vehicles were destroyed by fire. Four firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation while fighting the blaze which reignited several times. Fire crews had to lay over a mile of hose to reach the crash from the nearest hydrant, as well. The QB-47 was used for Bomarc Missile Program

Bomarc Missile Program

The CIM-10 Bomarc was the only surface-to-air missile ever deployed by the United States Air Force. All other U.S. land-based SAMs were and are under the control of the United States Army....

tests, which normally operated from Auxiliary Field Three (Duke Field

Duke Field

Duke Field , also known as Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3, is a military airport located three miles south of the central business district of Crestview, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States-Units:...

), approximately 15 miles from the main base, but was diverted to Eglin Main after thunderstorms built up over Duke.

19 August

Two B-47 Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

s of the 40th Bombardment Wing from Schilling AFB, Salina

Salina, Kansas

Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...

, Kansas, collide in mid-air over Irwin

Irwin, Iowa

Irwin is a city in Shelby County, Iowa, United States, along the West Nishnabotna River. The population was 372 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Irwin is located at ....

, Iowa during a nine-hour navigation, air-refuelling and radar bomb scoring mission. Bombers depart Schilling at 1125 hrs. and 1126 hrs., then collide in overcast shortly after 1230 hrs., coming down on two farms ~2 miles apart. Two crew DOA at Harlan Hospital, Irwin, Iowa, three treated for injuries, one located alive. Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

identifies three survivors as Capt. Richard M. Smiley, 29, of Arlington, Kansas, aircraft commander of one B-47; Capt. Allan M. Ramsey, Jr., 32, of Bainbridge, Georgia, Smiley's navigator; Capt. Richard M. Snowden, 29, navigator on second B-47. Listed as missing: Capt. Leonard A. Theis, 29, San Fernando, California, co-pilot on second B-47; dead is Capt. Peter J. Macchi, 29, Belleville, New Jersey, Smiley's co-pilot; second fatality not immediately identified. Smiley suffers head injuries, Ramsey, back injuries, and Snowden, burns and leg injuries.

19 August

Twin accidents aboard the kill three. First, an F-4B Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

snaps arresting cable during night landing, goes over the side, pilot Lt. Robert J. Craig, 31, of San Diego is lost with his unidentified RIO, three deck crew injured by whipping cable. Then several hours later, in unrelated accident, Missile Technician 2nd Class Robert William Negus, originally from Lompoc, California, is crushed by a missile, the Navy in San Diego reported.

28 August

Two KC-135A-BN Stratotankers

KC-135 Stratotanker

, 61-0319, c/n 18226, and 61-0322, c/n 18229, assigned with the 19th Bomb Wing, collide over the Atlantic between Bermuda

Bermuda

and Nassau

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...

, all eleven crew aboard the two jets lost (6 on 0319 and 5 on 0322). Debris and oil slicks found ~750 miles ENE of Miami

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

, Florida. Aircraft were returning to Homestead AFB, Florida after mission to refuel two B-47 Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

s from Schilling AFB, Kansas (both of which landed safely) when contact with them was lost. Search suspended Monday night, 2 September 1963, when wreckage recovered by the Air Rescue Service is positively identified as being from the missing tankers.

14 September

Sikorsky HSS-1N Seabat, BuNo 147632, c/n 58-1150, coded '142', ex-'H-6', of 8 Squadron of the Koninklijke Marine

Royal Netherlands Navy

, is heavily damaged while being moved by elevator to the flight deck aboard the Hr. Ms. Karel Doorman

HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81)

HNLMS Karel Doorman was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship was the British HMS Venerable before she was sold in 1948 to the Netherlands as a light attack carrier. In 1960 she was involved in the decolonization conflict in Western New Guinea with Indonesia...

. Repairs undertaken by Henschel.

22 September

MATS

Military Air Transport Service

C-133A-15-DL Cargomaster

C-133 Cargomaster

The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster was a large cargo aircraft built between 1956 and 1961 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for use with the United States Air Force. The C-133 was the USAF's only production turboprop-powered strategic airlifter, entering service shortly after Lockheed's better known C-130...

, 56-2002, c/n 45167, of the 1607th Air Transport Wing

1607th Air Transport Wing

The 1607th Air Transport Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the Eastern Transport Air Force, Military Air Transport Service, stationed at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware...

, with ten personnel of the 1st Air Transport Squadron on board, is lost in the Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Dover AFB, Delaware to the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

when contact is lost some 57 minutes after a 0233 EDT take-off from Dover. Last reported position was ~30 miles off of Cape May

Cape May, New Jersey

Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...

, New Jersey.

2 October

Second of two Short SC.1

Short SC.1

|-See also:-Bibliography:* Barnes, C.H. with revisions by Derek N. James. Shorts Aircraft since 1900. London: Putnam, 1989 . ISBN 0-85177-819-4.*Illingworth J. K. B. and Chinn H.W. . London: HMSO, 1969. Retrieved: 11 December 2007....

VTOL

A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...

experimental testbeds, XG905, c/n SH. 1815, a compact tailless delta monoplane with five Rolls-Royce RB108

Rolls-Royce RB108

|-See also:-Bibliography:*Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:*****...

engines, one for propulsion and four for lift, crashes while attempting landing at Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. Gyros failed, producing false references which caused the auto-stabiliser system to fly the aircraft into the ground. The failure occurred at less than 30 feet, giving pilot J.R. Green no time to revert to manual control. Airframe impacted inverted, killing pilot.

10 November

Strategic Air Command

WB-47E Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

, 51-2420, built as B-47E-60-BW and modified to weather reconnaissance variant, making emergency landing at Lajes Air Base, Azores

Azores

, skids into parking ramp, strikes Boeing

Boeing

C-97C Stratofreighter

C-97 Stratofreighter

The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long range heavy military cargo aircraft based on the B-29 bomber. Design work began in 1942, with the prototype's first flight being on 9 November 1944, and the first production aircraft entered service in 1947. Between 1947 and 1958, 888 C-97s in several...

, 50-0690, loses port inner engine nacelle (numbers 2 and 3), starboard outer nacelle (number 6) and starboard wingtip. Fire damages port inner wing above lost nacelle. Crew survives.

20 November

Tenth Lockheed U-2

Lockheed U-2

A, Article 350, 56-6683, delivered to the CIA on 24 April 1956, converted to U-2F by spring 1963; loaned to Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

for Cuba overflight missions, crashes into the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

40 miles (64.4 km) NW of Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

, killing pilot Capt. Joe Hyde, Jr. Pilot was returning from a Brass Knob mission and was hand-flying the aircraft back to Barksdale Air Force Base

Barksdale Air Force Base

Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east-southeast of Bossier City, Louisiana.The host unit at Barksdale is the 2d Bomb Wing , the oldest Bomb Wing in the Air Force. It is assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force...

, Louisiana, at 69000 feet (21,031.2 m) after failure of autopilot when it entered a flat spin and impacted in the Gulf. Wreckage retrieved from shallow water near Florida coast but ejection seat, seat pack and parachute missing - pilot never found.

10 December

Test pilot Charles Chuck Yeager

Chuck Yeager

Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...

, out of Edwards AFB, California, zoom climbs NF-104A Starfighter

F-104 Starfighter

, 56-0762, modified with rocket engine in tail unit, to 106,300 feet (32,400 m), 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
The Right Stuff
The Right Stuff is a 1983 American film adapted from Tom Wolfe's 1979 book The Right Stuff about the test pilots who were involved in high-speed aeronautical research at Edwards Air Force Base as well as those selected to be astronauts for Project Mercury, the United States' first attempt at manned...

. Aircraft was originally built as F-104A-10-LO

F-104 Starfighter

1964

2 January

A USAF C-124C Globemaster II

C-124 Globemaster II

The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....

, 52-968, c/n 43877, of the 28th Air Transport Squadron

28th Military Airlift Squadron

The 28th Military Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 62d Military Airlift Wing, Military Airlift Command, stationed at McChord Air Force Base, Washington. It was inactivated on 22 December 1969....

, en route from Tachikawa Air Force Base near Tokyo, Japan, to Hickam Air Force Base

Hickam Air Force Base

Hickam Field, re-named Hickam Air Force Base in 1948, was a United States Air Force facility now part of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lt Col Horace Meek Hickam.- History :...

, Honolulu

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

, Hawaii with nine on board and 11 tons of cargo, disappears over the Pacific Ocean after making a fuel stop at Wake Island

Wake Island

Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...

. Due at Hickam at 0539 hrs. EST, the Globemaster II is last heard from at 0159 hrs. EST. Fuel exhaustion would have been at 1000 hrs. EST and the aircraft is presumed down at sea. An automatic SOS signal is detected emanating from an aircraft-type radio with a constant carrier frequency of 4728 kilocycles, issuing an automatically keyed distress message, and a dozen aircraft of the Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard are sent to search from Hickam and from Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

, Midway

Midway Atoll

Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...

, and Johnston Island. Poor weather and limited visibility hampers search efforts. The U.S. Navy's USS Lansing also participates in the search. The eight missing Air Force crew and one U.S. Navy man escorting a body back to the U. S. are officially declared dead on 21 January. This was the first C-124 accident since May 1962.

4 January

NRB-57D Canberra

B-57 Canberra

The Martin B-57 Canberra was a United States-built, twin jet engine light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, which entered service with the United States Air Force in 1953. The B-57 was initially a version of the English Electric Canberra built under license. However, the Glenn L...

, 53-3973, of the Wright Air Development Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, suffers structural failure of both wings at 50,000 feet (15240 m), comes down in schoolyard at Dayton

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

, Ohio, crew bails out. The USAF subsequently grounds all W/RB-57D aircraft.

6 January

A U.S. Navy pilot ejects from an A-4C Skyhawk

A-4 Skyhawk

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The delta winged, single-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated the A4D...

shortly after departing NAS Oceana, Virginia when the fighter-bomber catches fire. Lt. J.G. J. R. Mossman, 24, of Springfield

Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Springfield Township, or simply Springfield, is a township and a Census Designated Place in Delaware County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 23,677 at the 2000 census...

, Pennsylvania, is alerted by his wingman that the tail is on fire just after beginning a flight to NAS Pensacola, Florida, and ejects 10 miles SE of Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

, Virginia, parachuting into the Atlantic Ocean. Wingman Lt. Henri B. Chase orbits Mossman's position until a helicopter from NAS Norfolk arrives and picks him up. The pilot is unhurt. "By coincidence, Mossman is one of three pilots who last month practiced being rescued at sea by helicopter off Virginia Beach."

10 January

The Dassault Balzac V

Dassault Balzac V

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Breffort, Dominique and Andre Jouineau. "The Mirage III, 5, 50 and derivatives from 1955 to 2000." Planes and Pilots 6. Paris: Histoire et Collections, 2004. ISBN 2-913903-92-4....

crashes on its 125th sortie, during a low-altitude hover. During a vertical descent the aircraft experienced uncontrollable divergent wing oscillations, the port wing eventually striking the ground at an acute angle with the aircraft rolling over because of the continued lift engine thrust. The loss was attributed to loss of control because the stabilising limits of the three-axis autostabilisation system's 'puffer pipes' were exceeded in roll. Although airframe damage was relatively light, the Centre D'Essai en Vol test pilot, Jacques Pinier, did not eject and died in the crash.

10 January

Boeing civilian test pilot Chuck Fisher and his three man crew lose the vertical fin of B-52H-170-BW Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 61-023, in turbulence at ~ 14,000 ft. over northern New Mexico's Sangre de Christo mountains. An F-100 Super Sabre

F-100 Super Sabre

out of Wichita

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

, Kansas and a KC-135 Stratotanker

KC-135 Stratotanker

are launched to escort the bomber, and due to high winds at Wichita the decision is made to land at Blytheville AFB, Blytheville

Blytheville, Arkansas

Blytheville is the largest city in and one of the two county seats of Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 15,620 at the 2010 census....

, Arkansas. After six hours of careful preparation, including the launch of another B-52 to test various landing configuration options, the damaged Stratofortress is successfully landed. It is subsequently repaired and currently serves with the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base

Barksdale Air Force Base

. Directorate of Aerospace Safety film "Flight Without a Fin": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wclfY0Meruw&feature=related

13 January

United States Air Force

B-52D-10-BW Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 55-060, Buzz One Four, of the 484th Bomb Wing, Westover AFB, Massachusetts, suffers structural failure in turbulence of winter storm as blizzard socks the East Coast, crashes approximately 17 miles SW of Cumberland

Cumberland, Maryland

Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...

, Maryland. The bomber comes down in a small valley on Elbow Mountain in a state park. 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. The pilot, Maj. Thomas W. McCormick, 42, of Hawkey, West Virginia, telephoned the Air Force in Washington, D.C. from a farmhouse near Grantsville

Grantsville, Maryland

Grantsville is a town in Garrett County, Maryland, United States. The population was 619 at the 2000 census.-History:Grantsville, 1/2 mile west of the Casselman River, began as a small Amish and Mennonite settlement, called Tomlinson's or Little Crossing, along Braddock rd., which wound westward...

, Maryland, saying that he was apparently the last of his crew to bail out, having heard the other seats leave the aircraft before he ejected. The U.S. Army sends a 15-man team of bomb disposal experts from Fort Meade

Fort Meade, Maryland

Fort Meade is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,882 at the 2000 census. It is the home to the National Security Agency, which is located on the US Army post Fort George G...

, Maryland, and the USAF dispatches a 35-man rescue team from Andrews AFB, Maryland. Both bombs survive intact and are recovered. The Stratofortress was also carrying two AGM-28 Hound Dog

AGM-28 Hound Dog

The North American Aviation Corporation AGM-28 Hound Dog was a supersonic, jet propelled, air-launched cruise missile. The Hound Dog missile was first given the designation B-77, then redesignated the GAM-77, and finally designated the AGM-28, permanently...

air-to-ground missiles. See also 1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash

1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash

The 1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash was a U.S. military nuclear accident in which a Cold War bomber's vertical stabilizer broke off in winter storm turbulence...

22 January

A USAF F-104B-10-LO Starfighter

F-104 Starfighter

, 57‑1306, c/n 283-5019, of the 319th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Air Defense Command, Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, crashes at ~1330 hrs. on Santa Rosa Island

Santa Rosa Island, Florida

Santa Rosa Island[p] is a 40-mile barrier island located in the U.S. state of Florida, thirty miles east of the Alabama state border...

, ~one mile E of Fort Walton Beach

Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of 2005, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach was 19,992, and as of 2010, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach is 19,507 recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau...

, Florida, shortly after departure from Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....

, Florida, to return to Homestead. The pilot, Capt. Lucius O. Evans, ejects safely just before the fighter impacts in sand dunes just short of the Coronado Motor Hotel, parachuting into the Choctawhatchee Bay

Choctawhatchee Bay

Choctawhatchee Bay is a bay in the Emerald Coast region of the Florida Panhandle. The bay, located within Okaloosa and Walton counties, has a surface area of 129 mi2...

. He is then transported to the Eglin base hospital by Assistant Police Chief Jack McSwain, where he is reported to have sustained no injuries. Over sixty occupants at the hotel are not injured although flaming wreckage sprays an area close to the business. Eyewitness Andrew Christiansen, of Chester, Connecticut, reported that the aircraft was on fire as it descended and observed Capt. Evans' ejection from the Starfighter. A secondary explosion after the impact further scatters the burning wreckage.

28 January

A T-39 Sabreliner

T-39 Sabreliner

The North American Sabreliner is a mid-sized business jet developed by North American Aviation. It was offered to the U.S. Air Force in response to their Utility Trainer Experimental program...

was shot down over Erfurt

Erfurt

Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...

, Germany by Soviet MiGs after errantly entering Soviet airspace over East Germany. All three crewmembers were killed.

11 February

During an evening airpower demonstration, an B-26 Invader on a strafing pass over Range 52 at Eglin AFB, Florida, loses a wing as it pulls up at ~1945 hrs., with the loss of two crew, both assigned to the 1st Air Commando Wing, Hurlburt Field

Hurlburt Field

Hurlburt Field is a U.S. Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the Town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation, and is home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command , the 1st Special Operations Wing , the...

. KWF are pilot Capt. Herman S. Moore, 34, of 28 Palmetto Drive, Mary Esther

Mary Esther, Florida

Mary Esther is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,055 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 4,115...

, Florida, and navigator Capt. Lawrence L. Lively, 31, of 19 Azalea Drive, Mary Esther

Mary Esther, Florida

Mary Esther is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,055 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 4,115...

, Florida. Moore, originally of Livingston

Livingston, Montana

-Geography:Livingston is located at , at an altitude of 4.501 feet .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and 0.38% is waters.-Climate:-Demographics:...

, Montana is survived by his widow, Nancy Lee Moore, and a stepson, John H. Duckworth, 9, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William N. Moore, 117 South 10th Street, Livingston. Mrs. Moore is a teacher in the Okaloosa County School system. Lively is survived by his widow, Joan R. Lively. The Invader was participating in a demonstration of the Special Air Warfare Center's counter insurgency capabilities, an activity that had been presented on average of twice each month for the past 21 months. This was the first such accident for SAWC during that period. The USAF subsequently grounds all combat B-26s on 8 April as the stress of operations now exceed the airframes' abilities. On Mark Engineering Company remanufactures 41 old airframes as one YB-26K and forty B-26Ks with new spars, larger engines and rudders, and new 1964 fiscal year serial numbers which see use in Southeast Asia, and which will be redesignated A-26As for political reasons.

3 March

The port side cargo door of a C-130 Hercules

C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

explosively blows off the aircraft at 19,000 feet above the Smoky Mountain

Smoky Mountain

Smoky Mountain is an adjective for things related to the Great Smoky Mountains and may refer to the following landforms:*Smoky Mountain , a Guadalupe Mountains summit at...

resort town of Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Gatlinburg had a population of 3,828. The city is a popular vacation resort, as it rests on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S...

, Tennessee, carrying one crewman to his death and another hanging onto a chain outside the aircraft as the fuselage decompresses. Crew chief Jose Gallegoes, 32, was holding a length of chain attached to his bolted-down tool box when the access door blew off. "Something like an explosion happened and I found myself hanging out of the plane", the San Luis

San Luis, Colorado

The Town of San Luis is a statutory town that is the county seat and the most populous town of Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The population was 739 at the 2000 census.-History:...

, Colorado man said later. "I was hanging by the chain with which I was securing the tool box. That chain saved my life", he said. His fellow crewmen pulled him back inside the cargo plane, but there was nothing they could do for the as yet unidentified crewman who fell to his death on the mountainous slopes below, ~35 miles E of Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

, Tennessee. He had no parachute. A search was begun for his body. The departing door also sheared off the number two (port inner) propeller. The pilot, Flt. Lt. David W. Parsons, a Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

exchange officer from Wellington, England, was circling over McGhee Tyson Air Force Base when the door gave way. He immediately initiated an emergency landing, but found that he had no hydraulic control for the nose gear, touching down on the main gear before the Hercules settled onto its nose, skidding ~5,000 feet along the runway before coming to a halt. None of the seven crew remaining aboard were hurt. The C-130 was en route from Sewart Air Force Base

Sewart Air Force Base

Sewart Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in Smyrna, about 25 miles southeast of Nashville, Tennessee.-World War II:...

, at Smyrna

Smyrna, Tennessee

Smyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. Smyrna's population was 25,569 people at the 2000 census. The Census estimate of the 2009 population is 39,142.-Geography:Smyrna is located at ....

, Tennessee to Myrtle Beach Air Force Base

Myrtle Beach Air Force Base

Myrtle Beach Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force facility, located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was established in 1940 as a World War II training base and was also used for coastal patrols during the war...

, South Carolina, when the accident occurred. Most of the plane's parachutes were stacked near the door and were carried over the side by the decompression. Sheriff Ray Noland stated that an open parachute was seen drifting down near Sevierville

Sevierville, Tennessee

Sevierville is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. Its population was 11,757 at the 2000 United States Census; in 2004 the estimated population was 14,101. Sevierville is the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee....

, Tennessee, and deputies searching for the crewman's body found a parachute, a seat and the door ~two miles N of state highway 73, E of Gatlinburg.

9 March

An armed U. S. Army "HU-1B" Huey

UH-1 Iroquois

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...

escorting U. S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara into "the heart of the Communist-infested Mekong River Delta" in South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

, crashes into the Bassac River

Bassac River

The Bassac River is a distributary of the Tonle Sap and Mekong River. The river starts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows southerly, crossing the border into Vietnam near Châu Đốc....

, killing the enlisted door gunners, who apparently drown. The helicopter goes down just as McNamara lands in another chopper with Maj. Gen. Hguyen Khanh, head of South Vietnam's military government. The Huey's engine apparently stalls, losing power just as the helicopter executes a sharp sweeping turn upward after making a low level pass over some trees while looking for snipers. The Huey plunges into the river, sinks immediately, with loss of the gunners. The officer-pilots escape and are rescued. In hospital they are found to have suffered only minor injuries. Some members of the SecDef's party witness the accident but McNamara does not. He states later that he is "grieved beyond words" over the loss.

15 March

A Blue Angels

Blue Angels

The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...

pilot is killed during an attempted emergency landing at Apalach Airport near Apalachicola

Apalachicola, Florida

Apalachicola is a city in Franklin County, Florida, on US 98 about southwest of Tallahassee. The population was 2,334 at the 2000 census. The 2005 census estimated the city's population at 2,340...

, Florida when his F-11A Tiger, BuNo 141883(?), experiences difficulties while transiting from West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach, Florida

West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...

, Florida back to the Blue Angels home base at NAS Pensacola, Florida. Lt. George L. Neale, 29, who flew in the Number Four slot position of the diamond formation, was returning from a demonstration at West Palm Beach with one other of the six team jets and an R5D Skymaster support plane when he radios Tyndall Air Force Base

Tyndall Air Force Base

Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt Frank Benjamin Tyndall...

, near Panama City

Panama City, Florida

, Florida, for emergency landing permission when he suffers mechanical problems S of Apalachicola. But, spotting the local airport, he attempts a landing there, ejecting on final approach at 1115 hrs. as the fighter comes down ~250 yards short of the runway. Although he clears the airframe at ~150–200 feet altitude, his chute does not have sufficient time to deploy and he is killed. He is survived by his wife Donna, of Pensacola, Florida, and his mother, Mrs. Katherine Neale, of Avalon

Avalon, Pennsylvania

Avalon is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Ohio River, downstream from Pittsburgh. It is a largely residential borough with a few small stores...

, Pennsylvania. The Navy said that the cause of the accident is being investigated.

23 March

Armstrong Whitworth Argosy C.1

Armstrong Whitworth Argosy

-Video:*-References:NotesBibliography*Mondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Aircraft: Military and Civil Aviation From the Beginnings to the Present Day. Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books Inc., 1978, ISBN 0-89009-771-2....

, XP413, of 105 Squadron, deployed to RAF Khormaksar

RAF Khormaksar

RAF Khormaksar was a Royal Air Force station in Aden. Its motto was "Into the Remote Places". During the 1960s, it was the base for nine squadrons and became the RAF's busiest-ever station. It later became Aden International Airport.-History:...

, Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

, ditches in the Aden harbour whilst on finals to the easterly runway at Khormaksar, when, during crew training, the number four (starboard outer) engine was shut down for practice. Due to confusion in the cockpit, the crew managed to shut down both starboard engines without feathering either and the Argosy comes down with remarkably little damage, settling on its undercarriage

Undercarriage

The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...

in about 5 feet (1.5 m.) of water. Hauled onto dry land, it is eventually shipped back to the UK by boat, refurbished by Hawker Siddeley, and returned to duty.

1 April

In an unusual accident, the Number Three deck elevator of the tears loose from the ship during night operations and plunges into the Atlantic off Cape Henry, Virginia, taking with it an S-2D Tracker

S-2 Tracker

, five crewman, and a tractor. Three crew are rescued by the , but two are lost at sea.

9 May

A Republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

F-105B-15-RE Thunderchief, 57-5801, Thunderbird 2, one of nine delivered to the Thunderbirds

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds are the air demonstration squadron of the U.S. Air Force , based at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada. The squadron tours the United States and much of the world, performing aerobatic formation and solo flying in specially marked USAF jet aircraft...

demonstration team in mid-April 1964, suffers structural failure and disintegrates during 6G tactical pitch up for landing at airshow at Hamilton AFB, California, killing pilot Capt. Eugene J. Devlin. The failure of the fuselage's upper spine causes the USAF to ground all F-105s and retrofit the fleet with a structural brace, but the air demonstration team reverts to the F-100 Super Sabre

F-100 Super Sabre

and never flies another show in F-105s.

11 May

A United States Air Force

United States Air Force

C-135B-BN Stratolifter

C-135 Stratolifter

|-See also:-External links:* at Globalsecurity.org...

, 61-0332, c/n 18239, crashed on landing at Clark Air Force Base, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, hitting a taxi. 84 on board, 5 survivors, passengers in taxi also killed. Date of 11 August 1964 cited by Joe Baugher

Joe Baugher

. The crash occurred while attempting to land during a rainstorm at approximately 1920 hrs.

26 May

A B-47E-110-BW Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

, 53-2296, c/n 4501109, of the 509th Bomb Wing

509th Bomb Wing

The 509th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command, Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri....

, inbound to RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford was a Royal Air Force station located north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. The base was brought into use for flying in July 1918 by the Royal Flying Corps. During World War II it was used by many units of the RAF, mainly as a training...

from Pease AFB, New Hampshire, suffers uneven throttle advance on attempted go around, port engines fail to respond, wing drops and bomber cartwheels between two loaded B-47s before striking storage building which the day before had contained JATO

JATO

JATO is an acronym for jet-fuel assisted take off. It is a system for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets....

bottles. Prompt response by rescue personnel and apparatus douse the fire and three of four crew are pulled from the wreckage alive: pilot Capt. Robert L. Lundin, North Platte, Nebraska

North Platte, Nebraska

North Platte is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Nebraska, United States. It is located in the southwestern part of the state, along Interstate 80, at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers forming the Platte River...

, co-pilot 1st Lt. James V. Mullen, Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

, and passenger Lt. Col. Robert E. Johnson, Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. Navigator Capt. Lowell L. Mittlestadt, 27, of Elmhurst, Illinois

Elmhurst, Illinois

Elmhurst is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage and Cook Counties, Illinois. The population is 46,013 as of the 2008 US Census population estimate.-History:...

, is KWF. One firefighter is hospitalized after being overcome from smoke and a dozen others are treated for minor injuries and smoke while fighting the blaze.

10 June

First Lockheed

Lockheed Corporation

The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

XV-4A Hummingbird, 62-4503, (originally designated VZ-10) crashes, killing civilian Army test pilot. Aircraft had just transitioned from conventional to vertical flight at 3,000 feet (914 m) when control was lost. Airframe came down between Dobbins AFB and Woodstock

Woodstock, Georgia

Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 23,896 at the 2010 census.Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is now considered part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

, Georgia, injuring one civilian on ground.

9 July

Lockheed test pilot Bill Park ejects safely from Lockheed A-12, 60-6939, Article 133, on approach to Groom Dry Lake, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

during test flight after total hydraulic failure. Park ejects laterally at 200 feet altitude on approach. The cause of the accident was temperature gradients in the outboard elevon serve valve. The aircraft had made ten flights for a total of 8.17 hours.

15 July

A Soviet Tupolev Tu-16R "Badger"

Tupolev Tu-16

The Tupolev Tu-16 was a twin-engine jet bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has flown for more than 50 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the Chinese air force.-Development:...

crashes in the Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...

. In April 1995, during working group sessions, the U.S. side passed over the deck logs of the USS Bennington

USS Bennington

Two ships of the United States Navy have been named Bennington, after the town of Bennington, Vermont. The Battle of Bennington occurred on 16 August 1777.* The , was commissioned in 1891 and took possession of Wake Island during the Spanish-American War....

from 1 July 1964 to 31 July 1964, the deck log of the USS Cunningham from 14 July 1964 to 16 July 1964 and the deck log of the USS Eversole

USS Eversole

USS Eversole may refer to:, was a commissioned 21 March 1944 and sunk at Leyte Gulf on 28 October 1944, was a launched 8 January 1946 and finally transferred to Turkey, 11 July 1973...

from 14 July 1964 to 16 July 1964. These deck logs all pertain to the crash of the "Badger".

12 August

While involved in Soviet Air Force

VVS

VVS is a three letter acronym which may refer to:* Very Very Slightly Included, a way of describing the clarity of a diamond* Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome, a syndrome of vulvodynia associated with chronic disease* V. V. S...

testing, Kamov Ka-22

Kamov Ka-22

|-See also:...

, OI-03, was destroyed. The aircraft entered an uncontrolled turn to the right, and in efforts to correct the Ka-22 pitched into a steep dive. The order was given to abandon the aircraft, and three of the crew survived, but Col S. G. Brovtsev, who was flying, and technician A. F.Rogov, were killed.

14 August

Lockheed U-2A

Lockheed U-2

, 56-6955, Article 395, fifth and last airframe of the USAF supplementary production, delivered to the USAF in March 1959. Assigned to the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Laughlin AFB, Texas. Crashed near Boise, Idaho

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

, this date. ROCAF pilot successfully ejects.

14 September

First prototype EWR VJ 101

EWR VJ 101

-See also:-Bibliography:* Rogers, Mike. VTOL: Military Research Aircraft. New York: Orion Books, 1989. ISBN 0-517-57684-8.* Winchester, Jim. "EWR-Sud VJ 101C ". X-Planes and Prototypes. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-40-7....

C, X-1, an experimental German jet fighter

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

VTOL

aircraft (VJ stood for "Vertikal Jäger" – German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

for "Vertical Fighter"), crashes after a normal horizontal take-off, but pilot escapes using Martin-Baker

Martin-Baker

Mk. GA7 zero-zero ejection seat.

21 September

During delivery flight of XB-70A-1-NA Valkyrie

XB-70 Valkyrie

The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie was the prototype version of the proposed B-70 nuclear-armed deep-penetration strategic bomber for the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command...

, 62-0001, from Palmdale

Palmdale, California

Palmdale is a city located in the center of northern Los Angeles County, California, United States.Palmdale was the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city on August 24, 1962; 47 years later, voters approved creating a charter city in November, 2009. Palmdale is...

, California to Edwards AFB, California, on touchdown the brakes on the main gear lock up and the friction causes the eight tires and wheels to burn. The Valkyrie was otherwise undamaged.

14 October

B-50D-80-BO Superfortress

B-50 Superfortress

The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...

, 48-065, converted to KB-50J, of the 421st Air Refueling Squadron

421st Air Refueling Squadron

The 421st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 41st Air Division, stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It was inactivated on 15 January 1965.-History:...

, crashed this date shortly after takeoff on training mission while supporting Yankee missions over Laos. Corrosion found in wreckage led to early retirement of KB-50 fleet and its replacement with KC-135s.

31 October

NASA

astronaut

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

Theodore Freeman

Theodore Cordy Freeman was a NASA astronaut and a captain in the United States Air Force. He was killed in the crash of a T-38 jet, marking the first fatality among the American astronaut corps...

is killed when a goose

Goose

The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....

smashes through the cockpit

Cockpit

A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...

canopy of his T-38A-50-NO Talon

T-38 Talon

The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....

jet trainer, 63-8188, at Ellington AFB, Texas. Flying shards of Plexiglas enter the jet engine

Jet engine

A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...

intake, causing the engine to flameout. Freeman ejects but is too close to the ground for his parachute

Parachute

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

to open properly. He is posthumously awarded the Purple Heart

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

31 October

Tornado collapses hangar of 1° Gruppo Elicotteri (First Helicopter Group), Italian Navy

Italian Navy

Italian Navy may refer to:* Pre-unitarian navies of the Italian states* Regia Marina, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Italy * Italian Navy , the navy of the Italian Republic...

, at the Naval Air Station at Maristaeli Catania

Province of Catania

Catania is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Catania.It has an area of 3,552 km², and a total population of 1,073,881 . There are 58 comunes in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Catania...

, destroying five SH-34G Seabats: MM143899, c/n 58-599, '4-06'; MM143940, c/n 58-710, '4-07'; MM143949, c/n 58-745, '4-08'; MM80163, c/n 58-990, '21', '4-01', and MM80164, c/n 58-991, '22', '4-02'.

27 November

A SP-2H Neptune

P-2 Neptune

The Lockheed P-2 Neptune was a Maritime patrol and ASW aircraft. It was developed for the United States Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon, and being replaced in turn with the Lockheed P-3 Orion...

, BuNo 135610, c/n 726-7046, "YC 12", of VP-2, out of NAS Kodiak, crashes into a mountain near the tip of Cape Newenham, Alaska. Twelve crew members killed.

2 December

Strategic Air Command

B-47E-125-BW Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

, 53-2398, of the 380th Bomb Wing, suffers collapse of forward main gear unit, skids off right side of runway at Plattsburgh AFB, New York, crew escapes safely. Airframe struck off charge 13 January 1965.

8 December

United States Air Force

B-58A-15-CF Hustler

B-58 Hustler

The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command during the 1960s...

, 60-1116, of the 305th Bomb Wing

305th Air Mobility Wing

The 305th Air Mobility Wing is a United States Air Force strategic airlift and air refueling wing under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command...

, taxiing for take-off on icy taxiway at Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, is blown off the pavement by exhaust of another departing B-58

B-58 Hustler

, strikes concrete manhole box adjacent to the runway, landing gear collapses, burns. Navigator killed in failed ejection, two other crew okay. Four B43 nuclear bomb

B43 nuclear bomb

The B43 was a United States air-dropped variable yield nuclear weapon used by a wide variety of fighter bomber and bomber aircraft.The B43 was developed from 1956 by Los Alamos National Laboratory, entering production in 1959. It entered service in April 1961. Total production was 2,000 weapons,...

s and either a W39

W39

The Mark 39 nuclear bomb and W39 nuclear warhead were versions of an American thermonuclear weapon, which were in service from 1957 to 1966....

or W53 warhead are on board the weapons pod, but no explosion takes place and contamination is limited to crash site.

1965

16 January

A United States Air Force

United States Air Force

KC-135A-BN Stratotanker

KC-135 Stratotanker

, 57-1442, c/n 17513, crashed after an engine failure shortly after take off from McConnell Air Force Base

McConnell Air Force Base

McConnell Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located four miles southeast of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. The base was named in honor of Wichita brothers Fred and Thomas McConnell, both Air Force pilots and World War II...

, Kansas

Kansas

, USA. 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.

16 January

U.S. Navy LCDR. Dick Oliver crashes Grumman F-11A Tiger, Blue Angel Number 5, BuNo 141869, doing a dirty roll during practice, but receives minor injuries. The new aircraft 5 became BuNo 141859, which he flies on the European tour. Oliver will be killed in a crash during a performance at Toronto, Canada on 2 September 1966.

26 February

USAF B-47E-25-DT Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

, 52-0171, collides with KC-135A-BN Stratotanker

KC-135 Stratotanker

, 63-8882, during midair refuelling 410 mi. SSE of Harmon Air Base, Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, both aircraft lost.

19 March

Final Hawker P.1127

Hawker P.1127

prototype (of six), XP984, first with new swept wing with leading edge extensions and steel cold nozzles, first flown in October 1963, is damaged in a forced landing at Thorney Island

Thorney Island

There are two Thorney Islands known to Wikipedia, both in England:*Thorney Island *Thorney Island...

. Repaired.

21 March

Second (of five) Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought was a large U.S. conglomerate which existed from 1969 to 2000. At its peak, its component parts were involved in the aerospace industry, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, the airline industry, meat packing, car rentals and pharmaceuticals, among other...

XC-142As, 62-5922, crashes at the Vought

Vought

facility at NAS Dallas, Texas, while flying at 24 mph at an altitude of 10 to 20 feet, striking the ground first with the port wingtip, then with the starboard wingtip, before making a hard landing. The wing at the time was at an angle of 45 degrees with the flaps deflected at 60 degrees. Wingtips, ailerons and outboard engine tailpipes are damaged, but crew is uninjured. Recirculated propwash airflow caused by combination of wing tilt and flap deflection produced large erratic aerodynamic disturbances and loss of directional stability. Aircraft is repaired.

1 April

Tripartite Evaluation Squadron Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA1, XS696

United Kingdom military aircraft serials

, catches fire on take-off at RAF West Raynham

RAF West Raynham

RAF West Raynham was a Royal Air Force station located west of the village of West Raynham in Norfolk, England. It opened in the 1930s and closed in 1994. During the Second World War, RAF Bomber Command operations from RAF West Raynham claimed 86 aircraft. The site was sold by the Ministry of...

and crashes.

27 April

Ryan XV-5A Vertifan, 62-4505, noses over from 800 feet (244 m) and crashes at Edwards AFB, California, during a demonstration in front of several hundred reporters, military personnel, and civilians. Ryan test pilot Willis Louis "Lou" Everett, flying at 180 knots, prepares to transition from conventional flight to fan mode but the aircraft unexpectedly pitches down. Everett attempts low-altitude ejection but seat fails, his chute snags on the high tail, and he is killed.

4 June

A USAF C-119G Flying Boxcar

C-119 Flying Boxcar

is destroyed in crash in field near the turnpike in Sabattus, Maine

Sabattus, Maine

Sabattus is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,486 at the 2000 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New England City and Town Area...

after double engine failure. Crew bails out and is uninjured.

18 June

NF-104A Starfighter, 56-0756, c/n 183-1044, assigned to Air Force Systems Command

Air Force Systems Command

Air Force Systems Command is a former United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland...

Test Pilot School

U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School

The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School is the Air Force's very advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new aerospace weapon systems and also other aircraft of the U.S. Air Force...

, Edwards AFB, California, suffers rocket oxidizer explosion this date, blowing off portion of the tail, pilot landed safely. Repaired and flown again.

18 June

On the very first Operation Arc Light

Operation Arc Light

Operation Arc Light was the 1965 deployment of B-52D Stratofortresses as conventional bombers from bases in the US to Guam to support ground combat operations in Vietnam...

mission flown by B-52 Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

es of Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

to hit a target in South Vietnam

South Vietnam

, a total of 30 B-52Fs depart Andersen AFB, Guam

Guam

just after midnight, flying in ten cells of three aircraft, to hit a suspected Viet Cong stronghold in the Bến Cát District, 40 miles N of Saigon. Unexpected tailwinds from a typhoon cause the bombers to arrive seven minutes early at their refuelling point with KC-135 tankers over the South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

at a point between South Vietnam and the island of Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

. The three planes of Green Cell, in the lead, begin a 360 degree turn to make their rendezvous, and in doing so cross the path of Blue Cell and directly towards oncoming Yellow Cell. In the darkness, B-52F-105-BO

B-52 Stratofortress

, 57-0047, and B-52F-70-BW

B-52 Stratofortress

, 57-0179, both of the 441st Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Wing, attached to the 3960th Strategic Wing, collide, killing eight crew, with four survivors, plus one body recovered. The four are located and picked up by an HU-16A-GR Albatross

HU-16 Albatross

The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large twin-radial engine amphibious flying boat that was utilized by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, primarily as a search and rescue and combat search and rescue aircraft...

amphibian, 51-5287 (?), but it is damaged on take-off by a heavy sea state and those on board have to transfer to a Norwegian freighter and a Navy vessel, the Albatross sinking thereafter. Another B-52 loses a hydraulic pump and radar, cannot rendezvous with the tankers and aborts to Okinawa. Twenty-seven Stratofortresses drop on a one-mile by two-mile target box from between 19,000 and 22,000 feet, a little more than 50 percent of the bombs falling within the target zone. The force returns to Andersen except for one bomber with electrical problems that recovers to Clark AFB, the mission having lasted 13 hours. Post-strike assessment by teams of South Vietnamese troops with American advisors find evidence that the VC had departed the area before the raid, and it is suspected that infiltration of the south's forces have tipped off the north because of the ARVN troops involved in the post-strike inspection.

25 June

A United States Air Force

United States Air Force

C-135A-BN Stratolifter

C-135 Stratolifter

|-See also:-External links:* at Globalsecurity.org...

, 60-0373, c/n 18148, out of McGuire AFB, New Jersey, crashed after 0135 hrs. take off in fog and light drizzle from MCAS El Toro, California, USA. Pilot flew into Loma Ridge at 0146. 84 died. Aircraft was bound for Okinawa.

6 July

RAF Handley Page Hastings

Handley Page Hastings

The Handley Page H.P.67 Hastings was a British troop-carrier and freight transport aircraft designed and built by Handley Page Aircraft Company for the Royal Air Force...

TG577 crashed after take-off

1965 Little Baldon Hastings accident

The Little Baldon air disaster occurred on 6 July 1965 when a Handley Page Hastings C1A transport aircraft operated by No. 36 Squadron Royal Air Force, registration TG577, crashed into a field in Little Baldon, near Chiselhampton, Oxfordshire, shortly after taking off from RAF Abingdon...

from RAF Abingdon

RAF Abingdon

RAF Abingdon was a Royal Air Force station near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It is now known as Dalton Barracks and is used by the Royal Logistic Corps....

, England with 41 killed.

11 July

A USAF EC-121H-LO Warning Star, 55-136, of the 551st AEWCW

551st Electronic Systems Wing

The 551st Electronic Systems Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force whose focus is on 'behind the scenes' electronic work...

, out of Otis AFB, Massachusetts, develops a fire in the number three (starboard inner) engine, attempts ditching in the North Atlantic ~100 miles E of Nantucket

Nantucket, Massachusetts

Nantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the United States. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the coterminous Nantucket County, which are consolidated. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket...

, Massachusetts. Night touchdown in zero-zero weather, while on fire, proves difficult, aircraft crashes and breaks apart. Of the 19 people on board, three crew members survive, 16 die. Seven of the crew bodies are never recovered.

10 August

A Virginia Air Guard L-19 Bird Dog crashes at Camp Pickett

Fort Pickett

Fort Pickett, Virginia, is a Virginia Army National Guard installation, located near the town of Blackstone, Virginia. It is named for the United States Army officer and Confederate General George Pickett.- Beginnings :...

, Virginia, while flying a support mission for forces in summer field training, killing the crew. Pilot Capt. Laurence A. White and S/Sgt. Melvin D. Mangum, both of the Richmond Howitzers, are KWF when the liaison aircraft comes down near the Nottoway River

Nottoway River

The Nottoway River is in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. It is part of the Chowan River system, which flows into Albemarle Sound in North Carolina.-Cities and towns:Cities and towns along the river include:* Courtland, Virginia...

reservoir.

10 August

A fire in a Titan II missile silo at Searcy

Searcy, Arkansas

Searcy is the largest city and county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,663. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of White County...

, Arkansas kills 53 men, all of them civilians, in the worst accident in "U.S. space age defense" when a diesel generator catches fire, smothering the victims. The missile, fully loaded with liquid fuel, did not burn. Its nuclear warhead had been removed while the civilian workmen updated the physical plant of the complex. Two civilians were able to flee the fire area through an underground tunnel to the access rooms and launch center. "The fire probably burned less than an hour", said Capt. Douglas Wood, Public Information Officer for Little Rock Air Force Base

Little Rock Air Force Base

Little Rock Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas.-Overview:...

, which commands the 18 Titan II silos ringing Central Arkansas, "but up to 12 hours later smoke was still billowing in the silo."

17 August

Sikorsky HSS-1N Seabat, BuNo 149841, c/n 58-1430, coded '136', of the Koninklijke Marine

Royal Netherlands Navy

, crashes near Noordwijk, Netherlands

Noordwijk

Noordwijk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 51.53 km² and had a population of 24,707 in May 2006....

25 August

First Curtiss-Wright X-19A

Curtiss-Wright X-19

|-See also:-External links:*...

prototype, 62-12197, was destroyed in a crash at the FAA's National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center

National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center

The National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center was founded July 1,1958 by the Airways Modernization Board near Atlantic City, New Jersey. On November 1, 1959, after passage of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, it came under the newly created US Federal Aviation Agency...

, Caldwell

Caldwell, New Jersey

Caldwell is a borough located in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, about outside of New York. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,822....

, New Jersey, (formerly NAS Atlantic City

Atlantic City International Airport

Atlantic City International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located nine nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Atlantic City, in Atlantic County, New Jersey...

), when gearbox fails followed by loss of propellers at 0718:44 hrs EDT. Test pilot James V. Ryan and FAA copilot Hughes ejected in North American LW-2B seats as the now-ballistic airframe rolled inverted at 390 feet, chutes fully deployed in 2 seconds at ~230 feet. Elapsed time between prop separation and ejection was 2.5 seconds. Airframe impacted in dried out tidewater area after completing 3/4 of a roll at 0719. Crew suffers minor injuries from ejection through canopy. The program was subsequently cancelled. This will be the last airframe design from two of the most famous company names in aviation. Second prototype, reported in some sources to have been scrapped, survives at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, and is later recovered by the National Museum of the United States Air Force

National Museum of the United States Air Force

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...

for preservation.

22 September

Sikorsky HSS-1N Seabat, BuNo 147631, c/n 58-1145, coded '141', ex-'H-5', exx-'B-5', of the Koninklijke Marine

Royal Netherlands Navy

, crashes into the ocean off of Scotland

Scotland

19 October

Second (of five) Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought

XC-142As, 62-5922, suffers second accident when the number one main propeller pitch actuator suffers a hydraulic fluid blow-by problem just prior to touchdown at the Vought

Vought

facility at NAS Dallas, Texas. A ground loop results with substantial damage to the landing gear and wing. In 1966 the damaged wing is replaced with an undamaged unit from XC-142A No. 3, 62-5923, out-of-service since its own landing accident on 3 January 1966. 62-5922 returns to flight status on 23 July 1966.

5 December

A-4E Skyhawk, BuNo 151022, of VA-56 on nuclear alert status, armed with one Mark 43 TN nuclear weapon

B43 nuclear bomb

, rolls off of elevator of aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

, in the Pacific Ocean. The Skyhawk was being rolled from the number 2 hangar bay to the number 2 elevator when it was lost. Airframe, pilot Lt. D.M. Webster, and bomb are lost in 16,000 feet of water 80 miles from one of the Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

in Okinawa.

name="Gibson">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 978-0-7643-0063-9, page 130. name="Winchester">Winchester, Jim, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk: Heineman's Hot Rod. Barnsley, Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84415-085-4, page 199. Webster, from Warren

Warren, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...

, Ohio, was a 1964 graduate of the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

. No public mention was made of the incident at the time and it would not come to light until a 1981 Pentagon

The Pentagon

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

report revealed that a one-megaton bomb had been lost. Japan then asks for details of the incident.
28 December

CIA pilot Mele Vojvodich, Jr. takes Lockheed A-12, 60-6929, Article 126, for a functional check flight (FCF) after a period of deep maintenance, but seconds after take-off from Groom Dry Lake, Nevada

Nevada

, the aircraft yaws uncontrollably, pilot ejecting at 100 feet (30 m) after six seconds of flight, escaping serious injury. Investigation finds that the pitch stability augmentation system (SAS) had been connected to the yaw SAS actuators, and vice versa. SAS connectors are changed to make such wiring mistake impossible. Said Kelly Johnson

Clarence Johnson

Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson was an aircraft engineer and aeronautical innovator. As a member and first team leader of the Lockheed Skunk Works, Johnson worked for more than four decades and is said to have been an "organizing genius"...

in a history of the Oxcart program, "It was perfectly evident from movies taken of the takeoff, and from the pilot's description, that there were some miswired gyros in the aircraft. This turned out to be exactly what happened. In spite of color coding and every other normal precaution, the pitch and yaw gyro connections were interchanged in rigging."

1966

3 January

Third (of five) Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought

XC-142As, 62-5923, suffers major landing gear and fuselage damage during landing on 14th Cat II flight at Edwards AFB, California, having logged only 14:12 hrs. Cat II flight time. Air Force decides to use wing from this airframe to repair XC-142A No. 2, 62-5922, which suffers major damage on 19 October 1965, other useful items are salvaged from airframe no. 3, and the cannibalized fuselage is scrapped in the summer of 1966.

8 January

A USAF Fairchild C-119C-25-FA Flying Boxcar

C-119 Flying Boxcar

, 51-2611, c/n 10600, en route from Windsor Locks-Bradley International Airport

Bradley International Airport

Bradley International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Windsor Locks on the border with East Granby and Suffield, in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is owned by the State of Connecticut....

, Connecticut to Binghamton Airport, New York, suffers an uncontained engine failure. The crew decides to bail out. The first crew member gets out at an altitude of ~2000 feet. The captain and co-pilot were not able to exit in time. The airplane descends and crashes into a lakefront house near Scranton

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...

, Pennsylvania, also killing a boy on the ground.

17 January

A B-52G-115-BW Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 58-0256, of the 68th Bomb Wing out of Seymour-Johnson AFB, North Carolina, collides with a KC-135A-BN Stratotanker

KC-135 Stratotanker

, 61-0273, c/n 18180, flying boom during aerial refueling near Palomares, Almería

Palomares, Almería

Palomares is an agricultural, fishing and tourist village on the Mediterranean Sea in the Almería province of Andalusia, Spain. It is about 20 meters above sea level...

in the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash, breaking bomber's back. Seven crew members are killed in the crash, two eject safely, 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 in deep trench. Two of the recovered weapons are exhibited at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, Albuquerque

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

, New Mexico.

17 January

Two crew of an F-105F Thunderchief

F-105 Thunderchief

based at Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....

, Florida, escape injury when the engine of the fighter-bomber in which they are engaged in a photo-chase mission catches fire, forcing them to eject. The airframe impacts in East Bay, near Tyndall AFB, Florida at 1008 hrs. Pilot Capt. James D. Clendenen and photographer S/Sgt. J. G. Cain are recovered from the water by a Tyndall base helicopter.

17 January

A Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star on a night mission crashes and burns in a wooded area 11 miles NW of Eglin AFB, killing both crew. According to the base information officer, the wreckage was located in a densely wooded area which made made approach of rescue vehicles difficult. KWF were Capt. Robert D. Freeman, 30, of Lindsey, Oklahoma, and 2nd Lt. Roger A. Carr, 26, of Ames, Iowa

Ames, Iowa

Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...

. Both were residents of Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Fort Walton Beach, Florida

and were assigned to the Air Proving Ground Center. Capt. Freeman is survived by his widow, Faith, and three children, Donna, 7, Robert L., 5, and Alison C., 18 months; and his parents Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Freeman, of Lindsey. Lt. Carr is survived by his widow, Karen, and a five-month-old son, Craig; and by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert W. Carr, of Ames.

25 January

Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7952, Article 2003, crashes near Tucumcari

Tucumcari, New Mexico

Tucumcari is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,989 at the 2000 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was founded.-History:...

, New Mexico during test flight out of Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

, California. Pilot Bill Weaver survives, but RSO Jim Zwayer KWF.

28 February

NASA

astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett

Charles Bassett

Charles Arthur "Art" Bassett, II was an American engineer and United States Air Force officer. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1963 and assigned to Gemini 9 but died in an airplane crash during training for his first spaceflight.-Early life and education:Bassett was born in Dayton, Ohio,...

, original Gemini 9 crew, are killed while attempting to land their T-38A-50-NO Talon

T-38 Talon

, 63-8181, N901NA, in bad weather at Lambert Field, St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, Missouri. See makes an instrument landing approach at McDonnell Aircraft Corporation's plant. Comes in too low and slow, hits the afterburners and crashes into the roof of a building.

23 March

First prototype YA-7A-1-CV Corsair II

A-7 Corsair II

The Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II is a carrier-based subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the United States Navy's Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, initially entering service during the Vietnam War...

, BuNo 152580, 'A-7A' on tail, rolls inverted while landing at Naval Air Facility China Lake

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake

- About : is part of under Commander, Navy Installation Command and is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately north of Los Angeles. Occupying three counties – Kern, San Bernardino and Inyo – the installation’s closest neighbors are the cities of Ridgecrest,...

, California, and crashes on golf course ~3 miles SE of approach end of the primary runway. Vought test pilot John Omvig was doing touch and goes and on the last one the A-7 began to roll and he ejected just before it rolled 90 degrees, with extremely low parachute deployment. The cause was pilot error when the hydraulic system was switched off (flight test configuration) and loss of control resulted. He will later be killed in the XC-142A, 62-5921, crash on 10 May 1967 near Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

5 April

A Hurlburt Field

Hurlburt Field

, Florida-based T-28 Trojan

T-28 Trojan

The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a piston-engined military trainer aircraft used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s...

makes a forced landing on the Eglin AFB, Florida, reservation, but suffers little damage and the two crew are unhurt.

6 April

Two Hurlburt Field

Hurlburt Field

pilots are killed shortly before 1200 hrs. when their T-28 Trojan

T-28 Trojan

The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a piston-engined military trainer aircraft used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s...

fails to pull out of a dive during a routine dive-bombing and gunnery-training mission on Range 77 at Eglin AFB, Florida, about eight miles from the field. The wreckage is located in such a remotely wooded area that it takes more than an hour before news of the accident can be released that it had taken place. KWF are pilot Capt. Dennis L. Anderson, 30, of Guernsey, Wyoming

Guernsey, Wyoming

Guernsey is a town in Platte County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,147 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Guernsey is located at ....

, from the 3646th Pilot Training Wing, and co-pilot Capt. Hubert L. Blake, 28, of Garland, Texas

Garland, Texas

-Climate:* The average warmest month is July.* The highest recorded temperature was in 2000.* On average, the coolest month is January.* The lowest recorded temperature was in 1989.* The maximum average precipitation occurs in May....

from 3651st Pilot Training Squadron. Both were TDY to the 4410th Combat Crew Training Wing. Cause of the crash is investigated, and in the meantime, all Tactical Air Warfare Center T-28s are grounded as a precautionary measure.

13 April

Royal Iraqi Air Force de Havilland DH.104 Dove 1, RF392, c/n 04032, crashes near Basra, Iraq on flight from Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

during a Haboob

Haboob

A haboob is a type of intense duststorm carried on an atmospheric gravity current. Haboobs are regularly observed in arid regions throughout the world. They have been observed in the Sahara desert , as well as across the Arabian Peninsula, throughout Kuwait, and in the most arid regions of Iraq...

, killing all seven on board, including President of Iraq Colonel Abd-al-Salam Mohammad Arif

Abdul Salam Arif

Abdul Salam Mohammed Arif Aljumaily was President of Iraq from 1963 till his death. He played a leading role in the coup in which the Hashemite monarchy was overthrown on July 14, 1958.-1958 revolution and conflict with Qasim:...

(8 February 1963 - 13 April 1966), and two ministers. Some sources report this accident as a helicopter crash.

6 May

USMC RF-4B-24-MC Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

, BuNo 153090, of VMCJ-3, MCAS El Toro, California, on out-and-back familiarization flight from MCAS Yuma, Arizona, is lost ~2 miles off of Del Mar, California

Del Mar, California

Del Mar is an upscale beach town in San Diego County, California. The population was 4,161 at the 2010 census, down from 4,389 at the 2000 census. The San Diego County Fair is hosted on the Del Mar Fairgrounds every summer. Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "by the sea", because it is located...

in the Pacific when the pilot gets into an aerobatic maneuver stall. Both crew eject. Cause of the accident was pilot factor in that he failed to control the aircraft properly resulting in a spin. He then failed to execute properly the spin recovery technique. His instrument scan and awareness of what his airplane was doing were also seriously deficient. Wreckage discovered in 1994 by the UB88 dive group.

8 June

Second XB-70A-2-NA Valkyrie prototype, 62-0207, crashes at Edwards AFB, California, following a mid-air collision with a Lockheed

Lockheed Corporation

The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

F-104 Starfighter

, NASA

NASA

813, previously 013, while the aircraft were in close formation for a photo shoot at the behest of General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

. The pilot of the F-104N, Dr. Joseph A. Walker

Joseph A. Walker

Joseph Albert "Joe" Walker was an American NASA test pilot, and member of the U.S. Air Force Man In Space Soonest program. In 1963, he made two X-15 Experimental rocket aircraft flights beyond the altitude of 100 kilometers - at the edge of outer space...

, late of the X-15 program, and Maj. Carl Cross, the copilot of the XB-70, are killed.

18 July

A fuel tank on a B-52D Stratofortress of the 509th Bombardment Wing (Heavy)

509th Bomb Wing

The 509th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command, Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri....

out of Pease AFB, New Hampshire, comes off and lands 4,000 feet up on Sugarloaf Mountain in Kingfield, Maine

Kingfield, Maine

Kingfield is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 997 at the 2010 census. Kingfield is the principal gateway to Sugarloaf, a major ski resort, and is headquarters to Maine Huts and Trails.-History:...

30 July

Lockheed A-12, 60-6941, Article 135, modified as an M-21, D-21

Lockheed D-21/M-21

The Lockheed D-21 was an American Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone. The D-21 was initially designed to be launched from the back of its M-21 carrier aircraft, a variant of the Lockheed A-12 aircraft. Development began in October 1962...

drone carrier for Project Tagboard, is lost during the fourth test over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California when the D-21 drone, 504, suffers asymmetrical unstart as it passes through bow wake of the mothership during launch at Mach 3.25, strikes the Blackbird, destroying right rudder, engine nacelle and most of the outer wing during separation. Lockheed

Lockheed Corporation

The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

employees, pilot Bill Park and launch control officer Ray Torick, both successfully eject, but Torick tragically drowns in a feet-wet landing. Skunk Works head Clarence "Kelly" Johnson subsequently scrubs M-21 launch program, saying "I will not risk any more test pilots or Blackbirds. I don't have either to spare." D-21s are modified to D-21B standard for air launch from underwing pylons of a pair of mission-adapted B-52H Stratofortress bombers.

22 August

Second (of five) Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought

XC-142As, 62-5922, returned to flight status on 23 July 1966 after wing replacement, is delivered to the U.S. Air Force at Edwards AFB, California for Cat II testing, but on this date during one the airframe's first flights at that base, a chip detector warning light for the number three propeller illuminates, so the engine is shut down and the prop feathered. Heavy braking during extended roll-out as a result of landing with the collective lever disengaged causes brake fires in the main gear pods. Damage takes until 2 September to repair.

2 September

A United States Navy Grumman F-11A Tiger, BuNo 141764 , of the Blue Angels

Blue Angels

The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...

aerobatic team, Blue Angel 5, crashes on the shore of Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

during the International Air Exhibition at Toronto, Canada. The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Richard "Dick" Oliver, 31 years old, of Fort Mill

Fort Mill, South Carolina

Fort Mill is a fast-growing suburban town in both York and Lancaster counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, and a suburb of the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Rock Hill...

, South Carolina, is killed. Coming out of a knife edge pass, followed by a roll, 5 contacts the lake surface at ~500 mph and literally skis across the surface, striking a a six-foot high sheet steel piling retaining wall on the edge of Toronto Island Airport and disintegrating. Wreckage (turbine) is thrown as far as 3,483.6 feet from point of initial impact.

7 September

Second (of five) Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought

XC-142As, 62-5922, suffers failure of idler gear in number three engine gearbox during a pre-flight run-up at Edwards AFB, California. Entire gearbox has to be replaced. Investigation reveals problem with inadequately supported aluminum pin that serves as an axle for this gear, making misalignment and eventual failure inevitable, so a fix is designed and the starboard gearboxes of all XC-142s are modified.

5 October

Ryan XV-5A Vertifan, 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 m), but chute failed to deploy.

8 October

Lockheed U-2

C, 56-6690, of the 349th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, develops technical problems while on high-altitude reconnaissance flight over North Vietnam

North Vietnam

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...

, attempts to recover to base but crashes near Bien Hoa

Bien Hoa

Biên Hòa is a city in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, about east of Ho Chi Minh City , to which Bien Hoa is linked by Vietnam Highway 1.- Demographics :In 1989 the estimated population was over 300,000. In 2005, the population wss 541,495...

, South Vietnam

South Vietnam

. Pilot Maj. Leo J. Stewart ejects and survives. This is the only U.S. Air Force U-2 loss in theatre during the War in Southeast Asia.

12 October

Two North American F-100 Super Sabres of the Thunderbirds demonstration team collide during practice for a show at Sheppard AFB, Texas, at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, Nevada, killing two of the three pilots. The jets were performing opposing half Cuban Eight

Cuban Eight

A Cuban Eight or Cuban 8 is an aerobatic figure eight maneuver for fixed-wing aircraft both full-scale and radio controlled.Variations include the Half Cuban Eight and Reverse Half Cuban Eight, intended as directional changes and which are listed below.According to the Aresti Catalog, a Cuban Eight...

s when witnesses said that the two jets scraped each other at the top of a loop. The pilot of the F-100F, Capt. Robert H. Morgan, 32, of Pendleton, South Carolina

Pendleton, South Carolina

Pendleton is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,966 at the 2000 census. It is a sister city of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland....

, ejected but his chute did not have time to deploy and he died when he struck the ground still strapped to his seat, while team member, Maj. Frank E. Liethen, Jr., 36, Appleton, Wisconsin

Appleton, Wisconsin

Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...

, riding in the second seat, died when the Super Sabre struck the desert floor. The fighter impact left a crater almost twelve feet deep. "Liethen, executive officer of the Thunderbirds, was riding with Morgan on an orientation flight. He had been with the group since last December, but ordinarily did not take part in formation flying. However, he had been scheduled to take over soon as commander and would have flown at the head of the group's diamond formation." Capt. Robert D. Beckel, 29, of Walla Walla, Washington

Walla Walla, Washington

Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...

, was able to land his F-100D at Nellis AFB, Nevada. "The Air Force said it was a 'tribute to his flying skill' that Beckel was able to land his plane, damaged in a wing. The red, white and blue jets cost a reported $650,000." Both Liethan and Morgan leave a widow and four children. "A Thunderbird spokesman said a show Saturday in Wichita Falls, Tex., would go on despite the crash - but maybe with five planes instead of six because there was no one trained to replace Morgan."

12 October

C-130E-LM Hercules, 63-7886, c/n 3957, of the 516th Troop Carrier Wing, Dyess AFB, Texas, flies into ground at night circa 30 kilometers north-northwest of Aspermont, Texas

Aspermont, Texas

Aspermont is a town in and the county seat of Stonewall County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2000 census. Aspermont means "rough mountain" in Latin....

. It impacts in a brushy pasture on the 6666 Ranch, 75 miles NW of Abilene

Abilene, Texas

Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...

near U.S. 83. Only one crew of six survives, a loadmaster, whom is pulled from the wreckage by a passing truck driver, Carroll Brezee. He was in critical condition. The fuselage and tail section lay near the center of a burned area about 50 X 200 yards, with parts scattered along a half mile stretch. Sheriff E. W. Hollar, of Guthrie

Guthrie, Texas

Guthrie is a Census Designated Place in King County in the U.S. state of Texas. It lies at the junction of U.S. Routes 82 and 83 ninety-six miles east of Lubbock, and serves as the principal headquarters of the Four Sixes Ranch...

, nine miles N of the crash site, said that persons first reaching the scene found two bodies. A ground party from Dyess AFB found the other three in a search through heavy mesquite brush. Authorities said that these were the first fatalities in the 516th Troop Carrier Wing since it was formed at Dyess in December 1958.

17 October

Lockheed U-2D

Lockheed U-2

, 56-6951, Article 391, first airframe of the USAF supplementary production, and assigned to the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Laughlin AFB, Texas, crashes this date at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, in a non-fatal accident. Pilot was Maj. Leslie White, who stalled on approach on his first flight. "The pilot survived, but the airplane was washed out," noted Kelly Johnson.

26 October

A fire in a flare locker in Hangar Bay One of the beginning at 0728 hrs. spreads through the hangar deck and to the flight deck. Before the fires are extinguished two SH-2 Seasprite

SH-2 Seasprite

The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite is a ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting. This aircraft extends and increases shipboard sensor and weapon capabilities against several types of enemy threats, including submarines of all types,...

helicopters are lost, A-4E Skyhawk

A-4 Skyhawk

, BuNo 151075, is destroyed, and three others are damaged, as are Hangar Bays One and Two, the forward officer quarters and catapults, and 44 crew are killed.

29 October

A burning F-86H Sabre

F-86 Sabre

fighter of the 174th Tactical Fighter Group, New York Air National Guard

New York Air National Guard

The New York Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of New York. It is, along with the New York Army National Guard, an element of the New York National Guard. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as its state mission...

, based at Syracuse

Syracuse, New York

Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...

, New York, crashes into two house trailers in a trailer park next to Route 28, Poland

Poland, New York

Poland is the name of some places in the U.S. state of New York:*Poland, Chautauqua County, New York, a town*Poland, Herkimer County, New York, a village...

, New York, NE of Utica, critically burning Mrs. Alberta Eaton, a 19-year-old pregnant woman, in one dwelling, who is blown 15 feet from the structure by the impact blast. She is transported to hospital with first and second-degree burns, state police reported. The second trailer was unoccupied at the time of the crash. The Sabre pilot, Capt. William R. Kershlis, Jr., 34, of Ithaca, who ejected safely, landing NE of Poland, telephoned his base at Syracuse to report that he seemed to be alright.

11 November

A USAF EC-121H-LO Warning Star of the 551st AEWCW

551st Electronic Systems Wing

The 551st Electronic Systems Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force whose focus is on 'behind the scenes' electronic work...

, out of Otis AFB, Massachusetts, crashes in the North Atlantic ~125 miles E of Nantucket

Nantucket, Massachusetts

, Massachusetts by unexplained circumstances, approximately the same general area as the one lost 11 July 1965. All 19 crew members are KWF, bodies never recovered.

11 November

F-84F Thunderstreak

The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American-built swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version....

of the 104th Tactical Fighter Group

104th Fighter Wing

The United States Air Force's 104th Fighter Wing is an Air National Guard fighter unit located at Barnes Airport, Massachusetts.-Mission:To maintain highly trained, well equipped, and motivated military forces in order to provide combat ready F-15C Eagles aircraft and support elements in response...

, Massachusetts Air National Guard

Massachusetts Air National Guard

The Massachusetts Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is, along with the Massachusetts Army National Guard, an element of the Massachusetts National Guard...

out of Barnes Municipal Airport

Barnes Municipal Airport

Barnes Municipal Airport , also known as Westfield-Barnes Airport, is a tower-controlled joint civil-military public airport located three miles north of the central business district of Westfield, a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is owned by City of Westfield...

, Westfield, Massachusetts

Westfield, Massachusetts

Westfield is a city in Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 41,094 at the 2010 census. The ZIP Code is 01085 for homes and businesses, 01086 for Westfield State...

, goes into flat spin during simulated combat over Porter, Maine

Porter, Maine

Porter is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. It is included in the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. Porter includes Porter village and part of Kezar Falls. The population was 1,438 at the 2000 census.-History:The land was once...

and crashes on Colcord Pond Road in Freedom, New Hampshire

Freedom, New Hampshire

Freedom is a town located in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,489 at the 2010 census. The town's eastern boundary runs along the Maine state border. Ossipee Lake, with a resort and camps, is in the southwest of the town....

. Capt. Edward S. Mansfield has minor injuries; plane is destroyed.

28 November

Second prototype Dassault Mirage IIIV

Dassault Mirage IIIV

|-See also:-Bibliography:* Breffort, Dominique and Andre Jouineau. "The Mirage III, 5, 50 and derivatives from 1955 to 2000." Planes and Pilots 6. Paris: Histoire et Collections, 2004. ISBN 2-913903-92-4....

, an experimental VTOL

VTOL

fighter design, first flown 22 June 1966, crashes this date. Project, running several years behind schedule, is canceled and plans to build additional prototypes dropped.

7 December

U.S. Army Grumman OV-1B Mohawk, 62-5894, of the 122nd Aviation Company, on photo mission out of Fleigerhorst AAF, Hanau

Hanau

Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...

, Germany, is written off after engine failure then fire. Pilot Capt. Bill Ebert and crewman SP4 Ken Bakos eject. Aircraft crashes in a small forest outside the town of Volkartshain.

1967

5 January

Lockheed A-12, 60-6928, Article 125, lost during training/test flight. CIA pilot Walter Ray successfully ejects but is killed upon impact with terrain due to failed seat-separation sequence. The Air Force-issue seatbelt failed to release properly. The aircraft had run out of fuel for a variety of reasons.

5 January

Martin MGM-13 Mace

MGM-13 Mace

-See also:-External links:* * * * * * *...

, launched from Site A-15, Santa Rosa Island

Santa Rosa Island, Florida

Santa Rosa Island[p] is a 40-mile barrier island located in the U.S. state of Florida, thirty miles east of the Alabama state border...

, Hurlburt Field

Hurlburt Field

, Florida, by the 4751st Air Defense Missile Squadron at ~1021 hrs., fails to circle over Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

for test mission with two Eglin AFB F-4s

F-4 Phantom II

, but heads south for Cuba

Cuba

. Third F-4 overtakes it, fires two test AAMs

Air-to-air missile

An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...

with limited success, then damages unarmed drone with cannon fire. Mace overflies western tip of Cuba

Cuba

before crashing in Caribbean 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

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

to explain the circumstances of the wayward drone to the Cuban government. The Mace had been equipped with an "improved guidance system known as 'ASTRAN' which is considered unjammable." (This was apparently a typo for ATRAN – Automatic Terrain Recognition And Navigation terrain-matching radar navigation.)

7 January

U.S. Navy P-2 Neptune

P-2 Neptune

on training mission with nine Naval Reservists on board, on out-and-back flight from the Naval Air Facility, Andrews AFB, Maryland, crashes in light rainstorm near Upper Marlboro

Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Upper Marlboro is a town in and the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The live-in population of the town core proper was only 648 at the 2000 census, although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger....

, Maryland, killing all crew. Neptune disappeared from radar at 1107 hrs., impacting in wooded area, digging crater 10 feet deep, 30 feet wide, 100 feet long. Airframe completely disintegrates, said Lt. Cmdr. Don Maunder.

10 January

Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7950, Item 2001, lost during anti-skid brake system evaluation at Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

, California. Pilot Art Peterson survives.

27 January

Apollo 1

launchpad fire kills three U.S. astronauts. Apollo 1 is the official name that was later given to the never-flown Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) mission. Its command module, CM-012, was destroyed by fire during a test and training exercise at Pad 34 (Launch Complex 34

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 is a launch site on Cape Canaveral, Florida. LC-34 and its twin to the north, LC-37, were used by NASA as part of the Apollo Program to launch Saturn I and IB rockets from 1961 through 1968...

, Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...

, then known as Cape Kennedy) atop a Saturn IB

Saturn IB

The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program...

rocket. The crew aboard were the astronauts selected for the first manned Apollo program mission: Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom

Gus Grissom

Virgil Ivan Grissom , , better known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot...

, Senior Pilot Ed White

Edward Higgins White

Edward Higgins White, II was an engineer, United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. On June 3, 1965, he became the first American to "walk" in space. White died along with fellow astronauts Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch test for the first manned Apollo mission at...

and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee

Roger B. Chaffee

Roger Bruce Chaffee was an American aeronautical engineer and a NASA astronaut in the Apollo program. Chaffee died along with fellow astronauts Gus Grissom and Ed White during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Kennedy...

. Although the ignition source of the fire was never conclusively identified, the deaths were attributed to a wide range of lethal design hazards in the early Apollo command module. Among these were the use of a high-pressure 100 percent-oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

atmosphere for the test, wiring and plumbing flaws, inflammable materials in the cockpit (such as Velcro

Velcro

Velcro is the brand name of the first commercially marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral...

), an inward-opening hatch that would not open in this kind of an emergency and the flight suits worn by the astronauts.

1 February

Rookie member of the Blue Angels

Blue Angels

The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...

U.S. Navy flight demonstration team, Lt. Frank Gallagher, of Flushing, New York, is KWF when his F-11A Tiger crashes during a practice flight ~16 miles NW of NAS El Centro

Naval Air Facility El Centro

Naval Air Facility El Centro or NAF El Centro is a military airport located six miles northwest of El Centro, in Imperial County, California, USA.-History:...

, California. Fighter impacts in rugged desert terrain on a Navy test range. Assigned to the team only six weeks before, he is the fourth Blue Angels team member to die in an accident. Gallagher flew as the solo in the four-man formation and as number 6 in the full formation.

18 February

Second crash of a Blue Angels

Blue Angels

The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...

demonstration team jet in three weeks kills the newest team member, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ronald F. Thomsen, 28, when his F-11A Tiger impacts just 250 yards from the site of the accident on 1 February 1967. The Navy opened a crash investigation on 19 February into the crash ~16 miles NW of NAS El Centro

Naval Air Facility El Centro

Naval Air Facility El Centro or NAF El Centro is a military airport located six miles northwest of El Centro, in Imperial County, California, USA.-History:...

, California, which killed the pilot only four days after he joined the demonstration team.

21 February

A U.S. Navy A-4 Skyhawk

A-4 Skyhawk

from the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, newly returned from a tour off Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, crashes into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Truxton Basnight near Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

, Virginia after the pilot ejects. The delta-winged attack jet cut a swath through trees and impacted the frame house, cartwheeled over the structure, throwing burning fuel into the home. Five civilians are injured, two critically.

5 March

U.S. Coast Guard HU-16 Albatross

HU-16 Albatross

, 1240, out of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...

, Florida, deploys to drop a dewatering pump to a sinking 40-foot yacht, "Flying Fish", off of Carrabelle

Carrabelle, Florida

Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2009, the city had a population of 1,231.-Location:...

, Florida. Shortly after making a low pass after the sinking vessel to drop the pump, the flying boat crashes a short distance away, with loss of all six crew. Submerged wreck not identified until 2006.

23 March

Worst ground aviation accident of Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

occurs at Da Nang Air Base

Da Nang Air Base

Da Nang Air Base was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force facility. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War , stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there...

, South Vietnam

South Vietnam

when traffic controller clears USMC A-6A Intruder

A-6 Intruder

The Grumman A-6 Intruder was an American, twin jet-engine, mid-wing attack aircraft built by Grumman Aerospace. In service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps between 1963 and 1997, the Intruder was designed as an all-weather medium attack aircraft to replace the piston-engined A-1 Skyraider...

, BuNo 152608, of VMA(AW)-242, MAG-11, for takeoff but also clears USAF C-141A-LM Starlifter

C-141 Starlifter

The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...

, 65-9407, of the 62nd Military Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Washington, to cross runway. A-6 crew sees Starlifter at last moment, veers off runway to try to avoid it, but port wing slices through C-141's nose, which immediately catches fire, load of 72 acetylene gas cylinders ignite and causes tremendous explosion, only loadmaster escaping through rear hatch. Intruder overturns, skids on down runway on back, but both crew, Capt. Frederick Cone and Capt. Doug Wilson, survive, crawl out of smashed canopy after jet stops. Some of ordnance load of 16 X 500 lb. bombs and six rocket packs go off in ensuing fire. Military Airlift Command

Military Airlift Command

The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...

crew killed are Capt. Harold Leland Hale, Capt. Leroy Edward Leonard, Capt. Max Paul Starkel, S/Sgt. Alanson Garland Bynum, and S/Sgt. Alfred Funck. This is the first of two C-141s lost during the conflict, and one of only three strategic airlifters written off during the Vietnam War.

27 March

A Douglas

Douglas Aircraft Company

A-4 Skyhawk

of VA-72

VA-72

VA-72 has the following meanings:*Attack Squadron 72 *State Route 72...

out of NAS Cecil Field, Florida, crashes into a wooded area W of Lake City

Lake City, Florida

Lake City is the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, in the United States. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 12,614. In addition, it is the Principal City of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is composed of Columbia County, and had an...

, Florida after pilot Lt. Cmdr. Robert W. McKay, 34, ejects from the crippled jet. "He suffered no apparent injuries", a Navy spokesman said. "He was picked up by the Highway Patrol and will be returned to Cecil Field on a Navy helicopter."

13 April

Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7966, Article 2017, crashed near Las Vegas

Las Vegas, New Mexico

Las Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities both named Las Vegas, west Las Vegas and east Las Vegas , divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000...

, New Mexico, after a night refuelling devolved into a subsonic high-speed stall. Pilot Boone and RSO Sheffield eject safely.

21 April

Fourth prototype F-111B, BuNo 151973, c/n A2-04, suffers flame-out of both engines at 200 feet after take-off, killing the project pilot Ralph Donnell and co-pilot Charles Wangeman.

24 April

Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies during reentry of Soyuz 1

Soyuz 1

Soyuz 1 was a manned spaceflight of the Soviet space program. Launched into orbit on April 23, 1967 carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 1 was the first flight of the Soyuz spacecraft...

– parachute lines tangled during re-entry. Crashed to ground. First person to die while on a space mission.

25 April

A USAF EC-121H-LO Warning Star, 53-549, of the 551st AEWCW

551st Electronic Systems Wing

The 551st Electronic Systems Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force whose focus is on 'behind the scenes' electronic work...

, out of Otis AFB, Massachusetts, ditches in the North Atlantic ~one mile off of Nantucket

Nantucket, Massachusetts

, Massachusetts, just after having taken off from that base. One survivor, 15 crew KWF. Five bodies were not recovered. Col. James P. Lyle, the Commander of the 551st AEW&C Wing to which all the aircraft and crew members were assigned, was the pilot. Colonel Lyle had been assigned to take over that command nine months earlier. It was he who presented each of the next of kin of 11 November 1966 crash victims with the United States Flag during that memorial service.

10 May

First (of five) Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought

XC-142As, 62-5921, crashes on 149th flight during simulated downed-pilot recovery mission test. Rapid descent from 8,000 feet to avoid ground-fire ends badly when aircraft pitches over violently at low altitude, impacting in heavily wooded, marshy area at Mountain Creek Lake

Mountain Creek Lake

Mountain Creek Lake is a reservoir located southwest of downtown Dallas, Texas in the Mountain Creek area of the city. It is located south of SH 180, west of Spur 408, north of I-20, and east of FM 1382. The defunct Naval Air Station Dallas is located on the northwestern shore of the lake...

, near Dallas

Dallas, Texas

, Texas, killing three crew. Airframe destroyed by impact and post-crash fire. KWF are contract pilot Stuart Madison, co-pilot Charles Jester, and hoist operator John Omvig. Investigation finds cause to be failure of tail propeller control system, causing overspeed condition which generated unexpected and uncontrollable nose-down pitch.

10 May

Northrop M2-F2

|-See also:-External links:***** of Peterson's crash...

, NASA

NASA

803, during the 16th glide flight, crashes on landing at Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

, California, due to a pilot-induced oscillation coupled with misjudged height and drift. Airframe rolls over six times, footage used for television program "The Six Million Dollar Man

The Six Million Dollar Man

The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...

". Pilot Bruce Peterson survives.

29 July

A deckfire on the USS Forrestal caused by an unintentional firing of a Zuni

Zuni (rocket)

The Zuni is a unguided rocket deployed by the United States armed forces. The rocket was developed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations. It can be used to carry various types of warheads, including chaff for countermeasures. It is usually fired from the LAU-10 rocket pod holding four...

rocket by an electrical short-circuit from the underwing rack of an F-4 Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

at 1051 hrs. holes the fuel tank of an A-4 Skyhawk

A-4 Skyhawk

. Spilled fuel ignites and ordnance on the ready jets is set off by the blaze. Twenty-six aircraft are destroyed or jettisoned, 31 others are damaged, 132 crewmen die, 62 are injured and two are missing. The last major fire is extinguished at 4 a.m. on 30 July. See: 1967 USS Forrestal fire

1967 USS Forrestal fire

The 1967 USS Forrestal fire was a devastating fire and series of chain-reaction explosions on 29 July 1967 that killed 134 sailors and injured 161 on the aircraft carrier , after an unusual electrical anomaly discharged a Zuni rocket on the flight deck...

. Among lost airframes are A-4E Skyhawks

A-4 Skyhawk

, BuNos 149996, 150064, 150068, 150084, 150115, 150118, 150129, 152018, 152024, 152036, 152040; F-4B Phantom IIs, 153046, 153054, 153060, 153061, 153066, 150069, 150912; and RA-5C Vigilantes of RVAH-11, 148932, 149284, and 149305.

3 August

A USAF

United States Air Force

de Havilland Canada C-7B Caribou

De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou

The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability...

, 62-4161, c/n 99, 'KE' tailcode, of the 459th TAS

459th Airlift Squadron

The 459th Airlift Squadron is part of the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It operates UH-1 Iroquois and C-12J Huron aircraft providing aeromedical evacuation and search and rescue missions.-History:...

, 483d TAW

483d Composite Wing

The 483d Composite Wing was a tactical airlift and composite wing assigned to Pacific Air Forces during the Vietnam War. It was the host organization at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base South Vietnam from 1970–1972....

, plunges to earth minus its tail from low altitude after being hit by US 155 mm artillery "friendly fire" on approach to Duc Pho

Duc Pho

Đức Phổ is a rural district of Quang Ngai province in the South Central Coastal region of Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 150,566. The district covers an area of 372 km². The district capital lies at Duc Pho.-References:...

Special Forces camp, Vietnam. Three crew killed, pilot Capt. Alan Eugene Hendrickson, co-pilot John Dudley Wiley, and loadmaster TSgt. Zane Aubry Carter. Dramatic photo of plunging aircraft taken by Japanese combat photographer Hiromichi Mine, who was himself killed in the line of duty 5 March 1968 from injuries suffered from a landmine.

21 September

Hawker Siddeley Kestrel, XS693, fitted with 19,000-lb. thrust Bristol-Siddeley Pegasus 6 engine, crashes during trials at Filton

Filton

Filton is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Bristol, about from the city centre. Filton lies in Bristol postcode areas BS7 and BS34. The town centres upon Filton Church, which dates back to the 12th century and is a grade II listed building...

, Sqn. Ldr. H. Rigg escaping safely.

27 September

A Lockheed SP-2H Neptune, BuNo 147946, of VP-30, collides with a US Navy Vought RF-8G Crusader

F-8 Crusader

, BuNo 146864, assigned to VFP-62

VFP-62

Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 62 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy in service from 1949 to 1968. The squadron provided a detachment of reconnaissance planes for each of the Carrier Air Wings of the U.S...

, Detachment 38, NAS Cecil Field, Jacksonville, Florida, during a heavy rainstorm, near Jacksonville Beach, Florida

Jacksonville Beach, Florida

Jacksonville Beach is a city on the Atlantic coast of Duval County, Florida, east of Jacksonville. It is part of the Jacksonville Beaches community, together with Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach...

, crashing on the swampy east bank of the Intracoastal Waterway

Intracoastal Waterway

The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...

. The Crusader, which was operating off of the USS Shangri-La , also impacts near Jacksonville Beach. The Neptune was carrying two officers and three enlisted men. The pilot was the only occupant of the jet. All six KWF.

5 October

NASA

astronaut

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

Clifton Williams

This article is about the American astronaut. For the composer, see Clifton Williams .Clifton Curtis 'C.C.' Williams was a NASA astronaut, a Naval Aviator, and a Major in the United States Marine Corps who was killed in a plane crash; he had never been to space...

, U.S. Marine Corps, suffers control failure in T-38A-65-NO Talon

T-38 Talon

, 66-8354, N922NA, he was flying while en route from Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...

, Florida

Florida

to Mobile

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

, Alabama to see his father who was dying of cancer. Jet went into an uncontrollable aileron roll, Williams ejected but he was traveling too fast and was at too low an altitude, comes down near Tallahassee

Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...

, Florida. Williams served on the backup crew for Gemini X and had been assigned to the back-up crew for what would be the Apollo 9

Apollo 9

Apollo 9, the third manned mission in the American Apollo space program, was the first flight of the Command/Service Module with the Lunar Module...

mission. This crew placement would have most likely led to an assignment as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 12

Apollo 12

Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the American Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon . It was launched on November 14, 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L...

. The Apollo 12 mission patch has four stars on it – one each for the three astronauts who flew the mission, and one for Williams.

9 October

Second (of five) Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought

XC-142As, 62-5922, suffers major landing gear and fuselage damage during STOL

STOL

STOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.-Definitions:There is no one accepted definition of STOL and many different definitions have been used by different authorities and nations at various times and for a myriad of...

landing at Edwards AFB, California, following a 28-minute functional check flight after incorporation of modified control system components. Crew uninjured. This was the 488th test flight of the XC-142 program, and it turns out to be the last one before the program is cancelled. Airframe not repaired.

21 October

During a Laughlin AFB, Texas, airshow, Thunderbird No. 6, an F-100D-20-NA Super Sabre, 55-3520, piloted by Capt. Merrill A. "Tony" McPeak, crashes, but he succeeds in ejecting as the plane broke up. As McPeak pulls up to begin a series of vertical rolls, the wing center box fails at ~6.5 Gs, and the engine catches fire as the center fuel tank ruptures, dumping fuel into the engine bay. Pilot ejects and lands near to the crowd. This crash limited flying on all USAF Super Sabres to 4G. This was the first Thunderbird crash during a performance.

14 November

A USMC UH-1E Huey

UH-1 Iroquois

, BuNo. 153757, of VMO-3, callsign Scarface 1-0, departs Phú Bài, South Vietnam

South Vietnam

, at 1040 hrs. with three crew, pilot Capt. Milton George Kelsey, co-pilot 1st Lt. Thomas Anthony Carter, and crew chief Cpl. Ronald Joseph Phelps. At 1145 they pick up Major General Bruno Arthur Hochmuth

Bruno Hochmuth

Bruno Arthur Hochmuth was a Major General in the United States Marine Corps who was killed during the Vietnam War. He would be the first and only Marine division commander to be killed in any war...

, CG 3rd MARDIV, his aide Maj. Robert Andrew Crabtree and Liaison Maj. Nguyễn Ngọc Chương to visit ARVN

Army of the Republic of Vietnam

The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...

Brig. Gen. Ngô Quang Trưởng

Ngo Quang Truong

Lieutenant General Ngô Quang Trưởng was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . He was widely regarded as South Vietnam’s best officer and well-known for his uncompromising integrity and incorruptibility...

in Huế

Hue

Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...

, departing the hospital pad at Huế Citadel at 1145. Enroute to Đông Hà, the helicopter is chased by an HMM-364

HMM-364

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364 is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of CH-46E Sea Knight transport helicopters...

UH-34 Choctaw

H-34 Choctaw

The Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw was a piston-engined military helicopter originally designed by American aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky for the United States Navy for service in the anti-submarine warfare role....

piloted by Capt. J. A. Chancey. At 1150, the UH-1 is flying NW over Highway 1 at ~1500 feet. At YD672266, Capt. Chancey sees the aircraft’s nose yaw to the right twice and at the same instant the aft/engine section explodes in an orange fireball. The fuselage separates from the rotor and the aircraft falls in pieces. The fuselage lands inverted in a flooded rice paddy; the tail cone a short distance away. All on board are apparently killed on impact. Hochmuth was the only Marine Corps officer of General rank to die in Vietnam. Although many theories were postulated for the crash, from enemy gunfire, to ARVN gunfire, to U.S. "friendly fire", to sabotage, the most likely reason was the failure of the tail rotor gearbox and the official findings on the incident, submitted by Brig.Gen. Robert Keller in November, 1967, states “there is no evidence to indicate this mishap was caused either by hostile action or inadvertent friendly fire.”

14 November

Mid-air collision of two F-101B Voodoos

F-101 Voodoo

The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force...

of the 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, out of Otis AFB, Massachusetts, over Mount Abraham

Mount Abraham (Vermont)

Mount Abraham is the fifth tallest peak in the U.S. state of Vermont. The summit supports a small amount of alpine vegetation and offers a view of the Champlain Valley and Adirondack Mountains to the west. Mount Abraham is on the Long Trail, a hiking trail running the length of Vermont...

, Vermont, during cross-country formation flight. One destroyed in crash near Phillips, Maine

Phillips, Maine

Phillips is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 990 at the 2000 census. It is home to the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, a heritage railroad.-History:...

after crew ejects, minor injuries to two crew; other makes emergency landing at Dow AFB, Maine; plane moderately damaged but crew okay.

15 November

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.

8 December

The first African-American NASA

NASA

astronaut

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

, Maj. Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr.

Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr.

Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. was a United States Air Force officer and the first African-American astronaut.-Early years:...

, is killed in the crash of a Lockheed

Lockheed Corporation

The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

F-104D Starfighter

F-104 Starfighter

, 57-1327, of the 6515th Organizational Maintenance Squadron, while practicing zoom landings with Maj. Harvey Royer at Edwards AFB, California. Lawrence was flying backseat on the mission as the instructor pilot for a flight test trainee learning the steep-descent glide technique intended for the cancelled X-20 Dyna-Soar

X-20 Dyna-Soar

program. The pilot of the aircraft successfully ejected and survived the accident, but with major injuries. The F-104 they were flying came in too low and hit the runway. Royer ejected, but Lawrence was killed. He left behind a wife and one son.

1968

2 January

Col. Henry Brown and Lt. Col. Joe B. Jordan became the first U.S. Air Force pilots to use an F-111A

General Dynamics F-111

The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the...

's emergency escape module when their plane crashes near Edwards AFB, California.

11 January

Lockheed SR-71B, 61-7957, Article 2008, one of only two dual control pilot trainers, is lost on approach to Beale Air Force Base

Beale Air Force Base

Beale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Marysville, California. Originally known as Camp Beale....

, California, due to fuel cavitation induced engine failure. Instructor pilot Lt. Col. Robert G. Souers and student Capt. David E. Fruehauf eject safely.

21 January

A B-52G-100-BW Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 58-0188, c.n. 4642256, of the 528th Bomb Squadron

528th Bombardment Squadron

The 528th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 380th Bombardment Wing, based at Plattsburgh AFB, New York. It was inactivated on 30 September 1995.-History:...

, 380th Bomb Wing, from Plattsburgh AFB, New York, carrying four hydrogen bombs crashes on the ice seven miles from Thule Air Base

Thule Air Base

Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport , is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located north of the Arctic Circle and from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland. It is approximately east of the North Magnetic Pole.-Overview:Thule Air Base is the...

, Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

at 1639 hrs. AST, 1 crew member killed; all four B-28 weapons

B28 nuclear bomb

The B28, originally Mark 28, was a thermonuclear bomb carried by U.S. tactical fighter bombers and bomber aircraft. From 1962 to 1972 under the NATO nuclear weapons sharing program, American B28s also equipped six Europe-based Canadian CF-104 squadrons known as the RCAF Nuclear Strike Force...

are consumed in post-crash fire, however one bomb unaccounted for after debris is audited; extensive contamination of site and several relief workers exposed to radiation. This accident caused the Department of Defense to suspend Operation Chrome Dome

Operation Chrome Dome

Operation Chrome Dome was one of several United States Air Force Cold-War era airborne global alert duties or programs in which B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber aircraft armed with thermonuclear weapons were assigned targets in the Soviet Union on schedules guaranteeing that a substantial...

, the nuclear airborne alert program of Strategic Air Command.

27 March

While on a routine training flight out of Chkalovsky Air Base

Chkalovsky Airport

Chkalovsky Airport , is a military airport base near Shchyolkovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located 31 km northeast of Moscow.Chkalovsky provides air support for Star City, Russia, Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center, and other elements of the Soviet space program and Russian Federal Space...

, Kosmonaut Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....

and flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin (Seregin) die in a MiG-15UTI crash near the town of Kirzhach

Kirzhach

Kirzhach is a town on the Kirzhach River in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located in the western of the oblast, west of Vladimir and south of Alexandrov. Population: -History:...

. Gagarin and Seryogin were buried in the walls of the Kremlin

Kremlin

A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...

on Red Square

Red Square

Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...

. It is not certain what caused the crash, but a 1986 inquest suggests that the turbulence from a Su-11 'Fishpot-C' interceptor using its afterburners may have caused Gagarin's plane to go out of control. Russian documents declassified in March 2003 showed that the KGB

KGB

had conducted their own investigation of the accident, in addition to one government and two military investigations. The KGB's report dismissed various conspiracy theories, instead indicating that the actions of air base personnel contributed to the crash. The report states that an air traffic controller provided Gagarin with outdated weather information, and that when Gagarin flew, conditions had deteriorated significantly. Ground crew also left external fuel tanks attached to the aircraft. His planned flight activities needed clear weather and no outboard tanks. The investigation concluded that Gagarin's aircraft entered a spin, either due to a bird strike or because of a sudden move to avoid another aircraft. Because of the out-of-date weather report, the crew believed their altitude to be higher than it actually was, and could not properly react to bring the MiG-15 out of its spin.

May

RAF Armstrong Whitworth Argosy C.1

Armstrong Whitworth Argosy

, XP444, of 70 Squadron, departing a successful deployment in Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

, makes a "flypast

Flypast

Flypast is a term used in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and other countries to denote ceremonial or honorific flights by groups of aircraft and, rarely, by a single aircraft...

" at a small airstrip called Gott-el-Afraq, hits water tower, crashes, killing all 22 on board.

6 May

Astronaut Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong

Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....

ejects from Bell Aerospace Lunar Landing Research Vehicle

Lunar Landing Research Vehicle

The Bell Aerosystems Lunar Landing Research Vehicle was an Apollo Project era program to build a simulator for the Moon landings. The LLRVs, humorously referred to as "flying bedsteads", were used by the FRC, now known as the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, at Edwards Air Force Base,...

No. 1, known as the "Flying Bedstead", at NASA

NASA

's Manned Spacecraft Center, Ellington AFB, Houston

Houston, Texas

, Texas, as it goes out of control. Had he ejected 1/2 second later, his chute would not have deployed fully. Armstrong suffers a bit tongue.

25 May

Tu-16 Badger, commanded by sub-Cmdr. Alexander Pliyev, crashes into the Norwegian Sea

Norwegian Sea

The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...

after a low pass by the aircraft carrier USS Essex

USS Essex

USS Essex may refer to:, was a 32-gun sailing frigate launched in 1799, participated in the War of 1812, and captured in 1814**Essex Junior, was a British whaler captured by Essex and put into service until recaptured in 1814...

. The bomber had flown by the ship just 15 meters above the sea.

31 May

JQF-104A Starfighter

F-104 Starfighter

drone, 56-0733, 'QFG-733', (so modified and designated on November 29, 1961), of the 3205th Drone Squadron, suffers a severe class A landing accident at Eglin AFB, Florida. Repaired.

31 May

Lockheed U-2

, 56-6954, Article 394, fourth airframe of the USAF supplementary production, delivered to the USAF in March 1959. Built as a two-place airframe for ARDC at Edwards AFB, California - later designated a U-2D. Transferred to SAC

Strategic Air Command

in 1966 and converted to U-2C by January 1967. Crashed this date near Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

. Pilot Maj. Vic Milam ejects safely at 41,000 feet after losing control when airframe experiences uncontrolled pitch-up.

4 June

Lockheed A-12, 60-6932, Article 129, lost off of Okinawa during a functional check flight (FCF) following an engine change after deployment to Kadena Air Base

Kadena Air Base

, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Kadena Air Base is the hub of U.S. airpower in the Pacific, and home to the USAF's 18th Wing and a variety of associate units.-Units:The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena...

in support of Operation Black Shield. Pilot Jack Weeks was killed while flying (KWF).One source gives date as 2 June.

19 August

Handley Page Victor K1

Handley Page Victor

The Handley Page Victor was a British jet bomber aircraft produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company during the Cold War. It was the third and final of the V-bombers that provided Britain's nuclear deterrent. The other two V-bombers were the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. Some aircraft...

XH646 of No. 214 Squadron RAF

No. 214 Squadron RAF

-History:No 214 Squadron was formed from No. 14 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service , itself formerly No. 7A Squadron RNAS only taking on the new number in 9 December 1917. With the creation of the RAF from the Royal Flying Corps and the RNAS on 1 April 1918 it received the number 214. It was later...

collided in mid-air near Holt

Holt, Norfolk

Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...

, Norfolk, United Kingdom in bad weather with a 213 Squadron

No. 213 Squadron RAF

No. 213 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron was formed on 1 April 1918 from No. 13 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service...

English Electric Canberra

The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...

WT325, all four crew members of the Victor died.

11 September

Second prototype F-111B, BuNo 151971, c/n A2-02, crashes into the Pacific Ocean killing Hughes

Hughes

Hughes may refer to:*Hughes *Hughes Medal*David E. Hughes inventorPlaces:* Hughes Range In Australia:* Division of Hughes, electoral district* Hughes, Australian Capital Territory, suburb of Canberra...

pilot Barton Warren and his RIO Anthony Byland.

23 September

General Dynamics F-111A

General Dynamics F-111

, 66-0040, c/n A1-58, crashes and is destroyed this date due to control system failure, at Nellis AFB, Nevada. Crew ejected safely.

24 September

A KC-135 Stratotanker

KC-135 Stratotanker

crash during an emergency landing at Wake Island

Wake Island

produces the first tanker casualty in the Southeast Asia war. The crash claims 11 Arc Light

Arc Light

Arc Light is the debut novel by Eric L. Harry, a techno-thriller about limited nuclear war published in 1994 and written in 1991-2.As China and Russia clash in Siberia in June 1999, nuclear missiles strike the United States. The U.S. retaliates against Russia, and World War III begins...

support personnel redeploying from U-Tapao Air Base, Thailand.

10 October

Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7977, Article 2028, lost at end of runway, Beale Air Force Base

Beale Air Force Base

Beale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Marysville, California. Originally known as Camp Beale....

, 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.

11 October

Fifth prototype U.S. Navy F-111B, BuNo 151974, c/n A2-05, crash landed at Point Mugu

Point Mugu, California

Point Mugu , California is an unincorporated area and geographical promontory on the Pacific coast in Ventura County, near the town of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term Muwu, meaning beach, which was first mentioned by Cabrillo in...

, California. Scrapped. Navy abandons the F-111B program completely and both houses of Congress refuse to fund production order in May 1968.

1 November

Força Aérea Brasileira Aerotec A-122 Uirapuru

Aerotec Uirapuru

-See also:...

pre-production two-place trainer crashes, killing Centro Técnico Aeroespacial test pilot José Mariotto Ferreira, one of the Centre's most experienced pilots.

8 December

Lunar Landing Training Vehicle No. 1 crashes at Ellington AFB, Texas. NASA

NASA

Manned Spacecraft Center test pilot Joseph Algranti ejects safely.

13 December

USAF B-57E Canberra

B-57 Canberra

54-4284 of the 8th Tactical Bombardment Squadron, 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, has mid-air collision with C-123B-5-FA Provider

C-123 Provider

The C-123 Provider was an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and subsequently built by Fairchild Aircraft for the United States Air Force...

54-0600 over Xieng Khovang, southern Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

, all three crew of the B-57 KWF, pilot of C-123 survives bail-out, lands in tree, rescued by an HH-3, but six others are KWF.

1969

14 January

During an Operational Readiness Inspection aboard the off Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, a MK-32 Zuni rocket warhead attached to an F-4 Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

is overheated by exhaust from an aircraft starting unit and detonates, setting off fires and additional explosions across the carrier. The fire is brought under control promptly when compared with previous carrier flight deck fires, but 27 lives are lost, and an additional 314 personnel are injured. The fire destroys 15 aircraft.

29 January

A Wisconsin Air National Guard

Wisconsin Air National Guard

The Wisconsin Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is, along with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, an element of the Wisconsin National Guard...

Boeing KC-97L Stratotanker, 52-0904, c/n 16598, arriving at Milwaukee-General Mitchell Airport

General Mitchell International Airport

General Mitchell International Airport is a county-owned public airport located five miles south of the central business district of Milwaukee, a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States....

, (MKE/KMKE) on flight from Key West International Airport

Key West International Airport

Key West International Airport is a county-owned public airport located two miles east of the central business district of Key West, in Monroe County, Florida, United States....

, Florida, in fog and rain (ceiling reported as 200 feet with 1/2 mile visibility), contacts ground 1/2 mile (.8 km) short (S) of runway, breaks up and catches fire with fatalities to four of 11 on board.

11 February

A Lockheed SP-2E Neptune, BuNo 131487, of a Navy Reserve unit based in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

, crashes in the Cleveland National Forest

Cleveland National Forest

Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres , mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the Forest. It is the southernmost National forest of California. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, a government agency within...

in the Santa Ana Mountains

Santa Ana Mountains

The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 36 mi southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside counties.- Geography :The range starts in the...

of Orange County

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

, California, while on night training. Six crew KWF. The crew was serving two weeks of active duty at Naval Air Station Los Alamitos, 20 miles S of Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. The aircraft departed in the evening and headed for nearby MCAS El Toro for some night landing practice. The weather was somewhat cloudy and the rugged Santa Ana Mountains to the north were obscured. At 2023 hours local, a fighter jet flying over the area reported seeing a large fireball below him. The patrol plane was apparently executing a missed approach when its starboard wingtip struck the southern ridge of Harding Canyon. Aircraft cartwheels and disintegrates. KWF are Lt. Cmdr. Robert Frederick, pilot, 38, from White Bear, Minnesota; Lt. Cmdr. Beal Gordon Dolven Jr., co-pilot, 36, from Minneapolis; Lt. Cmdr. Oliver B. Walley, 34, from Menomonie, Wisconsin

Menomonie, Wisconsin

Two other spellings of the name appear elsewhere, see Menomonee and Menominee. For the town, see Menomonie .Menomonie is a city in and the county seat of Dunn County in the western part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city's population was 16,264 as of the 2010 census...

; Lt. John E. Surratt; Air Ordnanceman Walter R. Jacobson, 40, of St. Paul, Minnesota; Air Ordnanceman John Edward Hansen, 31, from Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...

; and Aviation Machinists Mate Harris R. Hendrickson, 47 of Minneapolis. Wings and tail of wreckage were removed, but much remains of the bomber in difficult, often near-vertical terrain.

10 March or 14 March

Lockheed

Lockheed Corporation

The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

XV-4B Hummingbird, 62-5404, on conventional test flight out of Dobbins AFB, Georgia, suddenly entered rapid roll while climbing through 8,000 feet (2438 m), pilot Harlan Quamme, unable to recover, ejects, suffering minor injuries. One civilian on ground receives minor injuries as well.

12 March

The Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne

AH-56 Cheyenne

The Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne was a single-engine attack helicopter developed by Lockheed for the United States Army's Advanced Aerial Fire Support System program to produce the Army's first dedicated attack helicopter...

test programme suffers a setback when the rotor on prototype #3, 66-8828, hits the fuselage and kills the pilot. The accident occurred on a test flight where the pilot was to manipulate the controls to excite 0.5P oscillations (or half-P hop) in the rotor. 0.5P is a vibration that happens once per two main rotor revolutions, where P is the rotor rotational speed. The accident investigation noted that safety mechanisms on the controls had apparently been disabled for the flight. The investigation concluded that the pilot-induced oscillation

Pilot-induced oscillation

Pilot-induced oscillations, as defined by MIL-HDBK-1797A, are sustained or uncontrollable oscillations resulting from efforts of the pilot to control the aircraft and occurs when the pilot of an aircraft inadvertently commands an often increasing series of corrections in opposite directions, each...

s had set-up a resonant vibration

Resonance

In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies...

that exceeded the rotor system's ability to compensate. After the investigation, the rotor and control systems would be modified to prevent the same problem from occurring again. The rotor blades and control system were stiffened, the mass of the gyro was increased, and the geometry of the rotor was adjusted.

7 April

Mitsubishi

The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...

-assembled from Sikorsky

Sikorsky

Sikorsky is an English-language respelling of the Slavic surname Sikorski. Derived from the Polish word sikora – meaning "chickadee/tit" – it was originally the name of a noble Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth family....

components Sikorsky HSS-1N Seabat, 8567, c/n 58-1528, of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, crashes this date, the sole loss of the type during Japanese service.

11 April

Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7954, Article 2005, crashes on runway during take off from Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

, California. Pilot Lt. Col. Bill Skliar and RSO Maj. Noel Warner escape without injury.

15 April

North Korean MiG-17s shoot down

EC-121 shootdown incident

The EC-121 shootdown incident occurred on 15 April 1969 when a United States Navy Lockheed EC-121M Warning Star on a reconnaissance mission was shot down by North Korean MiG-17 aircraft over the Sea of Japan...

a Navy EC-121M Warning Star

EC-121 Warning Star

The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star was a United States Navy and United States Air Force airborne early warning radar surveillance aircraft. A military version of the Lockheed Constellation, it was designed to serve as an airborne early warning system to supplement the Distant Early Warning Line,...

, BuNo 135749, 'PR 21', c/n 4316, of VQ-1, call sign Deep Sea 129, over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 aboard. See EC-121 shootdown incident

EC-121 shootdown incident

. KWF are pilot L/Cdr. James H. Overstreet; Lt. John N. Dzema; Lt. Dennis B. Gleason; Lt. Peter P. Perrottet; Lt. John H. Singer; Lt. Robert F. Taylor; Lt.JG Joseph R. Ribar; Lt.JG Robert J. Sykora; Louis F. Balderman, ADR2; Stephen C. Chartier, AT1; Bernie J. Colgin, AT1; Ballard F. Connors, Jr, ADR1; Gary R. DuCharme, CT3; Gene K. Graham, ATN3; LaVerne A. Greiner, AEC; Dennis J. Horrigan, ATR2; Richard H. Kincaid, ATN2; Marshall H. McNamara, ADRC; Timothy H. McNeil, ATR2; John A. Miller, CT3; John H. Potts, CT1; Richard T. Prindle, AMS3; Richard E. Smith, CTC; Philip D. Sundby, CT3; Richard E. Sweeney, AT1; Stephen J. Tesmer, CT2; David M. Willis, ATN3; and S/Sgt. Hugh M. Lynch, USMC.

5 May

USAF F-100D-70-NA Super Sabre

F-100 Super Sabre

, 56-3214, one of two 452nd TFS, 81st TFW, RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...

, Super Sabres on gunnery mission over Holbeach Range

RAF Holbeach

, Cambs.

Cambridgeshire

, UK, suffers engine failure, forcing pilot Capt. R.E. Riggs to eject. Fighter impacts into farmland, missing group of workers by 400 yards (370 m), airframe demolished in explosion, only fin and rudder assembly intact.

18 May

USMC KC-130F Hercules

C-130 Hercules

BuNo 149814, c/n 3723, of VMGR-352, collided head-on with F-4B

F-4 Phantom II

BuNo 151001 of VMFA-542, MAG-13, from Chu Lai

Chu Lai

Chu Lai is a sea port, urban and industrial area in Dung Quat Bay, Núi Thành district, Quang Nam province of Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai Airport.-Vietnam War:...

(both crew killed), while refuelling two F-4Bs of VMFA-314

VMFA-314

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. The squadron, known as the "Black Knights", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 11 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing...

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

Chu Lai

Chu Lai is a sea port, urban and industrial area in Dung Quat Bay, Núi Thành district, Quang Nam province of Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai Airport.-Vietnam War:...

. Lars Olausson

Lars Olausson

Lars Olausson is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Swedish Air Force, who has published an annual volume on the history of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules airlifter currently titled the Lockheed Hercules Production List 1954-2012, the twenty-eighth edition having been printed March 2010...

states that the KC-130F was from VMGR-352, while Chris Hobson claims it was assigned to VMGR-152.

23 May

A drunken U.S. Air Force assistant crew chief, Sgt. Paul Adams Meyer, 23, of Poquoson

Poquoson, Virginia

Poquoson is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula, in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 12,150 according to the 2010 Census...

, Virginia, suffering anxiety over marital problems, starts up a C-130E Hercules

C-130 Hercules

, 63-7789, c/n 3856, of the 36th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 316th Tactical Airlift Wing, on hardstand 21 at RAF Mildenhall

RAF Mildenhall

RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...

and takes off in it at 0655 hrs. CET, headed for Langley AFB, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. At least two F-100 Super Sabre

F-100 Super Sabre

s from RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...

, a C-130 from Mildenhall, and two RAF English Electric Lightning

English Electric Lightning

s are sent aloft to try to make contact with the stolen aircraft. The Hercules crashes into the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

off Alderney

Alderney

Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...

(5000N, 0205W) ~90 minutes later. In the last transmission from Meyer, to his wife, in a link-up over the side-band radio, he stated "Leave me alone for about five minutes, I've got trouble." There is speculation whether the Hercules was shot down. Some wreckage was recovered but the pilot's body was never found. Meyer had been arrested for being drunk and disorderly earlier in the morning in the village of Freckenham

Freckenham

Freckenham is a small rural village located in Suffolk, East Anglia, in the country of England.Geographically, it is relatively flat and has the River Kennet, a tributary of the River Lark locally known as the Lee Brook, cutting through the centre of the village...

and had been remanded to quarters, but sneaked out to steal the Hercules.

29 May

A USAF General Dynamics F-111

General Dynamics F-111

on a training flight out of Nellis AFB, Nevada, crashes from low altitude when deficient wind-shield bulged down from the top of the canopy bow and instantly crazed. Tactical Air Command

Tactical Air Command

Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...

replaces 50 F-111 windshields in 1969 and 93 in 1970.

5 June

Crash of Rivet Amber, the U.S. Air Force's sole Boeing RC-135E, 62-4137, c/n 18477, lost over the Bering Sea

Bering Sea

The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....

near Alaska. Nothing was ever found of the aircraft or the 19 on board.

20 September

An Air Vietnam

Air Vietnam

Active from 1951 to 1975, Air Viet Nam was South Vietnam's first commercial air carrier, headquartered in District 1, Saigon. Established under Emperor Bảo Đại, the Chief of State of South Vietnam, the airline flew over one million passengers, including during the Vietnam War, before its collapse...

Douglas DC-4

The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...

(C-54D-10-DC Skymaster

C-54 Skymaster

), XV-NUG, c/n 10860, collided on approach to landing with an American United States Air Force

United States Air Force

F-4 Phantom II

near Da Nang

Da Nang

Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...

, Vietnam

Vietnam

. 77 died.

9 October

A USAF B-52F-70-BW Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 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 2345 hrs. accident as the Stratofortress exploded on impact.

25 October

Two United States Air Force Academy

United States Air Force Academy

The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...

faculty are killed when their T-33A

T-33 Shooting Star

crashed and burned in a meadow near the main runway while landing at Peterson Field

Peterson Field

Peterson Field is a public-use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Plains, a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. It is privately owned by G. Thomas Peterson.- Facilities and aircraft :...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. Pilot was Maj. Donald J. Usry, 32, of the academy faculty, and back-seater was Capt. Martin Bezyack, of the academy's athletic department.

16 December

U.S. Navy RF-8G Crusader

F-8 Crusader

, BuNo 145611, of Detachment 19, VFP-63, crashes into the Gulf of Tonkin

Gulf of Tonkin

The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...

~60 miles E of Đồng Hới, killing pilot Lt. Victor Patrick Buckley, of Falls Church

Falls Church, Virginia

The City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...

, Virginia, while returning to the USS Hancock

USS Hancock

Several ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Hancock or USS John Hancock, in honor of patriot and statesman John Hancock. was the former schooner Speedwell, one of a small flotilla hired in October 1775...

from a photographic reconnaissance mission. Cause of loss thought to be accidental.

18 December

Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7953, Article 2004, crashes near Shoshone

Shoshone, California

Shoshone is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California, United States. Shoshone is located on the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad east of Epaulet Peak, at an elevation of 1585 feet . The population was 31 at the 2010 census, down from 52 at the 2000 census.The town was founded in 1910...

, California during test flight out of Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base

, California. Pilot Lt. Col. Joe Rogers and RSO Lt. Col. Gary Heidelbaugh eject safely.

22 December

A United States Navy

United States Navy

F-8J Crusader

F-8 Crusader

, BuNo 150879, of VF-194

VF-194

Fighter squadron VF-194 Red Lightnings was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. It was established in 1952 and disestablished in 1978. It was reactivated for a short time again between 1986 and 1988.-Squadron linage:...

, crashes into hangar at NAS Miramar, California during emergency landing, killing 14 and injuring 30. Pilot Lt. C. M. Riddell ejects safely. Five other fighters, including two F-4s

F-4 Phantom II

, are damaged in the repair facility fire that ensues. Helicopters and military and civilian ambulances were used to transport the injured to Balboa Naval Hospital

Bob Wilson Naval Hospital

Naval Medical Center San Diego , also known as Bob Wilson Naval Hospital and informally referred to as "Balboa Hospital", is a technologically advanced Navy medical treatment facility. Located within the grounds of Balboa Park in San Diego, the hospital has played a role in the history of San...

, San Diego.

22 December

A USAF F-111A, 67-0049, c/n A1-94, crashes near Nellis AFB, Nevada

Nevada

, killing both crew, when starboard wing fails in flight, wing carry-through box failure, resulting in the fifth grounding order since the type entered service. Fifteen F-111s have crashed to this point.

1970

10 January

Developmental prototype Indian Air Force

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...

HAL HF-24 Marut Mk. IR

HAL HF-24 Marut

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography*Donald, David . The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London:Aerospace, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.*Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1969-70. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1969....

, HF 032, equipped with reheat, crashes just after takeoff, killing India's finest test pilot, Suranjan Das. Failure of one engine and partial failure of the second was rumored, but official inquiry attributes loss to a malfunctioning canopy locking system. Reheat trials do not resume until 1972, using second prototype BD 884. Reheat upgrades are subsequently abandoned.

2 February

An F-106A-100-CO Delta Dart

F-106 Delta Dart

The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the United States Air Force from the 1960s through the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it has proven to be the last dedicated interceptor in USAF service to date...

, 58-0787, of the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, out of Malmstrom AFB, (the Cornfield Bomber

Cornfield Bomber

The "Cornfield Bomber" was a Convair F-106 Delta Dart, operated by the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron of the United States Air Force, that made an unpiloted landing in a farmer's field in Montana, suffering only minor damage, after the pilot had ejected from the aircraft...

), piloted by Gary Faust, enters a flat spin

Spin (flight)

In aviation, a spin is an aggravated stall resulting in autorotation about the spin axis wherein the aircraft follows a corkscrew downward path. Spins can be entered intentionally or unintentionally, from any flight attitude and from practically any airspeed—all that is required is sufficient yaw...

over Montana. Faust follows procedures and ejects from the aircraft. The resulting change of balance causes the aircraft to stabilize, and it lands wheels up

Belly landing

A belly landing or gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or belly, as its primary landing device...

in a snow-covered field, suffering almost no damage. The aircraft is then sent back to base by rail, repaired and returned to service. Preserved initially at Griffiss AFB, New York, it is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force

National Museum of the United States Air Force

26 March

First SEPECAT Jaguar

SEPECAT Jaguar

The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet ground attack aircraft, originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Armée de l'Air in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force...

prototype, E-01, crashes during landing attempt at Centre D'essais en Vol, Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, France, following in-flight emergency. Test pilot CDT A. M. L. Brossier shuts down starboard engine after engine bay warning due to a catastrophic fire; on return to base and finding the speed excessive, pilot shuts down the remaining engine and thus loses the hydraulics, having not selected the electrically driven hydraulic pump on. Without flying controls he is obliged to eject, receiving minor injuries.

3 April

A USAF B-52D-60-BO Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 55-089, c/n 464-17205, of the 28th Bomb Wing

28th Bomb Wing

The 28th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force. It is stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota...

caught fire and crashed during landing at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota

South Dakota

South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

, 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.

16 April

US Navy TA-4F Skyhawk

A-4 Skyhawk

from NAS Oceana, Virginia, and USAF T-39A-1-NA Sabreliner

T-39 Sabreliner

The North American Sabreliner is a mid-sized business jet developed by North American Aviation. It was offered to the U.S. Air Force in response to their Utility Trainer Experimental program...

, 61-0640, c/n 265-43, en route from Shaw AFB, South Carolina to Langley AFB, Virginia, collided in mid-air, the T-39 coming down over residential area of Weldon

Weldon, North Carolina

Weldon is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,374 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Weldon is located at ....

, North Carolina, but no one on the ground was injured and wreckage missed homes. Skyhawk crew, Lts. George D. Green, 27, and Walter G. Young, 27, both of Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

, Virginia, were killed as it came down in a swamp area ~20 miles away, near Enfield

Enfield, North Carolina

Enfield is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina founded in 1740 and it is a predominantly African American town. The population was 2,347 at the 2000 census.Enfield is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, North Carolina. Pilot Col. Francis G. Halturewicz, of the Sabreliner, was credited with minimizing ground damage as he jettisoned most of its fuel before impact. Killed were Col. Ivey J. Lewis, Stockton

Stockton, California

Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...

, California, Halturewicz, Maj. Ronald L. Edwards, and T. Sgt. Joseph R. Brown, all of MacDill AFB, Florida.

28 April

A USAF

United States Air Force

F-4 Phantom II

being ferried from Robins AFB, Georgia to Torrejon Air Base

Torrejon Air Base

Madrid-Torrejón Airport is a commercial airport in Spain. It is a joint-use facility between the Spanish Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Public Works. The civil part is dedicated primarily to executive and private aviation. The airport is located northeast of Madrid, west of Alcalá de...

, Spain, was disabled by a severe thunderstorm, forcing the crew to eject at 36,000 feet 150 miles E of Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, 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 after two hours in the water by the oil tanker Texaco Illinois, diverted from 8 miles away.

10 May

Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7969, Article 2020, crashed near Korat RTAFB, Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, after a refuelling resulted in a subsonic high-speed stall. Pilot Lawson and RSO Martinez eject safely.

11 May

An F5 tornado strikes Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...

destroying about one quarter of the city. Nineteen of 23 U.S. Air Force trainers (probably Cessna T-41 Mescaleros) at Lubbock International Airport are destroyed, amongst 100 aircraft damaged.

12 May

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...

prototype HAL HF-24 Marut

HAL HF-24 Marut

HF 001, BR 461, is lost due to unknown circumstances in the sea off of Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

while on routine ferry flight. Squadron Leader

Squadron Leader

Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...

K. L. Narayan is lost with aircraft.

22 May

A USAF

United States Air Force

T-33A

T-33 Shooting Star

of the 1st Composite Wing, Andrews AFB, Maryland, crashes just short of the north runway on approach to that base, killing pilot Maj. John H. McDowell Jr., 37, Clinton, Maryland, and Lt. Edwin D. Billmeyer, 24, of Baltimore, Maryland, and injuring three motorists on the ground.

24 May

A USAF

United States Air Force

C-5A Galaxy 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.

27 May

A USAF

United States Air Force

C-5A Galaxy, 67-0172, c/n 500-0011, catches fire while taxiing at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale

Palmdale, California

, California, due to an electrical fire in the cargo compartment. Five crew escape, but seven firefighters suffer minor injuries fighting blaze. Aircraft destroyed.

June

RAF Armstrong Whitworth Argosy C.1

Armstrong Whitworth Argosy

, XP441, of 114 Squadron, written off during training accident at RAF Benson

RAF Benson

RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England. It is home to the Royal Air Force's support helicopters, the Aérospatiale Puma and the EH-101 Merlin, known as the Puma HC.Mk 1 and the Merlin HC.Mk 3 and Mk 3a....

, when aircraft bounces heavily during three-engine approach, attempts a go-around, but pilot inexpertly retracts the flaps, stalls, comes down in Mr. Passey's junk yard in the village of Benson. Crew, remarkably, is uninjured.

6 June

A USAF

United States Air Force

C-5A Galaxy, 68-0212, c/n 500-0015, fifteenth off the production line, but first to be delivered to any operational Military Airlift Command

Military Airlift Command

wing, loses one tire and blows another on landing at Charleston AFB, South Carolina for the 437th MAW.

17 June

Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7970, Item 2021, collides with KC-135Q tanker 20 miles E of El Paso, Texas

El Paso, Texas

El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

. Pilot Buddy Brown and RSO Mort Jarvis eject safely. Tanker limps back to Beale Air Force Base

Beale Air Force Base

Beale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Marysville, California. Originally known as Camp Beale....

, California.

27 June

Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...

, Pakistan, L-19 Bird Dog of No.4 Army Aviation Squadron, Dhamial Air Base, piloted by Major Tahir Mahmood Jilani, with Observer Captain Noor Mohammed, went missing, while on search and recovery mission to locate a drowned military officer Captain Bahadur's body, over the mighty river Indus near Kalabagh-Khushal Garh area. No debris or bodies were located, in the very extensive ground and aerial search that followed, however.

24 July

USAF F-4C-20-MC Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

, 63-7609, crashes SE of McNeal, Arizona

McNeal, Arizona

McNeal is an unincorporated community in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. McNeal is located on U.S. Route 191 northwest of Douglas. McNeal has the ZIP Code of 85617; in 2000, the population of the 85617 ZCTA was 1,263....

Circa 29 July

Lt. (j.g.) William Belden, 23, of Racine, Wisconsin, ejects from an A-4E Skyhawk on the deck of the in the western Pacific. Pilot recovered shaken but unhurt by helicopter; Skyhawk later recovered from carrier catwalk.

30 July

USMC KC-130F Hercules

C-130 Hercules

, BuNo 150685, c/n 3728, of VMGR-152

VMGR-152

Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 provides aerial refueling service to support Fleet Marine Force air operations; and provides assault air transport of personnel, equipment, and supplies. The squadron, known as the "Sumos", flies the fixed-wing KC-130J aircraft...

, crashed at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located near Irvine, California.Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast. Designated as a Master Jet Station, its four runways could handle the largest aircraft...

, Lake Forest

Lake Forest, California

Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 77,264 at the 2010 census.Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to a vote of the residents in that year, the community had formerly been known as El Toro since the 1880s...

, California during misjudged maximum effort landing – wings broke, fuselage ended up overturned, burned.

5 August

A USAF

United States Air Force

F-4 Phantom II

of the 36th TFW, Bitburg, Germany, TDY

TDY

A temporary duty assignment , also known as "temporary additional duty" , "temporary duty travel" or "temporary duty" , refers to a United States Government employee travel assignment at a location other than the employee's permanent duty station. They are usually of relatively short duration,...

to Zaragoza Air Base

Zaragoza Air Base

Zaragoza Air Base was a NATO military airbase located near Zaragoza, Spain. It was located west of Zaragoza, west of Barcelona, and northeast of Madrid.It was closed as a NATO base in in April 1992...

, Spain, crashes on a gunnery range 25 miles from Zaragoza

Zaragoza

Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...

, killing pilot Capt. Charles A. Baldwin, 28, of Charleston, West Virginia, and navigator Capt. Stephen N. Smith, 27, of Pinebrook, New Jersey.

25 August

A TF-104G Starfighter

F-104 Starfighter

, 27+30, c/n 5732, of MFG 1, Marineflieger, downed by engine failure due to FOD, shortly after take-off from Jagel Air Base at Glücksburg

Glücksburg

Glücksburg is a small town in the district Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.It is situated on the south side of the Flensburg Fjord, an inlet of the Baltic Sea, approx. 10 km northeast of Flensburg...

in northern West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

, both crew ejecting safely. Although the cause of the crash was not immediately known, a spokesman said it might have been struck by a bird in flight. This was the 122nd West German Starfighter crash since the type entered service in 1961.

1 September

An F-8J Crusader

F-8 Crusader

from VF-24

VF-24

VF-24 Fighter Squadron 24, called the Fighting Renegades was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy.-Background:Fighter Squadron 24 was originally commissioned as Fighter Squadron 211 in June 1955 at NAS Moffett Field. The unit flew the FJ-3 Fury aboard the . The squadron transitioned to the...

suffers ramp strike

Ramp strike

A ramp strike is a when an aircraft coming to land aboard an aircraft carrier impacts the rear of the carrier, also called the ramp, below the level of the flight deck....

on the and explodes during night carrier qualifications, killing Lt. Darrell N. Eggert.

8 September

US Marine Corps Capt. Patrick G. Carroll, 27, of El Toro, California, ejects safely Tuesday moments before his A-4 Skyhawk

A-4 Skyhawk

crashes in a remote area 20 miles N of Big Bear, California in Lucerne Valley at 1528 hrs. The impact touches off a 30-acre brushfire in Lovelace Canyon, south and west of the Lucerne Valley, which was still burning the following day. Eight retardant

Phos-Chek

Phos-Chek is a brand of long-term fire retardants, class A foams, and gels manufactured by ICL Performance Products in Ontario, California and Moreland, Idaho.-Fire retardants:...

-dropping fire bombers

Aerial firefighting

Aerial firefighting is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing...

are diverted from another blaze near Devore, California

Devore, California

Devore is a neighborhood in the city of San Bernardino, California. It is located near the northern junction of Interstate 15 and Interstate 215. The area is just outside the boundaries of the San Bernardino National Forest; nearby cities/town centers include Universitytown, Fontana, and Rialto...

in the Cajon Pass

Cajon Pass

Cajon Pass is a moderate-elevation mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California in the United States. It was created by the movements of the San Andreas Fault...

to help contain the burn. A total of 12 California Division of Forestry

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is the State of California's agency responsible for fire protection in State Responsibility Areas of California as well as the administration of the state's private and public forests. It is often referred to as The California Department of...

and other trucks are also dispatched to the site to fight the fire. The pilot, who was flying N over Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. At a surface elevation of , it has an east-west length of approximately 7 miles and is approximately 2.5 miles at its widest measurement, though the lake's width mostly averages a...

on a navigation training flight, suffered an undetermined malfunction, said a public information spokesman at MCAS El Toro, California. He was seen as he ejected by a gas company serviceman, James Kennedy, who picked him up and drove him to near-by Sky-High Ranch. Carroll, a Vietnam veteran, is picked up by a rescue helicopter from George Air Force Base

George Air Force Base

George Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located within city limits, 8 miles northwest of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The facility was closed by the Base Realignment and Closure 1992 commission at the end of the Cold...

, California, and was not injured. Firefighters were hindered by rough, rocky terrain and a truck that overturned on an access road, blocking the path for over an hour. Fire crew were lifted to the site by helicopter or had to walk in 1 1/2 miles from Highway 18 near the Lucerne Valley. CDF officials expected the blaze to be contained by 1800 hrs., 9 September, unless winds developed.

11 November

A USAF

United States Air Force

F-4 Phantom II

crashes in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

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.

15 November

US Navy S-2 Tracker

S-2 Tracker

crashes at Fort Dix, New Jersey killing four. Wreckage found on 16 November in wooded area off Range Road. Killed were pilot Navy Lt. J.G. James K. Larson, 24, of Milltown

Milltown, New Jersey

Milltown is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 6,893.Milltown was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 29, 1889, from portions of North Brunswick Township, based on the...

, New Jersey, co-pilot 1st Lt. (USMC) Carleton C. Perine, 25, of Orange

Orange, New Jersey

The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...

, New Jersey, and passengers Navy Airman Apprentice Robert Suttle, 20, of Bricktown, New Jersey, and Navy Airman Apprentice Gary B. Warner, 19, of Central Bridge, New York.

16 November

A U.S. Navy F-4 Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

crashed in the Atlantic Ocean 30 miles E of the Virginia Capes

Virginia Capes

The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....

shortly after launch from the carrier USS Forrestal, CVA-59. Two crew, out of NAS Oceana, Virginia, are lost, the Navy reported 17 November. Pilot was Lt.j.g. John Dale O'Connor, and RSO was Lt.j.g. Thomas F. Hanagan, both of Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

, Virginia. They were attached to a fighter squadron based at NAS Oceana at Virginia Beach.

24 November

Lockheed U-2R

Lockheed U-2

, 68-10335, Article 057, seventh airframe of the first R-model order, first flown 30 July 1968, registered N815X, delivered to the CIA 29 August 1968. Crashes at Taoyuan Air Base, Taiwan

Taiwan

, on landing after a routine, high-altitude training flight, this date, ROCAF pilot Capt. Denny Huang KWF. At touchdown he skips slightly and begins drifting to starboard. Exacerbated by a 12-knot crosswind, the aircraft leaves the runway, whereupon the pilot applies power to go around. Before the engine spools up, the airframe strikes a six-foot high runway marker. Begins a slow climbing turn to port but nose-high angle causes stall, jet crashes and burns. The Accident Board recommends that the Dash One pilot's manual be amended to emphasize that a go-around should not be attempted after loss of directional control on landing. This was the first loss of an R-model.

15 December

Royal Air Force Canberra B(I)8

English Electric Canberra

, XM267, 'E', of No 3(F) Squadron, crashed at RAF Akrotiri

RAF Akrotiri

Royal Air Force Station Akrotiri, more commonly known as RAF Akrotiri , is a large Royal Air Force station, on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which comprise Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory, administered as a...

, Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

, while on detachment from Squadron base at RAF Laarbruch

RAF Laarbruch

The former Royal Air Force Station Laarbruch, more commonly known as RAF Laarbruch ICAO EDUL was a Royal Air Force station, a military airbase, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands...

, Germany. On approach to Akrotiri runway pilot elected to carry out an over shoot. When both engines were throttled up the starboard engine responded and increased power; port engine failed to respond. The effect of this was the aircraft 'cartwheeled' and port wing hit the ground killing both crew and passenger. Pilot F/O R.Ellis, Navigator F/O R MacMillan, one passenger Senior Aircraftman Kim Petty-Fitzmaurice.

15 December

U.S. Navy Grumman C-2A Greyhound, BuNo 155120, of VRC-50, crashes on takeoff from USS Ranger, in the Gulf of Tonkin

Gulf of Tonkin

. Stalled after catapult launch with a probable load shift of the cargo, reaches extreme nose-up attitude, goes into a hammerhead stall, and crashes off the carrier's port bow, 9 killed, 7 missing. Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlDmMwI9cik

30 December

Prototype Tomcat, F-14-01-GR

F-14 Tomcat

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...

, 157980, suffers hydraulic fluid leak on second flight, crew attempts return to Grumman plant at Calverton

Calverton, New York

Calverton is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 5,704 at the 2000 census.The community is on the border of the Town of Riverhead and the Town of Brookhaven.-History:...

, New York, but loses flight controls just before crossing airfield threshold, both crew eject as airframe plunges into woods short of runway. Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfM5FxnWPm4

1971

7 January

An unarmed USAF B-52C-45-BO Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 54-2666, of the 99th Bombardment Wing (Heavy)

99th Air Base Wing

The 99th Air Base Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command United States Air Force Warfare Center. It is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada...

, Westover AFB, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, crashed into Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

near Charlevoix

Charlevoix, Michigan

Charlevoix is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,994. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County....

, 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

Little Traverse Bay

Little Traverse Bay is a small bay, 170 feet deep, off Lake Michigan in the northern area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Harbor Springs and Petoskey are on this bay.The Little Traverse Light marks its entrance....

. Bomber went down six nautical miles from the Bay Shore Air Force Radar Site. Nine crew KWF.

29 January

A Lunar Landing Training Vehicle crashes at Ellington AFB, Texas. NASA

NASA

test pilot Stuart Present ejects safely.

2 February

Two USAF crew are found dead in the escape module after their F-111 crashes near Mandeville

Mandeville, Louisiana

Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...

, Louisiana three weeks earlier. A parachute was found hanging from a nearby tree, but it did not deploy in time to save the airmen.

26 February

A Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

F-104G Starfighter

F-104 Starfighter

, 22+64, c/n 7145, of Detachment Deci, crashes during a gunnery training flight on the Fransca range over the Italian island of Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

after its pilot parachutes to safety, the defense ministry said, making it the 128th crash of the type since entering German service in 1961. Engine failure due to FOD.

15 April

Sergei Nikolayevich Anokhin, Russian engineer and former Cosmonaut (1 April 1910 - 15 April 1986), is injured in the crash of a Tupolev Tu-16

Tupolev Tu-16

into the Aral Sea

Aral Sea

The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...

while the bomber was flying parabolas for zero-G tests of the engine of the Molniya Block L upper stage, to study why the stage was continually failing to restart in earth orbit.

23 April

A USAF F-111E, 67-0117, c/n A1-162/E-3, out of Edwards AFB, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, crashes in a rocky area of the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

12 miles S of Death Valley National Monument during test flight, both crew, pilot Maj. James W. Hurt, 34, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and WSO Maj. Robert J. Furman, 31, of New York City, killed when parachute on escape module fails to open until just before ground impact. Both bodies were inside the escape module when it is found on Saturday, 24 April. Aircraft experienced trouble at 6,000 feet. This was the 18th crash of the type since entering service and the second fatal accident this year when the module chute failed to properly deploy. All F-111s are grounded on Thursday 30 April after it is determined that the recovery chute compartment door failed to separate making crew escape impossible. This was the sixth grounding order for the type since it entered operation. Grounding order lifted 8 June 1971 during which time the panel that failed in this accident was replaced.

6 June

USMC F-4B-18-MC Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

, BuNo 151458, of VMFA-323

VMFA-323

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 11 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing but deploys with Carrier Air Wing 14.-World...

, en route from NAS Fallon, Nevada to MCAS El Toro, California, has mid-air collision with Hughes Airwest

Hughes Airwest

Hughes Airwest was an airline that was backed by Howard Hughes. Hughes Airwest flew routes around the western United States and to certain points in Mexico and Canada. The airline was purchased by Republic Airlines on October 1, 1980...

Flight 706

Hughes Airwest Flight 706

Hughes Airwest Flight 706 was a regularly scheduled Hughes Airwest flight operated by a Douglas DC-9-31 that collided in midair with a U.S. Marine Corps F-4B Phantom II on June 6, 1971. Flight 706 was en route from Los Angeles, California, to Seattle, Washington, with stopovers in Salt Lake City,...

, DC-9-31, N9345, out of Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...

, at 1811 hrs. over the San Gabriel Mountains

San Gabriel Mountains

The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...

, N of Duarte

Duarte, California

Duarte is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 21,321, down from 21,486 at the 2000 census....

, California. Collision at 15,150 feet altitude killed F-4 pilot 1st Lt. James R. Phillips, 28, of Denver

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, Colorado (inoperable canopy release), the RIO ejecting and landing near Azusa

Azusa, California

Azusa is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 46,361 at the 2010 census, up from 44,712 at the 2000 census. Though sometimes assumed to be a compaction of the phrase "everything from A to Z in the USA" from an old Jack Benny joke, the place name "Azusa"...

, California. All 44 passengers and five crew members were killed aboard the DC-9, which impacted into a remote canyon of Mt. Bliss approximately three miles N of the city of Duarte. The wreckage of the F-4B fighter landed in another canyon approximately .75 miles SE of the DC-9's crash site. Although visibility was good, with no clouds, both crews failed to see and avoid each other. The Airwest DC-9 jetliner was under radar control, but the F-4B fighter was flying with an inoperable transponder that made it invisible on air traffic control radar screens. The RIO, Lt. Christopher E. Schiess, 24, of Salem

Salem, Oregon

Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...

, Oregon, admitted to inquiry board that the F-4B had performed a 360-degree slow roll about a minute before the collision. One of the early leaders of campus antiwar activism, Prof. Arnold Saul Kaufman, at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

in 1965, now Philosophy professor at UCLA, was killed aboard the DC-9.

13 June

A USAF EC-135N, 61-0331, c/n 18238, of the 4950th Test Wing

4950th Test Wing

The 4950th Test Wing, a wing of the United States Air Force, was established in March 1971.It was created as the flying unit of the Wright Air Development Center, which was created in June 1951. Wright ADC changed to Division status in December 1959 until it was replaced by the Aeronautical Systems...

, Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO), Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, en route from Pago Pago, American Samoa

Pago Pago, American Samoa

Pago Pago , also spelled ', is the capital of American Samoa. In 2000, its population was 11,500. The city is served by Pago Pago International Airport. Tourism, entertainment, food, and tuna canning are the primary industries here. From 1878 to 1951, this was a coaling and repair station for the...

to Hickam AFB, Hawaii, after monitoring the French Encelade atmospheric nuclear test, conducted 12 June 1971, disappears over the Pacific Ocean ~70 miles S of Hawaii near Palmyra Island. Twelve military personnel and twelve civilians are lost. Only small bits of wreckage found.

15 June

NF-104A Starfighter, 56-0756, c/n 183-1044, assigned to Aerospace Research Pilot School, Edwards AFB, California, suffers second rocket explosion this date, blowing the whole rocket motor and part of rudder off in flight at 35.000 ft and Mach 1.15. Pilot Capt. Howard C. Thompson lands safely but as the NF-104 project is due to end soon aircraft is written off and portions of it used to create the composite "760" sitting on a pole at the Air Force Flight Test Center

Air Force Flight Test Center

The Air Force Flight Test Center conducts research, development, test, and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to deployment. It has test flown every aircraft in the U.S. Air Force's inventory since World War II...

, Edwards AFB.

30 June

The crew of Soyuz 11

Soyuz 11

Soyuz 11 was the first manned mission to arrive at the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The mission arrived at the space station on June 7, 1971 and departed on June 30, 1971. The mission ended in disaster when the crew capsule depressurized during preparations for re-entry, killing the...

, Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev

Viktor Patsayev

Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 11 mission and had the unfortunate distinction of being part of the second crew to die during a space flight...

and Vladislav Volkov

Vladislav Volkov

Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 11 missions. The second mission terminated fatally.-Biography:...

, are killed after undocking from space station

Space station

A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...

Salyut 1

Salyut 1 was the first space station of any kind, launched by the USSR on April 19, 1971. It was launched unmanned using a Proton-K rocket. Its first crew came later in Soyuz 10, but was unable to dock completely; its second crew launched in Soyuz 11 and remained on board for 23 days...

after a three-week stay. A valve on their spacecraft accidentally opens when the service module separates, letting their air leak out into space. The capsule reenters and lands normally, and their deaths are only discovered when it is opened by the recovery team. Technically the only fatalities in space (above 100 km).

12 July

Piper PA-48 Enforcer

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Darling, Kev. P-51 Mustang . Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife, 2002. ISBN 1-84037-357-1....

, N202PE, c/n PE2-1001, crashes after structural failure due to flutter caused by a Piper-modified elevator trim tab, off of Vero Beach, Florida

Vero Beach, Florida

Vero Beach is a city in Indian River County, Florida, USA. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 16,939. It is the county seat of Indian River County...

. Four of the heavily modified, turbine-powered TF-51

P-51 Mustang

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...

derivatives were built for the counter-insurgency rôle with two tested at Eglin AFB, Florida in 1983-1984, but no orders were ever placed.

27 July

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...

production HAL HF-24 Marut Mk. 1

HAL HF-24 Marut

, flown by Wing Commander

Wing Commander (rank)

Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...

J. K. Mohlah, crashes just after takeoff at Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

, pilot KWF.

30 July

At ~1400 hrs., a Japanese Air Self Defense Force F-86F Sabre

F-86 Sabre

, 92-7932, collides in mid-air at FL280 with All Nippon Airways

All Nippon Airways

, also known as or ANA, is one of the largest airlines in Japan. It is headquartered at the Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It operates services to 49 destinations in Japan and 35 international routes and employed over 14,000 employees as of May 2009...

Flight 58

All Nippon Airways Flight 58

All Nippon Airways Flight 58 was a Boeing 727-281 airliner, JA8329, that collided with a Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-86F fighter jet, 92-7932, while en route from Chitose Airport in Sapporo to Tokyo International Airport in Tokyo on 30 July 1971 at 2:04 local time. All 162 of those on board...

, a Boeing 727-281

Boeing 727

The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...

, JA8329, on regional flight between Sapporo and Tokyo-Haneda. Student pilot was not watching out for other traffic in the training area, and when the instructor warns him to break away from approaching jetliner, it is too late, the Sabre's right wing striking the 727's left horizontal stabilizer, all seven crew and 155 passengers on the Boeing are killed, wreckage coming down near Shizukuishi. F-86F crew ejects. All Japanese military aircraft are immediately grounded while investigation takes place.

11 September

Lockheed

Lockheed Corporation

The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

C-121 of the West Virginia Air National Guard

West Virginia Air National Guard

The West Virginia Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is, along with the West Virginia Army National Guard, an element of the West Virginia National Guard...

, carrying five state governors to a conference in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, experiences engine problems, force-lands at Homestead AFB, Florida. Governors of Connecticut

Thomas Joseph Meskill

Thomas Joseph Meskill was a longtime judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He previously served as the 82nd Governor of Connecticut, as a U.S. Congressman from Connecticut, and as the mayor of New Britain, Connecticut...

, Minnesota, Montana

Forrest H. Anderson

Forrest Howard Anderson was an American politician and judge who served as the 17th Governor of Montana from 1969 to 1973. He was a Democrat. Anderson served in the Montana House of Representatives. Anderson was also an Associate Justice on the Montana Supreme Court from 1953–1956 and Montana...

, Texas

Preston Smith

Preston Smith may refer to:* Preston Smith , American football coach at Colgate University* Preston Smith , Texas governor, 1969–1973* Preston Smith , Civil War Confederate general...

and Utah

Calvin L. Rampton

Calvin Lewellyn Rampton was the 11th Governor of the state of Utah from 1965 to 1977.Following his graduation from Davis High School in 1931, he took over his family's automobile business, due to his father's death that same year. He sold the business in 1933 and entered the University of Utah,...

, transfer to another aircraft to continue flight.

28 September

A United States Navy

United States Navy

P-3 Orion

The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...

, on patrol over the Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan

, is fired on by a Soviet Sverdlov class cruiser

Sverdlov class cruiser

The Sverdlov class cruisers, Soviet designation Project 68bis, were the last conventional cruisers built for the Soviet Navy; 13 ships were completed before Nikita Khrushchev called a halt to the programme as these ships were considered obsolescent with the advent of the guided missile...

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 MCAS Iwakuni, and all surveillance craft were pulled back five miles.

29 September

A USAF C-5A Galaxy of the 443d Military Airlift Wing, Altus AFB, Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, 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.

12 October

A Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

F-4K Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

, XV479, 'J', of No. 54 Squadron, on a training mission crashes into a farm house near Holstebro

Holstebro

Holstebro Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 790 km², and has a total population of 57,020 . Its mayor is H. C...

, Denmark, killing a woman and her child. Police and rescuers who rushed to the scene could do nothing to save them from the burning house. The fighter crew of two parachutes to safety after problems with engine reheat.

19 October

Grumman E-2B Hawkeye

E-2 Hawkeye

The Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, aircraft carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the...

and Ling-Temco-Vought

Ling-Temco-Vought

A-7B Corsair II

A-7 Corsair II

, both from the USS Midway

USS Midway

USS Midway may refer to:, which was the Oritani and then the Tyree before being chartered as a general auxiliary in 1942, renamed to Panay in 1943, and returned to her owner in 1946...

, CVA-41, collide over the Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan

, with E-2 crashing near the stern of the carrier, all five crew lost. A-7 pilot ejected safely, picked up by helicopter from MCAS Iwakuni in good condition.

29 October

A USAF

United States Air Force

T-33A crashes near Kadena Air Base

Kadena Air Base

, Okinawa, both crew ejecting before the airframe impacted in a sugar cane field; one seriously injured, one with minor injuries.

November

Two ex-U.S. Navy Sikorsky

Sikorsky Aircraft

The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. Its parent company is United Technologies Corporation.-History:...

SH-34J Seabats, BuNos. 143934, c/n 58-698, and 143941, c/n 58-722, obtained by Uruguay's Aviación Naval (Naval Aviation) in October 1971 as A-061 and A-062, collide in midair during a public demonstration over a crowded beach, killing eight, over thirty injured, both airframes destroyed.

7 November

A USAF

United States Air Force

F-4 Phantom II

and a USAF

United States Air Force

F-106A-130-CO Delta Dart, 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

Caliente, Nevada

Caliente , formerly known as Culverwell and Calientes is a town in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States. Its elevation is 4,300 feet . The population was 1,123 at the 2000 census...

, Nevada, Delta Dart attempts recovery to Nellis but pilot Maj. Clifford L. Lowrey ejects eight miles NE of base.

15 November

A U.S. Navy A-6A Intruder, BuNo. 151563, of VA-42

VA-42

Attack Squadron 42 was a United States Navy attack squadron based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. VA-42 was known as the "Green Pawns" and the "Thunderbolts" Attack Squadron 42 (VA-42) was a United States Navy attack squadron based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. VA-42 was known as...

, on a maintenance test flight out of NAS Oceana, Virginia, suffers failure of the drogue chute gun in the pilot's ejection seat, pulling the two ejection seat cables and ejecting Lt. Dalton C. Wright. The bombardier-navigator, Lt. John W. Adair, with no pilot in the aircraft, is forced to eject. Jet comes down 15 miles from Oceana. The Navy investigation later determines that five or six flight accidents and one hangar accident may have been caused by the same problem. One source cites date of 15 October 1971.

18 November

Lockheed U-2A

Lockheed U-2

, 56-6952, Article 392, second airframe of the USAF supplementary production, delivered in January 1958, and assigned to the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Laughlin AFB, Texas. Converted to U-2C by November 1966. Assigned to training flights at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, in 1969. Destroyed this date at Davis-Monthan, in a fatal landing accident. Pilot was Capt. John Cunney, who lands heavily, wing low, attempts go-around but stalls and crashes onto the runway.

1972

18 January

F-111E-CF

General Dynamics F-111

, 68-018, c/n A1-127 / E-28, , tailcode 'JS', out of RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford

, crashes on high ground in Scotland

Scotland

, both crew KWF.

19 February

C-130E 62-1813, c.n. 3775, of the 16th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron

16th Airlift Squadron

The 16th Airlift Squadron is one squadron of four active duty C-17A Globemaster III squadrons at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina....

, mid-air collision with Cessna T-37

Cessna T-37

The Cessna T-37 Tweet is a small, economical twin-engine jet trainer-attack type aircraft which flew for decades as a primary trainer for the United States Air Force and in the air forces of several other nations...

from Biggs AFB, Texas, 6 km NE of Little Rock, Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

– four killed on Hercules. Two Tweet pilots eject safely.

14 March

Two USAF F-4 Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

s have mid-air collision over the town of El Buste, Spain, about 30 miles from the joint US-Spanish base at Zaragoza

Zaragoza

Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...

. 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.

23 March

An F-101B Voodoo

F-101 Voodoo

The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military jet fighter which served the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force...

of the 119th Fighter Wing

119th Wing

The United States Air Force's 119th Wing is an Air National Guard unit located at Hector International Airport, North Dakota flying the MQ-1 Predator and the C-21A Learjet.-History:...

, North Dakota Air National Guard

North Dakota Air National Guard

The North Dakota Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of North Dakota. It is, along with the North Dakota Army National Guard, an element of the North Dakota National Guard. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as of the state.-Mission:The mission...

, crashes into the house of Gerald Reed at 1121 26th Street N, Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...

, killing pilot 1st Lt. Burton T. Humphrey, and injuring Mrs. Reed. Systems officer 2nd Lt. Sanford O. Borlaug ejects from the plane and survives with injuries.

31 March

Twenty minutes after take-off from McCoy AFB, Florida, a USAF B-52D-80-BO Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 56-0625, of the 306th Bomb Wing

306th Flying Training Group

The 306th Flying Training Group is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force...

, suffers an in-flight fire in engine number

Aircraft engine position number

Aircraft engine position number is a method to identify the location of engines on multi-engined aircraft. Aircraft engines are numbered from left to right from the view of the pilot looking forward.-Twin-engined aircraft:* #1 - port - on the left...

seven which spreads to starboard wing; attempts emergency landing at McCoy, crashes one quarter mile short of runway, killing six on board and one civilian on the ground, injuring eight civilians on the ground, destroys four houses.

8 April

Hawker-Siddeley

Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of only two such major British companies in the 1960s. In...

Andover C.1, XS609, c/n Set 16, bound for the United Kingdom, carrying 18-man paratroop exhibition team, crashes on take-off at Siena, Italy, digging in starboard wingtip before skidding 300 yards across airfield and catching fire. Four killed, four injured, of 21 on board, most escaping before fuel tank ignited. Dramatic photo, distributed worldwide, showed aircraft at almost 90 degree angle from ground with wingtip digging in.

14 April

Marine reserve pilot Capt. Anthony McCarthy is killed in Friday night accident when he ejects from his A-4 Skyhawk

A-4 Skyhawk

after tire failure on landing at MCAS El Toro, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

after flight from homebase at NAS Alameda, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Although he clears the airframe before it veers off the runway and into a fuel truck, "authorities said the pilot bounced several times on the runway after ejecting."

15 April or 16 April

A U.S. Marine Corps Reserve pilot, Maj. Edward Townley, 40, of Alameda, California

Alameda, California

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...

, ejects safely from his A-4 Skyhawk

A-4 Skyhawk

as it exploded over the surf at Newport Beach

Newport Beach, California

Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...

, California in front of hundreds of beachgoers during the weekend, a spokesman at MCAS El Toro, California said. The pilot was based at NAS Alameda.

10 May

Vietnam People's Air Force

The Vietnam People's Air Force is the air force of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese Air Force and the absorbed Republic of Vietnam Air Force following the re-unification of Vietnam in 1975.-Beginning-1964 :The first Vietnamese aircraft were two trainers, a de Havilland...

MiG-19 (Shenyang J-6

Shenyang J-6

The Shenyang J-6 was the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft.-Design and development:...

) of the 925th Fighter Regiment, piloted by Nguyen Manh Tung, runs out of fuel after CAP mission, deadsticks from altitude of 1,400 meters, descends too rapidly, and overruns runway at Yen Bai

Yen Bai

Yên Bái is a city and urban district in Vietnam. It is the capital of the Yen Bai province, in northeastern Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 78,016. The district covers an area of 58 km²....

airfield, North Vietnam

North Vietnam

, overturning and exploding, killing pilot instantly.

4 June

United States Air Force

Thunderbirds

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds

suffer their first fatal crash at an air show during Transpo 72

Transpo 72

U.S. International Transportation Exposition, better known as Transpo '72, was a trade show held on of land at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. for nine days from May 27 to June 4, 1972. The $10 million event, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, was a showcase...

at Dulles International Airport. Major Joe Howard flying Thunderbird 3, F-4E-32-MC Phantom II

F-4 Phantom II

, 66-0321, experiences a loss of power during a vertical maneuver. Pilot breaks out of the formation just after it completes a wedge roll and was ascending at ~2,500 feet AGL. The aircraft staggers and then descends in a flat attitude with little forward speed. Although Major Howard ejects as the aircraft falls back to earth from ~ 1,500 feet slightly nose low, and descends under a good C-9 canopy, winds blow him into the ascending fireball. The parachute melts and the pilot plummets 200 feet, sustaining fatal injuries in fall.

18 June

General Dynamics F-111A

General Dynamics F-111

, 67-0082, c/n A1-127, crashes near Eglin AFB, Florida, shortly after takeoff. Lost control after an external fuel fire and explosion. Unsuccessful ejection, crew killed.

20 July

Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7978, Article 2029, lost in landing accident at Kadena Air Base

Kadena Air Base

, Okinawa. Pilot Capt. Dennis K. Bush and RSO Jimmy Fagg are unhurt.

28 August

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

Caribou transport aircraft registration A4-233 carrying three crew and 26 passengers crashed in a remote valley south of the town of Wau in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

. The wreckage of the aircraft was located on 31 August following an extensive search by military and civilian aircraft. Five of the passengers survived the crash but one of them died shortly after being rescued.

11 September

General Dynamics F-111A

General Dynamics F-111

, 65-5703, c/n A1-21, of the 6510th Test Wing, used in spin tests out of Edwards AFB, California, crashes this date, impacting in the desert ~10 miles from the base in a near vertical dive at ~500 knots after the crew ejected in their escape capsule. Crew of Winters and Sharp, okay.

10 October

A-3B Skywarrior

A-3 Skywarrior

The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior was originally designed as a strategic bomber for the United States Navy and was among the longest serving carrier-based jet aircraft in history. It entered service in the mid-1950s and was retired in 1991...

, BuNo 138968, of VAQ-33, crashes 1.6 statute miles NW of Holland, Virginia

Holland, Virginia

Holland, Virginia was an incorporated town in the southwestern section of Nansemond County, Virginia. Since 1974, it has been a community in the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia following a [political consolidation which formed Virginia's largest city in geographic area.-History:Holland is...

on old Highway 58

U.S. Route 58

U.S. Route 58 is an east–west U.S. Highway that runs for from U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Harrogate, Tennessee to U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until 1996, when the Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened, US 58 ran only inside the commonwealth of Virginia...

in Nansemond

Nansemond, Virginia

Nansemond is an extinct independent city which was located in the State of Virginia in the United States from 1972 until 1974. It was created from Nansemond County, Virginia, and is now part of the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia.-History:...

(Suffolk, Virginia

Suffolk, Virginia

Suffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...

), off Glen Haven Drive. LTJG David H. Grant, 25, of Westbury, New York

Westbury, New York

Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....

, pilot; LTJG Ronald B. Ritchie, 25, of Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

, navigator; and LTJG Jeffery R. Haushalter, 25, of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Wauwatosa is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, and was incorporated on May 27, 1897. As of the 2006 census estimate, the city's population was 44,798. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is a part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area...

, electronic-weapons officer, are KWF.

13 October

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, also known as the Andes flight disaster, and in South America as Miracle in the Andes was a chartered flight carrying 45 people, including a rugby team, their friends, family and associates that crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972...

, a Fairchild FH-227D

Fairchild Hiller FH-227

The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States...

, T-571, c/n 572, carrying a rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

team from Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

to a match in Santiago, Chile

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

, crashes in a remote region of the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

on the Chile-Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

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

Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...

to live, feeding off the bodies of the dead that had been preserved by the freezing temperatures. On 12 December, 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 23 December. The story would spawn a critically acclaimed book

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors is a 1974 book by the British writer Piers Paul Read documenting the events of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571.-Story:...

in 1974, along with several film adaptations.

30 October

First developmental model Hawker P.1127

Hawker P.1127

, XP972, crashes at RAF Tangmere

RAF Tangmere

24 November

Two USAF RF-4C Phantom IIs of the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Shaw AFB, South Carolina, suffer mid-air collision over the Atlantic Ocean about 30 miles off of Pawley's Island at ~1450 hrs. Two crew from one Phantom recovered 27 miles out to sea by UH-1N Huey, Save 53, 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.

5 December

During an Aerospace Defense Command

Aerospace Defense Command

Aerospace Defense Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. Established in 1946 under the United States Army Air Forces, its mission was to organize and administer the integrated air defense system of the Continental United States , exercise direct control of all active...

night training mission, F-102A-80-CO Delta Dagger, 56-1517, of the 157th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron

157th Fighter Squadron

The 157th Fighter Squadron , also known as the "Swamp Foxes," is the primary flying unit of the 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard . The 157th FS is one of the few Air National Guard F-16 units in the U.S...

, South Carolina Air National Guard

South Carolina Air National Guard

, McEntire Air National Guard Base, South Carolina, collided with C-130E Hercules

C-130 Hercules

, 64-0558, of the 318th Special Operations Squadron

318th Special Operations Squadron

318th Special Operations Squadron flies Pilatus PC-12 and is currently stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico. The 318 SOS is under the command of the Air Force Special Operations Command...

, out of Pope AFB, North Carolina, during a simulated interception, over the Bayboro area of Horry County, east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...

. One killed in the Delta Dagger, Capt. Thomas C. Hagood, Jr. of Lexington, South Carolina

Lexington, South Carolina

Lexington is a town in and the county seat of Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 17,870 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Lexington is located at ....

, and all twelve aboard the Hercules perish. They were Lt. Col. Donald E. Martin, of White Oak, Texas

White Oak, Texas

White Oak is a city in Gregg County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,469 at the 2010 census.-Geography:White Oak is located at ....

; Maj. Keith L. Van Note, of Mason City, Iowa

Mason City, Iowa

Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....

; Capt. John R. Cole, of Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

; Capt. Louis R. Sert, of St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

; Capt. Marshall K. Dickerson, of Chicago; Lt. Douglas L. Theirer, address unavailable; T.Sgt. Robert E. Doyle, of South Hill, Virginia

South Hill, Virginia

South Hill is a town in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2006 census, the town population was 4,608. Located on major Interstate and U.S. highways, it has a full service hospital , a tobacco market, and several hotels. South Hill has a close relationship with the neighboring...

; T.Sgt. Claude L. Abbot, of Adel, Georgia

Adel, Georgia

Adel is a city in Cook County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,344. The city is the county seat of Cook County. The original name of the city was Puddleville. The city's first postmaster, Joel "Uncle Jack" Parrish, wanted to change the name of the city...

; S.Sgt. Gilmore A. Minkley, Jr., of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...

; Sgt. Billy M. Warr, Sr., of Sylmar, California; Sgt. Gerald K. Faust, of Oregon, Wisconsin

Oregon, Wisconsin

Oregon is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The current population of Oregon is 9498. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area and is a suburb of Madison. The village is located mostly within the Town of Oregon....

; and Capt. Douglas S. Peterson, of Harvard

Harvard, Illinois

Harvard is a city located in McHenry County in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Illinois, approximately south of the Illinois/Wisconsin border. The population was 7,996 at the 2000 census...

, Illinois. Some press reports list Conway, South Carolina

Conway, South Carolina

Conway is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 16,317 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Horry County and is part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. It is the home of Coastal Carolina University....

, west of the crash site, as the location.

1973

7 February

A US Navy A-7E-8-CV Corsair II

A-7 Corsair II

, BuNo 157539, c/n E-195, of VA-195

VA-195

VA-195 or VA 195 may refer to:* Strike Fighter Squadron 195, a unit of the United States Navy* State Route 195 , a road in the Commonwealth of Virginia...

piloted by Lt. Robert Lee Ward, 28, one of two on a routine training flight to Sacramento

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

, California from NAS Lemoore near Fresno, California

Fresno, California

Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...

, crashes at 2013 hrs. in Alameda

Alameda, California

, after breaking formation at 28,000 feet for unexplained reasons. Fighter strikes four-story Tahoe Apartments building at 1814 Central Avenue in the city center with fire spreading to other structures, killing pilot and ten civilians, 26 injured. Navy inquiry found evidence of a cockpit fire involving the pilot's oxygen hose, and that the in-flight blaze was "very near" Ward's oxygen mask. Speculation that smoking could have caused it, but no proof. Lawsuits for more than $700,000 were filed in connection with the disaster, including a $500,000 damage action filed in Alameda County Superior Court by owner of the demolished 36-unit Tahoe Apartments.

8 March

A Douglas EC-47 Skytrain carrying members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights

Golden Knights

*For the Byzantine order of Knights, see Angelici.*For the ancient sect, see Angelici .*For the US Army Parachute Team The Golden Knights, see United States Army Parachute Team* For the annual correspondence chess tournament, see Golden Knights...

parachute team on a recruiting tour crashes and explodes at ~0900 hrs. in a muddy cornfield on the Basil Perry farm near Silk Hope, North Carolina

Silk Hope, North Carolina

Silk Hope, in Chatham County, North Carolina, USA, is a farm community centered on a community school, a volunteer fire department, several country churches, and many historical farmsteads. It is evolving into the country home of many who work in Cary, Chapel Hill, and Research Triangle Park...

while en route to their first performance of the season, at Overland Park, Kansas

Overland Park, Kansas

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...

, killing 11 team members, two flight crew and the crew chief. The flight had departed Fort Bragg, North Carolina, at 0808 hrs. Cause was found to be overloading caused by the installation of a heavy metal plate floor, installed in Vietnam, but not entered in the logbook.

12 April

A United States Navy

United States Navy

P-3C-125-LO Orion, BuNo 157332, c/n 185-5547, of VP-47

VP-47

Patrol Squadron 47 , also known as "The Golden Swordsmen", is a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy based at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, attached to Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Two. The squadron currently flies the P-3C Orion, and is scheduled to transition to...

and a Convair 990-30A-5

Convair 990

The Convair 990 Coronado was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics, a "stretched" version of their earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines. The 990 was lengthened by 10 feet, which increased the number of passengers from...

, N711NA, '711', "Galileo", c/n 30-10-1, (formerly N5601G of American Airlines

American Airlines

American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

), belonging to NASA

NASA

, collided while on final approach to NAS Moffett Field in Sunnyvale

Sunnyvale, California

Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...

, 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.

4 August

First of two prototype Boeing YQM-94A Compass Cope B long-range remotely piloted vehicle (RPV

RPV

RPV may mean:* Rancho Palos Verdes* Reactor pressure vessel* Remotely Piloted Vehicle* Republican Party of Virginia...

)s, possibly serial 70-1839, crashed during its second test flight. The United States Air Force

United States Air Force

decides not to order the Compass Copes into production. Second prototype is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force

National Museum of the United States Air Force

, Dayton

Dayton, Ohio

, Ohio.

22 August

RAF Phantom FGR2

F-4 Phantom II

, XV427, 'X', of 17 Squadron, RAF Brüggen

RAF Bruggen

The former Royal Air Force Station Brüggen, more commonly known as RAF Brüggen, in Germany was a major station of the Royal Air Force until 15 June 2001. It was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately west of Düsseldorf near the German-Netherlands border. The base was named after...

, flies into high ground at Siegen

Siegen

Siegen is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia.It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region...

, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

, killing both crew. Aircraft had fallen out of a four ship formation during a turn and the pilot attempted to rejoin by ‘cutting a corner’ but impacted rising terrain.

19 September

A U.S. Navy Grumman A-6A Intruder, BuNo 155721, 'NJ', of VA-128, out of NAS Whidbey Island, Washington, crashes in the Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

desert, ~25 miles SE of Christmas Valley, Oregon

Christmas Valley, Oregon

Christmas Valley is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The community was named after nearby dry Christmas Lake, east of the present townsite and the site of the former Lake post office, which ran from 1906 until 1943. Real estate development around a planned...

, during a low level night training mission. The pilot Lt. Alan G. Koehler, 27, and navigator Lt. Cdr. Philip D. duHamel, 33, are KWF. On 14 June 2007, the Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

(BLM) officially declares the crash scene a historic Federal government site at a Flag Day

Flag Day

A flag day is a flag-related holiday—either a day designated for flying a certain flag , or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag....

ceremony. An interpretive plaques was unveiled during this event reflecting this designation and depicting the historical significance of the location.

24 September

RAF Hawker Harrier GR1A, XV739, 'V', of 1 Squadron

No. 1 Squadron RAF

No. 1 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It operated the Harrier GR9 from RAF Cottesmore until 28 January 2011.The squadron motto is In omnibus princeps , appropriate for the RAF's oldest squadron and one that has been involved in almost every major British military operation since...

, crashes at Episkopi Cantonment

Episkopi Cantonment

Episkopi Cantonment is the capital of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus, administered as a Sovereign Base Area. It is located in the middle of the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of the two areas which comprise the territory. It is located at...

, Cyprus

Cyprus

, during the climbing transition from hover during a display rehearsal. Pilot ejects.

16 November

While on reserve station south of Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

, a U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight

CH-46 Sea Knight

The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...

from USS Guadalcanal

USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7)

USS Guadalcanal , the third Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship , was launched by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 16 March 1963, sponsored by Mrs. David Shoup, wife of General Shoup, the former Commandant of the Marine Corps; and commissioned 20 July 1963, Captain Dale K. Peterson in command...

(LPH-7) loses engine power during a routine flight while hovering above the USS Barry

USS Barry (DD-933)

USS Barry was one of eighteen Forrest Sherman-class destroyers of the United States Navy, and was the third US destroyer to be named for Commodore John Barry. Commissioned in 1954, she spent most of her career in the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, but also served in the Vietnam War,...

. The helicopter, with crewmen aboard, crashes into the destroyer's ASROC

ASROC

ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...

deck, rolls over the starboard side, and almost immediately sinks. While no one on Barry was injured, only two of the three helicopter crew were rescued by the ship's Motor Whale Boat.

10 December

RAF English Electric Lightning F3

English Electric Lightning

, XP738, 'E', of 111 Squadron

No. 111 Squadron RAF

, is written off when the undercarriage

Undercarriage

The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...

collapses upon landing at RAF Wattisham

RAF Wattisham

, Suffolk

Suffolk

. Stripped for spares and consigned to the dump there.

1974

24 January

Togolese Air Force C-47 Skytrain

C-47 Skytrain

, 5V-MAG, crashes during approach near the village of Sarakawa, northern Togo

Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

, killing several high-ranking military personnel. The President of Togo, Gnassingbé Eyadéma

Gnassingbé Eyadéma

General Gnassingbé Eyadéma , was the President of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005. He participated in two successful military coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became President on April 14, 1967...

(1935–2005) is the sole survivor.

8 February

A United States Air Force Boeing B-52G Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress

, 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 member, the first pilot, was thrown free with severe burns, but seven others perished.

9 February

Two United States Air Force F-105 Thunderchief

F-105 Thunderchief

s of the 457th TFTW (TH tailcode), Carswell AFB, Texas, suffer mid-air collision, downing one aircraft ~1 mile from Holliday

Holliday, Texas

Holliday is a city in Archer County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,632 at the 2000 census...

, Texas, with the pilot ejecting, suffering broken right leg on landing, recovered by helicopter. Second F-105 recovers to Carswell despite damage, pilot uninjured. 1st Lt. Hayes C. Kirby in F-105D-10-RE, 60-5375, had a violent pitch up and roll in the aircraft and hit his leader in F-105D-10-RE, 60-0513. Ejected in a flat spin. Leader landed okay.

9 February

A United States Air Force North American T-39A Sabreliner, 60-3506, returning to McClellan AFB, California collides with a USAF Boeing NKC-135A Stratotanker at 23,000 feet, over Peterson Field

Peterson Field

, Colorado, killing all seven on board the 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.

5 March

A United States Navy

United States Navy

RA-5C Vigilante crashes in the Gulf of Mexico 35 miles W of Tampa, Florida. Both crew eject, two chutes observed, but only the navigator is recovered, by a fishing boat.

5 March

A USAF Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker, 57-1500, 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.

5 March

A USAF Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker of the 7th Air Refuelling Squadron, 7th Bomb Wing, en route from Eielson AFB, Alaska to its homebase at Carswell AFB, Texas, suffered explosive decompression when a small window blew out at 35,000 feet at 1630 hrs. EST about 40 miles SE of Fort Nelson

Fort Nelson, British Columbia

Fort Nelson is a town of approximately 5000 residents in British Columbia's northeastern corner. It is the administrative centre of the newly formed Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, a first for BC. The majority of Fort Nelson's economic activities have historically been concentrated in the...

, British Columbia. One passenger of the 25 aboard died from the effects of the rapid decompression; others and eight crew okay. The tanker made an emergency landing at a Canadian Armed Forces Base at Edmonton, Alberta.

31 July

A United States Navy

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 fibreglass and upholstery shop. Instructor pilot, three civilians killed, student pilot, and 12–18 others injured.

9 August

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

MD Phantom FGR2, XV493, 'F', of No. 41 Squadron

No. 41 Squadron RAF

No. 41 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is currently the RAF's Test and Evaluation Squadron , based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Its official title is "41 TES". The Squadron celebrates its 95th anniversary in 2011, and is one of the oldest RAF squadrons in existence.-First World War, 1916–1919:No...

was involved in fatal mid-air collision

1974 Norfolk mid-air collision

The 1974 Norfolk mid-air collision happened on the 9 August 1974 at Fordham Fen, Norfolk, England when a Royal Air Force McDonnell-Douglas Phantom FGR2 of 41 Squadron collided with a Piper Pawnee crop spraying aircraft. All three aviators were killed, the pilot and navigator of the Phantom and the...

with a Piper Pawnee

Piper PA-25 Pawnee

The PA-25 Pawnee was an agricultural aircraft produced by Piper Aircraft between 1959 and 1982. It remains a widely used aircraft in agricultural spraying and is also used as a tow plane, or tug, for launching gliders or for towing banners. On April 15, 1998, The New Piper Aircraft, Inc....

crop-sprayer, G-ASVK, over Fordham Fen near Downham Market

Downham Market

Downham Market is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, some 20 km south of the town of King's Lynn, 60 km west of the city of Norwich and the same distance north of the city of Cambridge....

, Norfolk

Norfolk

, England. Two Phantom and one Pawnee crew all KWF.

18 August

Lockheed C-141A Starlifter, 65-0274, of the 437th MAW, Charleston AFB, South Carolina, hits Mount Potosi

Huayna Potosí

Huayna Potosí is a mountain in Bolivia, located about 25 km north of La Paz in the Cordillera Real.Huayna Potosí is the closest high mountain to La Paz, a city which is surrounded by high mountains, and itself is the highest capital city in the world. Huayna Potosí is roughly fifteen miles due...

at the 19,000 foot level, ~17 miles from destination, John F. Kennedy International Airport, La Paz

La Paz

Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...

, Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, killing seven crew.

1 September

The Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk company demonstrator N671SA crashed while attempting to recover from a roll

Flight dynamics

Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...

at too low an altitude during its display at the Farnborough Air Show

Farnborough Air Show

The Farnborough International Airshow is a seven-day international trade fair for the aerospace industry which is held in even-numbered years in mid-July at Farnborough Airfield in Hampshire, England....

, United Kingdom, killing its two crew.

15 September

On third day of Naval Preliminary Evaluation (NPE-1) testing, first prototype Sikorsky YCH-53E Sea Stallion

CH-53 Sea Stallion

The CH-53 Sea Stallion is the most common name for the Sikorsky S-65 family of heavy-lift transport helicopters. Originally developed for use by the United States Marine Corps, it is also in service with Germany, Iran, Israel, and Mexico...

, BuNo 159121, is destroyed at the Sikorsky plant at Stratford

Stratford, Connecticut

Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. It was founded by Puritans in 1639....

, Connecticut when it rolls onto its side and burns after one of the main rotor blades detaches during a ground run. It had first flown on 1 March 1974. Second prototype is grounded while accident is investigated, flight testing resuming on 24 January 1975.

External links

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