Date & Time:
Nov 30, 1956 at 2200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
Operator:
Registration:
52-8716
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Castle - Castle
MSN:
16844
YOM:
1952
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
10
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
Soon after a night takeoff from Castle AFB, while climbing to a height of 500 feet, the aircraft adopted a 5° nose down attitude. The crew elected to correct this but the aircraft went into a descent and struck the ground 4 miles north of the airbase and exploded on impact, killing all 10 crew members.
Crew:
Cpt John A. Goddard, aircraft commander,
Cpt Richard M. Wikstrom, pilot,
Cpt Leland Fulton Burch, navigator,
Maj Robert Louis Sherman, ECM operator
Cpt Jack Eugene Welch, radar-bombardier,
Maj Bryant Guernsey Gay, electronic counter measure operator,
T/Sgt William J. Maguire, radio operator,
Cpt Nick Sam Koss, radar-bombardier instructor,
Cpt Charles Warren Schweer, ECM instructor,
T/Sgt Gerald Everett Riley, tail gunner.
Crew:
Cpt John A. Goddard, aircraft commander,
Cpt Richard M. Wikstrom, pilot,
Cpt Leland Fulton Burch, navigator,
Maj Robert Louis Sherman, ECM operator
Cpt Jack Eugene Welch, radar-bombardier,
Maj Bryant Guernsey Gay, electronic counter measure operator,
T/Sgt William J. Maguire, radio operator,
Cpt Nick Sam Koss, radar-bombardier instructor,
Cpt Charles Warren Schweer, ECM instructor,
T/Sgt Gerald Everett Riley, tail gunner.
Probable cause:
No technical issues and no structural failure was found during investigations. It is believed the accident was the consequence of an uncontrolled descent caused either by a wrong maneuver on part of the pilot or due to the fact that they were distracted. Following this accident, it will be recommended that flaps could not be raised below a minimum altitude of 1,000 feet.
