Convair B-36 Peacemaker

Following an uneventful training mission, the crew was returning to Fairchild AFB. After touchdown, the pilot completed the braking procedure and vacated the runway via a taxiway when one of the main landing gear collapsed. The aircraft came to a halt in flames and while all occupants were able to evacuate safely, the aircraft was completely destroyed by fire. It was reported that one of the undercarriage collapsed and punctured a fuel tank. The fire could not be extinguished in time.

The crew was performing a transfer flight from Carswell AFB to Biggs AAF in El Paso. While approaching from the west, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions when, at an altitude of 5,200 feet, the six engine airplane hit the slope of a mountain located in the Franklin Mountains, about six miles west of Biggs AAF. All nine occupants were killed in the crash.
Crew:
Lt Col Herman F. Gerick, pilot,
Maj George C. Morford, copilot,
Maj Douglas P. Miner, navigator,
1st Lt Cary B. Fant, flight engineer,
1st Lt James M. Harvey Jr., flight engineer,
M/Sgt Royal Freeman, radio operator,
A1c Edwin D. Howe, air gunner,
A2c Frank Silvestri, air gunner.
Passenger:
Sgt Dewey Taliaferro.

An engine caught fire in flight. Control was lost and the aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 800 km northwest of the British coast. Six crew members were rescued while 17 others were killed. Later, two of the survivors died from their injuries.

Capt. Jacob Pruett Jr., Capt Orion Clark, Brigadier General Richard Ellsworth, Major Frank Wright and a crew of nineteen took off in RB-36H, 51-13721 of the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (Heavy) from Lajes Airdrome in the Azores at 0000 Zulu (11:00 PM Azores time) on March 18, 1953. Their destination was their home base of Rapid City Air Force Base, South Dakota. Their flight path took them across the Atlantic Ocean and over Newfoundland. The flight was expected to take 25 hours. The pre-flight weather briefing indicated that their flight path would take them to the south of a low pressure zone. The counter-clockwise rotation of the low would produce headwinds that were forecast to average 17 knots from 300 degrees. General Ellsworth and Major Wright were not current in take-offs and landings, so Capt. Jacob Pruett Jr. and Capt Orion Clark were probably at the controls during the take-off. Major Wright then moved into the pilot's seat on the left and General Ellsworth got into the co-pilot's seat on the right. Major Wright and General Ellsworth flew the over water portion of the flight about 1,000 feet off the water for best range performance. They monitored their altitude above the water with the radar altimeter as they flew through the darkness. The navigator intended to turn on the mapping radar an hour before the time that he expected the RB-36H to reach land. The pilots planned to climb to an altitude that would carry the RB-36H safely over the mountains of Newfoundland while they were still 20 miles from land. Most of the flight was flown in overcast conditions that prevented the navigator from using the sextant for a celestial observation to determine the true position of the airplane. The low pressure zone moved south of its predicted position before the RB-36H reached its vicinity. The airplane passed to the north of the low. Instead of the anticipated headwinds, the airplane encountered tailwinds that averaged 12 knots from 197 degrees. Ocean station delta received a position update from the RB-36H at 0645Z. The navigator reported that the ground speed of the airplane was 130 knots. The position was in error by 138 nautical miles, and the true ground speed was closer to 185 knots. The RB-36H reached Newfoundland about 1-1/2 hours earlier than expected. The crew made no attempt to contact air defense when they were fifty miles off shore. The navigator did not turn on the radar. The pilots continued to fly at low altitude. In the last twenty minutes of the flight, the ground speed averaged 202 knots. The visibility was less than 1/8-mile as the airplane flew straight and level through sleet, freezing drizzle, and fog. At 0740Z (4:10 AM Newfoundland time), thirty miles after crossing the coastline the RB-36H struck an 896-foot tall ridge at an elevation of 800 feet. The six whirling propellers chopped the tops off numerous pine trees before the left wing struck the ground. The left wing ripped off of the airplane, and spilled fuel ignited a huge fireball. The fuselage and right wing impacted 1,000 feet beyond the left wing. The entire crew was killed on impact. Wreckage was strewn for 3/4-mile across the hillside. U. S. Air Force 1st Lt Dick Richardson heard the RB-36H approaching his cabin at Nut Cove. The sound of the engines stopped suddenly, to be replaced by a loud explosion. Richardson reported that, "Everything lit up real bright". He could see a fire burning on the hillside above. He woke up the other men on the hill. They boiled up the kettle and sent a search party up to the crash site through deep snow. They found no survivors. Following this tragedy, the Rapid City airbase will be renamed Ellsworth AFB to honor the general.
Crew:
Cpt Jacob Pruett Jr.,
Cpt Orion Clark,
Br Gen Richard Ellsworth,
Maj Frank Wright,
Cpt Stuart Fauhl,
Cpt Harold Smith,
Cpt William Maher,
1st Lt Edwin Meader,
1st Lt James Pace,
Maj John Murray,
1st Lt James Powell Jr.,
A2cC Robert Nall,
1st Lt Clifford Bransdor,
M/Sgt Jack Winegardner,
A2cC Morris Rogers,
T/Sgt Walter Pinski,
A1c Burse Vaughn,
S/Sgt Ira Beard,
S/Sgt Robert Ullom,
A2c Phillip Mancos Jr.,
A2c Keith Hoppons,
A1c Theodore Kuzik,
T/Sgt Jack Maltsberger.
Source:
http://www.air-and-space.com/b-36 wrecks.htm#51-13721

On landing, the undercarriage collapsed and punctured the fuel tank. The aircraft slid on its belly for dozen yards and came to rest in flames on the runway. All 22 occupants evacuated safely before the aircraft would be destroyed by fire.

On approach to Goose Bay following a transatlantic flight from RAF Fairford, the aircraft was misaligned and crashed in a wooded and hilly terrain located 26 km southwest of the airport. Fifteen crew members were injured and two others (seated in the rear part of the cabin) were killed.

The aircraft was on its way from Carswell AFB to RAF Fairford with an intermediate stop in Goose Bay, taking part to the 'Operation Styleshow', consisting of a transfer of 18 Convair B-26 from the US to the UK. While approaching RAF Fairford, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. Despite a GCA approach, the pilot-in-command was unable to locate the airbase due to low visibility, made a go around and followed a holding pattern north of the airfield. Later, a second attempt to land was aborted and the crew continued to the north. Due to fuel starvation, the captain ordered his crew to abandon the aircraft and to bail out. The heavy bomber continued to the south for 50 km and eventually crashed in an open field located southeast of Chippenham, Wiltshire. All 14 occupants were safe, except one who broke his leg on landing.

Following technical modifications, the crew was engaged in a local test flight out from San Diego Airport. In flight, the engine number five caught fire. The pilot-in-command instructed his crew to bail out and elected to steer the aircraft away from the populated area. Eventually, the airplane went out of control and crashed into the sea about 3,5 miles off San Diego. The pilot and a second crew member were killed while six others were found alive.
Crew:
David H. Franks, pilot, †
R. W. Adkins, copilot,
Kenneth Rogers, flight engineer,
W. W. Hoffman, flight engineer, †
W. F. Ashmore,
Roy E. Sommers,
D. R. Maxion,
W. E. Wilson.

The crew was engaged in a training sortie out from Carswell AFB. Just after liftoff, while in initial climb, the crew informed ground that he lost an engine cowling and obtained the permission to return for a safe landing. On touchdown, one of the main landing gear collapsed. The heavy bomber went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest in flames, killing seven crew members. It was reported that the total weight of the airplane upon landing was too high, causing the undercarriage to collapse.

The crew was engaged in a routine training flight and the plane was scheduled to conduct seven practice bomb runs at the Yakima Firing Center in Yakima County. During the takeoff roll from runway 23, the six engine aircraft encountered difficulties to rotate, overran and eventually rotated 520 feet past the runway end. The airplane climbed to a height of 50 feet then nosed down and crashed in a huge explosion in a field 3,314 feet past the runway end and 75 feet on the right of the extended center line. Two crew members were seriously injured while 15 others were killed. The aircraft was totally destroyed. The pilot was also in command of another B-36 registered 44-92080 that crashed at Fairchild AFB last January 29.
Crew:
Cpt Cecil F. Alldredge, pilot, †
Cpt John Q. Boyd, †
T/Sgt Francis J. Brozowski, †
S/Sgt Martin Gordon Cohn, †
Cpt John E. Daly, †
S/Sgt Earl K. Davis, †
1st Lt Melvin H. Emley, †
S/Sgt John C. Gafford, †
Cpt Arthur L. Hulshizer, †
2nd Lt John J. Knaub, †
A2c Wilbur W. Knox Jr., †
1st Lt Herbert D. Merman, †
Cpt Albert E. Nelson, †
Cpt Earl G. Soderbeck, †
A1c Charles E. Sykora Jr., †
A2c James Breedlove,
M/Sgt Walter L. Campbell.