Date & Time:
Jun 27, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
42-30417
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
5531
YOM:
1943
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
3
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
En route to Dow AFB, the crew encountered technical problems with the engines that quit one after one. At an altitude of 8,000 feet, the captain ordered the crew to bail out and only the tail gunner and both pilots remained on board after seven crew members bailed out. While attempting an emergency landing, the airplane collided with a large oak tree and crashed in a dense wooded area near Randolph. Three crew members were killed.
Those killed were:
2nd Lt Leonard L. Bolon, pilot,
2nd Lt Harry A. Turner, pilot,
S/Sgt Donald E. Burgan, tail gunner.
Those killed were:
2nd Lt Leonard L. Bolon, pilot,
2nd Lt Harry A. Turner, pilot,
S/Sgt Donald E. Burgan, tail gunner.
Probable cause:
Failure of all four engines in flight after the oil burned because the cooling system was incorrectly set prior to the flight.
