Date & Time:
Jun 20, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
42-30445
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Rapid City - Rapid City
MSN:
5559
YOM:
1943
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
9
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Rapid City on a training flight with a crew of nine on board. While cruising at an altitude of 3,500 feet, it suffered a midair explosion and crashed in an uninhabited area called Badlands and located about 40 km south of Rapid City. The airplane was totally destroyed and all nine crew members were killed.
Crew:
1st Lt Robert R. Owens,
2nd Lt Frederick W. Buckley,
2nd Lt Yale Kweskin,
2nd Lt Martin Gelbert,
S/Sgt John C. Kozlowski,
S/Sgt Francis P. Owens,
S/Sgt Thomas E. Strauser,
S/Sgt Robert C. Bailey,
Sgt Raymond Spencer.
Crew:
1st Lt Robert R. Owens,
2nd Lt Frederick W. Buckley,
2nd Lt Yale Kweskin,
2nd Lt Martin Gelbert,
S/Sgt John C. Kozlowski,
S/Sgt Francis P. Owens,
S/Sgt Thomas E. Strauser,
S/Sgt Robert C. Bailey,
Sgt Raymond Spencer.
Probable cause:
The airplane suffered a catastrophic internal explosion of gasoline and air in the starboard wing. The damage and subsequent fire caused the airplane to break up and crash. The airplane had been modified with additional internal tankage in the wings at a modification center.
