Date & Time:
Feb 2, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
42-5459
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Pyote AFB - Albuquerque
MSN:
3998
YOM:
1942
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On February 1st, the airplane departed Pyote AFB to fly the airline beams to Albuquerque AAB, NM when there was a fog blanket of 1, 500 feet. The Tower told the crew they could fly above it and when they were due to come back early the next morning there would be a cloud ceiling of 1,000 feet. The aircraft arrived back the next morning with dense fog below. The Tower told the crew to do a procedure let down and turn around on the beam, which they did. When they got down to 1,000 feet they were still in dense fog so decided to let down to 500 feet as that country is very flat and there were lots of gas flares burning from the local gas wells which the crew thought they would be able to see easily at 500 feet. They let down to 500 feet and did not see any flares and were just starting to pull up when the aircraft hit the ground. It plowed along the ground, all the propellers had hit and become deformed, the number three engine was torn off the wing, and wind milled through the tail of the plane. The plane had cracked and bent behind the bomb bay and the fuel line to the torn away engine was spewing gasoline on the ground near the plane. The crew opened the window on the left side of the cockpit and those in the front climbed out that window. The rest of the crew went out through the door in the rear of the fuselage.
Source: Joe Baugher.
Source: Joe Baugher.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.
