Date & Time:
Mar 30, 1961 at 2115 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
Operator:
Registration:
59-2576
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Dow - Dow
MSN:
464339
YOM:
1959
Flight number:
Judy 24
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
6
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
6
Aircraft flight hours:
233
Circumstances:
The crew departed Dow AFB for a training and refueling mission. At an altitude of 30,000 feet, while preparing to refuel with a USAF KC-125, the pilot-in-command reduce the speed too much, causing the airplane to stall and to enter a dive. Two crew members were able to bail out before the aircraft crashed in a huge explosion near Silver Hill. Six crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt William Donald McCullen, pilot, †
Cpt William Woody Farmer, copilot, †
Cpt Robert Marsh Morgenroth, radar navigator, †
Cpt George William Beale, observer, †
S/Sgt James Howard Fults, gunner instructor, †
A1C Robert Nathaniel Gaskey, gunner student, †
Maj Wilbur Fred Minnich, navigator,
1st Lt Glen Charles Farnham, EWO.
Crew:
Cpt William Donald McCullen, pilot, †
Cpt William Woody Farmer, copilot, †
Cpt Robert Marsh Morgenroth, radar navigator, †
Cpt George William Beale, observer, †
S/Sgt James Howard Fults, gunner instructor, †
A1C Robert Nathaniel Gaskey, gunner student, †
Maj Wilbur Fred Minnich, navigator,
1st Lt Glen Charles Farnham, EWO.
Probable cause:
Pilot error.
