Crash of a Boeing B-29-60-MO Superfortress near Merkel: 1 killed
Date & Time:
May 20, 1947 at 0816 LT
Operator:
Registration:
44-86472
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Roswell – Borinquen
Crew on board:
20
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
En route from Roswell AAF to Borinquen, PR, the engine n°3 caught fire. Unable to extinguish the fire, the crew decided to bail out and abandon the airplane that dove into the ground and crashed 5 km west of Merkel. A crew, 1st Lt Irving Bloom, was killed, and 19 other occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
Engine fire in flight.
