Flight

While conducting a firefighting mission in the region of Yuba City, the crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing for unknown reason. The twin engine aircraft crash landed in canyon and came to rest in flames. While both occupants were evacuated safely, the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

The crew was performing a geophysical survey flight in the west part of Aldan, Yakutia. At the end of the mission, the crew was returning to the east and while flying face to the sun at a height of 1,046 meters, the single engine aircraft struck tree tops and crashed in flames in a dense wooded area located about 145 km west of Aldan. The captain and the flight engineer were killed instantly. The flight operator and the navigator were injured and walked away to find help. After four km walk, the navigator died from his injuries and his body was found thirteen days later on July 18. The flight operator eventually find help and was evacuated to a local hospital. At the time of the accident, the visibility was reduced to one km due to clouds.

At 8:15 PM on Monday, June 27, 1960, crew T-51 of the 380th Air Refueling Squadron departed Plattsburgh AFB aboard a KC-97G for the "Fighting Fox" air refueling area over Maine. Their mission was part of a SAC Operational Readiness Inspection of the 380th Bombardment Wing code named "Jet Stream Golf". They, and a backup KC-97G, were to refuel a B-47 under simulated combat conditions. The mission was expected to last just under four hours, with both tankers returning to Plattsburgh. After a successful rendezvous with the bomber, the tanker descended to the refueling altitude of 15,500 feet and accelerated, nose down, to 190 knots. The low altitude, when compared to today's KC-135 and KC-10 operations, was one of the necessities of refueling jet bombers like the B-47 and B-52 with a reciprocating engine powered aircraft. As the B-47 closed with the KC-97 from a higher altitude in "observation" position, everything seemed fine. Logistical radio exchanges were made and the bomber began to descend and close into refueling position. As they approached, the B-47 pilot and copilot saw a long stream of flame come back toward them from the KC-97's number one engine, then suddenly disappear. A small spot of white hot glow was noted near the rear of the number one engine. Seconds later, a large ball of flame enveloped the engine and the surrounding wing area. The boom operator transmitted "breakaway, breakaway, breakaway", and the B-47 commander took up a loose formation position off the tanker's right wing. The backup tanker, above and to the rear, made radio contact asking if they were in trouble, to which Lt. Burgess, the aircraft commander calmly replied "Roger, I'm on fire". At this point, the aircraft entered a gradual left turn which continued to get steeper, and turned into a spiral or spin. It was later determined that the left wing outboard of the burning engine had failed due to fire damage, before the crew could complete the "engine fire" drill. It was later found in Howard Pond some three miles from the crash site. The B-47 commander called "bail out! bail out!" but got no reply and spotted no parachutes. Witnesses on the ground, including over three hundred moviegoers at the Rumford Point Drive-In, saw the flaming aircraft spin down with burning pieces falling off. The fuel laden tanker crashed into Jonathan Smith Mountain near Route 26 in the Town of Newry. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt William Burgess, pilot,
Lt Lewis Turner, copilot,
Lt Raymond Kisonas, navigator,
M/Sgt Harold Young, flight engineer,
T/Sgt Robert Costello, boom operator.
Source: http://www.mewreckchasers.com/kc97art.html

Pacific Northern Flight 201 failed to maintain its intended track after taking off from Cordova, Alaska, bound for Anchorage, Alaska. Mt. Gilbert is approximately 28 nautical miles to the right of the flight's first intended checkpoint and is 9,646 feet in elevation. At an altitude of 9,000 feet, crashed into the sheer face of Mt. Gilbert, killing all nine passengers and five crew members.

After his departure from Sukhumi Airport, the crew continued to the southeast bound for Kutaisi at an altitude of 1,200 meters when poor weather conditions were encountered with clouds from 600 to 1,000 meters. Following a navigation error, the aircraft deviated 17 km to the north when it struck trees and crashed in flames on the north slope of Mt Rech (1,436 meters high) located near Tkvarcheli. The wreckage was found a day later. The airplane was completely destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 31 occupants were killed.

The twin engine aircraft departed Al Aaiun Airport at 1605LT on a schedule flight to Las Palmas-Gando, Canary Islands. Less than one hour later, while cruising, the left engine hydraulic pressure dropped. Unable to maintain a safe altitude, the pilot ditched the airplane about 74 km east of the Canary coast. All four occupants were rescued while the airplane sank and was lost.

Crashed in unknown circumstances on an airbase located in Jakarta, killing all four crew members who were completing a local training mission.

The aircraft departed Buenos Aires-Ezeiza-Ministro Pistarini Airport at 1104LT with a crew of four, five passengers and seven race horses that should be delivered in Lima, Peru. An intermediate stop was scheduled at Santiago de Chile. The crew continued the flight under VFR at 3,000 meters in good weather conditions but while approaching the region of San Luis, weather deteriorated with turbulences and poor conditions. While cruising at an altitude of 4,500 meters, the airplane disintegrated in the air and eventually crashed on the slope of a mountain located near El Sosneado. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. The wreckage was spotted on 21 November 1961 in an isolated area.
Crew:
Pedro Lafuente, pilot,
Fermín Gómez, copilot,
Domingo Vacarelli, mechanic,
Oscar Carballo, navigator.
Paasengers:
Sergio Etcheverry,
Carlos Luján,
Pedro Puccineri,
Omar Silva,
Raúl Díaz.

The aircraft was completing a positioning flight from Geneva to Mecca with intermediate stop at Dakar, Niamey and Khartoum, carrying a crew of ten and two Swiss journalists. While overflying Sudan by night at an altitude of 8,000 feet, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located in the Djebel Marra. The wreckage was located few hours later. The airplane was destroyed and all 12 occupants were killed.

An engine exploded in flight, forcing the crew to reduce his altitude and to attempt an emergency landing. The airplane crashed in flames in a field located in Krusendorf and was destroyed by fire. All occupants escaped uninjured.