This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can
submit corrected information.
Date: | Sunday 14 December 1941 |
Time: | 10:28 |
Type: | Republic P-43A Lancer |
Owner/operator: | 37th FSqn /55th FGp USAAF |
Registration: | 40-2941 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Paine Field, Everett, Washington -
United States of America
|
Phase: | Take off |
Nature: | Training |
Departure airport: | Paine Field AAF |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:At 1028 hrs on 14 December 1941 22-years old 2nd Lt Karl Francis Leabo, of 37th FS, 55th FG, was one of the pilots taking off in a squadron formation from Paine Field, Everett, Washington, but his P-43A 40-2941 failed to reach flying speed. Investigators speculated that the fighter, taking off uphill with a slight quartering tailwind, might have been caught in the propeller vortex of the preceding airplane. The P-43 left the ground, but never exceeded an altitude of 20 feet before going out of control. It smashed into the runway and Leabo was killed.
Leabo, a Portland native and a 1937 graduate of Albany High School, was the 55th FG's first casualty of the war, and also the first casualty among men based at Portland. He is buried in Albany's Riverside Cemetery.
Sources:
1.
https://oregonaviation.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/1995-03-reduced.pdf 2.
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Dec1941.htm 3. "Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945.
4. Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon, 16 December 1941 (available online on
5.
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/80213991/)
6. Albany Democrat-Herald from Albany, Oregon, 16 December 1941 (available online on
7.
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/118327560/)
8.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paine_Air_Force_Base 9.
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=47.906111&lon=-122.281111&z=14&m=b Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
14-Dec-2017 14:38 |
Laurent Rizzotti |
Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
13-Feb-2020 18:20 |
Iwosh |
Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
04-Feb-2021 11:00 |
Nepa |
Updated [Operator, Source, Operator] |