ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 183968
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| Date: | Tuesday 15 April 1958 |
| Time: | 09:35 |
| Type: |  Boeing B-47E Stratojet |
| Owner/operator: | United States Air Force (USAF) |
| Registration: | 52-0235 |
| MSN: | 43 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near McDill AFB, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | McDill AFB, FL |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Crashed in Tampa Bay just after takeoff. It was 9:35 am and stormy. Witness reported hearing what sounded like a clap of thunder and then an explosion.
From an S44 Crew Member
The B47 was designed and built to be a high altitude, high speed bomber. 1956
is when I came into the 367th Bomb Squadron. We operated between 35 and 45
thousand feet altitude. Commercial and civilian traffic operated at 10 to 25
thousand feet. We were alone in the sky, above everybody. We could fly direct
from Tampa (McDill AFB) to Dallas or to Casa Blanca. This was a fun time to be
in B47s. (By the way, one of my first friends was Bill “Gunner” Sigler. He later
became active in Little League Baseball in Bellevue. He is memorialized in Sigler
Field in the baseball diamonds in Bellevue, NE.)
Things changed when the Russians demonstrated they had effective high
altitude surface to air missiles when they shot down Gary Powers in his U2.
The B47 was immediately redirected to be a high speed, low altitude bomber.
This was both dramatic and traumatic. The low altitude terrain following, metal
fatigue, pop-up bomb releases, and immelmans took its toll on the airframes.
Cracks emanating from the bolt holes that contain the bolts that join the wings to
the fuselage began to appear. The SAC Director of Operations stated that if the
exposed crack was less than one half inch long, then the airplane was safe to fly.
One crew found an exposed crack three quarters of an inch long during preflight
inspection of the left wing. The Aircraft Commander declined the aircraft. It was
unheard of for a crew to turn down an aircraft for flight after the Squadron
Maintenance officer released the aircraft for flight. But still, the crack was much
longer than was allowed. Suddenly there was much turmoil on the flight line.
The crew that refused to fly the airplane was an elite Select crew, Crew S44.
At that time it was remarkable that a Select crew would refuse to fly an airplane
that had been cleared for flight by the maintenance officer.
Select crew S44 was composed of: Aircraft Commander, Lt. Col. Gus Tieman;
Copilot, Captain Tom Dewerd; Navigator Bombardier, Major Tony Ortega.
The squadron senior pilot came out and ordered the crew to fly the airplane. But
the crew refused again. The senior pilot then said he and his crew would fly the
airplane the following morning at 10:00am. He told the crew I want you to be by
the runway to watch the takeoff. When I return, you will not only be disciplined
but you will be punished by Court Martial as well.
The next morning every crew member was standing by the runway. The airplane
launched at 10:00 sharp. They began their climb and turned to exit Tampa Bay
and enter the Gulf. All was going well. However, just before they got to the
Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the control room lost radio contact. Later it was
determined that the left wing separated from the fuselage and the violent roll that
ensued prevented the crew from ejecting. The plane crashed into the south end
of the bridge. All crew members perished.
Sources:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19580415&id=r5kcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AmUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7092,2752237&hl=en
Sarasota Herald-Tribune 16 April 1958, p1+2 .
B-47 Stratojet Association
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Jan-2016 18:31 | noman | Added |
| 25-Jul-2017 14:55 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Jul-2017 14:57 | TB | Updated [Source] |
| 31-Oct-2017 17:53 | TB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Source] |
| 15-Jul-2018 16:36 | williamferreira | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
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