ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 23206
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| Date: | Thursday 15 December 1949 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Boeing B-29 Superfortress |
| Owner/operator: | 393rd BSqn /509th BGp USAF |
| Registration: | 44-87735 |
| MSN: | 12538 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 14 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 2 miles South of Walker AFB, Roswell, New Mexico -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Walker AFB, New Mexico |
| Walker AFB, NM |
Boeing B-29-90-BW Superfortress 44-87735: Delivered to the USAAF 9 July 1945. Written off (destroyed) December 15, 1949: On final approach to Walker AFB, the heavy bomber went out of control and crashed in flames two miles south of the airbase. Seven crew members were killed while five others were injured.
According to a contemporary newspaper report ("The Cairns Post" Cairns, Australia, 17 December 1949 page 1):
"SUPERFORTRESS IN CRASH
STRUCK WINDMILL IN LANDING.
FIVE DEAD. NINE INJURED.
ROSWELL (New Mexico), Dec. 15
An air force B 29 bomber crashed off the edge of the Walker air force base runway to-day and burst into flames.' The air force said the bomber carried 14 men. The bomber was attempting to land, but struck a windmill. It burst into flames as soon as it crashed. Air force crash crews in asbestos suits went into the flames to try to rescue the crew.
The latest report of the air crash says that five- men were killed and nine injured, three critically."
Cause of the crash was not made public. A board of inquiry worked into the night but kept silent on its findings. Air Base officials, however, said there appeared to be "no indication of engine trouble."
It was the third Roswell-based B-29 to crash within a month. Flames shot up from where the plane crashed, two miles south of the field and four miles from downtown Roswell. City and military ambulances, rescue crews and fire equipment worked for two hours, cutting bodies and survivors out of the twisted wreckage.
Several hundred spectators from the city and the base rushed to the scene. The families of most of the crewmen live in Roswell: Military and civil officers kept operations.
NOTE: Sources vary as to a) the number of crew on board, and b) the number of crew killed. The number of crew on board varies between 11 and 14, and the number of crew killed varies between 5 and 7. One fatality confirmed by name was 1st Lt Robert Lee Eyman (the airplane commander).
Sources:
1. El Tiempo 16 December 1949, page 9
2. "The Cairns Post" Cairns, Australia 17 December 1949
3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/42650621
4. Los Cruces Sun-News New Mexico December 16, 1949
5. https://www.gendisasters.com/new-mexico/11573/roswell-nm-bomber-crashes-dec-1949
6. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_6.html
7. http://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/15426/
8. http://www.baaa-acro.com/1949/crash-of-a-boeing-b-29-90-bw-superfortress-in-walker-afb-7-killed
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 20-Feb-2014 16:14 | TB | Updated [Date, Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 22-Jun-2017 20:15 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Jun-2017 20:18 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Jun-2017 20:20 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 06-Apr-2020 14:38 | Reno Raines | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Operator] |
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