ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98639
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: | Monday 14 August 1950 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Boeing B-29A Superfortress |
| Owner/operator: | 324th SRSqn /91st SRGp USAF |
| Registration: | 44-62296 |
| MSN: | 11773 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 12 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Indian Oaks, 5 miles north of Carswell AFB, Fort Worth, Texas -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Barksdale AFB, Bossier City, LA (KBAD) |
| Carswell AFB, Fort Worth, TX | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Boeing RB-29A-70-BN Superfortress 44-62296: Delivered to the USAAF 29 April 1946. Modified to F-13A; redesignated 1948 as RB-29A. Assigned to 54th Reconnaissance Squadron (VLR) Weather, Morrison AAF, Florida. Damaged 17 December 1946 due to mechanical failure at Morrison AAF, Florida. Re- Assigned to 324th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group
Written off (destroyed) 14 August 1950: On final approach to Carswell AFB, the airplane crashed in flames for unknown reasons. Four crew members were killed while eight others were rescued. According to the following contemporary press report ("Walla Walla Union Bulletin", Washington 15-8-1950):
"CRIPPLED B-29 CRASHES, KILLS FOUR CREWMEN.
Fort Worth (AP) - A crippled B-29 bomber crashed and burned in a field five miles north of Carswell Air Force Base Monday, killing four crewmen. Eight crewmen got away with minor injuries as the four-engined bomber narrowly missed a cluster of houses, struck the field and slithered almost half a mile. They tumbled from the Superfortress as it plowed crazily along the ground.
Three charred bodies were removed from the nose section of the plane and one from the center section. The bomber was from Barksdale air force base, near Shreveport, La. It apparently was trying to land at Carswell.
Mrs. A. L. Cronk of Lake Worth said she and her husband took two of the surviving crewmen to the Carswell base hospital in their car. Both were dazed but one was able to talk. "I couldn't pull it up. I couldn't pull it up," he kept repeating. She didn't learn the fliers' names.
An explosion of fuel ripped the bomber as it ended its slide through the tree-studded field. Robert V. Bail of Fort Worth said he saw the plane circling with its left landing gear down but its right landing gear up. Witnesses said the plane circled the field several times, apparently trying to land but in trouble.
It was from the 91st bomb group, 91st strategic reconnaisance wing, second air force, Barksdale. The plane commander was one of the survivors. Officers on the apron said the plane appeared to be coming in for a landing at about 1,000 feet. However, the control tower said the plane had not contacted it.
The plane crashed in Indian Oaks, a village on the outskirts of Fort Worth. One witness said the plane dropped two flares before it crashed. Barksdale AFB spokesmen identified the dead as:
Capt. BERNARD J. McKENNA, navigator, Staten Island, N.Y.
1st Lt. MICHAEL J. JOYCE, navigator, Arlington, Mass.
1st Lt. WILLIAM NICHOLSON, navigator, of (RFD 2, box 100), Barnesboro, Pa.
1st Lt. ARMAND S. TREPANIER, of 127 Chestnut St., Holyoke, Mass., an observer.
Sources:
1. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.html
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20160917114643
3. http://www.baaa-acro.com:80/1950/crash-of-a-boeing-rb-29a-70-bn-superfortress-in-carswell-4-killed
4. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbahb.asp?HB=fl&offset=10975
5. http://usafunithistory.com/PDF/0300/324%20EXPEDITIONARY%20RECONNAISSANCE%20SQ.pdf
6. http://www.gendisasters.com/texas/18220/indian-oaks-tx-crippled-bomber-crashes-aug-1950
7. The Courier News from Blytheville, Arkansas August 15 1950 Page 2.
8. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/49188/
9. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/104914621
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jun-2017 17:32 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Jun-2020 07:23 | Reno Raines | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation