| Date: | Friday 30 June 1972 |
| Time: | 05:00 |
| Type: |  Boeing C-135F Stratotanker |
| Owner/operator: | L'Armée de L'Air |
| Registration: | 38743 |
| MSN: | 18682/C004 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1964 |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | ca 4 km NW off Hao Island Airport (HOI) -
 French Polynesia
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Hao Island Airport (HOI/NTTO) |
| Hao Island Airport (HOI/NTTO) |
The aircraft lost power on one engine and crashed into the sea while attempting to return to the airport. The C-135F was on a weather reconnaissance mission associated with a nuclear test.
After this accident another C-135 stationed at Hao Island also developed engine problems. It was determined that there was significant corrosion of the compressor fins and of certain pressure tap ports supplying the FCU (Fuel Control Unit) with salt particles and dust from coral and that there was a blocked bleed-valve.
To prevent this, the French Air Force began to systematically wash the jet engines after exposure to a saline atmosphere.
Sources:
La perte du C-135 n° 473
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker (Aerofax Series) / Robert S Hopkins, III
Location
Revision history:
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