ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 48374
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| Date: | Thursday 30 March 1961 |
| Time: | 21:15 |
| Type: |  Boeing B-52G-125-BW Stratofortress |
| Owner/operator: | 341st BSqn /4038th SWg USAF |
| Registration: | 59-2576 |
| MSN: | 464339 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 8 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Silver Hill, west of Denton, North Carolina -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Dow AFB, Maine |
| Dow AFB, Maine | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
B-52G s/n 58-2576 call sing "Judy 24" crashed and destroyed March 30, 1961 at Silver Hill west of Denton, NC after losing control during aerial refueling attempt while participating in a RBS bombing competition. Crew was ordered to bail out. Out of the 8 on board, only 6 had ejector seats and just two of the five who ejected survived. A massive explosion occurred when the bomber crashed to the ground. The aircraft entered a stall when the pilot bled off too much airspeed in a failed attempt to prevent overshooting the tanker. Aircraft had logged a total of 233 flying hours when the accident occurred.
Crew of 59-2576 were
Captain William Donald McMullen, Commander & pilot - killed
Capt. William Woody Farmer, co-pilot - killed
Capt. Robert Marsh Morgenroth, Radar Navigator - killed
Captain George William Beale, Observer - killed
S.Sgt.James Howard Fults, Instructor Gunner - killed
Airman 1sr Class Robert Nathaniel Gaskey, Student Gunner - killed
Major Wilbur Fred Minnich, Navigator - Survived
1st Lt. Glen Charles Farnham, EWO - survived
The survivors bailed out at 30,000 feet and landed six to seven miles away from the crash site. Major MINNICH, the navigator, suffered a dislocated arm when he bailed out. Lt. FARNHAM complained of back pains but was apparently unhurt.
The two stated that the plane, an eight-engined jet, was on a routine mission from Dow Air Force Base in Maine. Its destination was not revealed. Minutes before the explosion the plane had attempted to make contact with a KC-135 jet tanker to be refueled in flight.
Sources:
USAF accident report
https://sites.google.com/site/memoryyear/denton-nc-stuff/b-52-crash-near-denton-1961
http://web.archive.org/web/20171101061754/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/b52_stratofortress.htm
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1959.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Nov-2008 10:15 | ASN archive | Added |
| 04-Jul-2009 22:10 | Anon. | Updated |
| 15-Feb-2013 21:35 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Dec-2015 07:16 | petef86a | Updated [Narrative] |
| 03-Jul-2017 17:41 | bobm | Updated [Narrative] |
| 31-Jan-2019 16:27 | wf | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 05-Apr-2020 19:45 | Reno Raines | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 25-Jun-2021 13:49 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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