1943 – Jan 6, USAAF B-24D tail section structural failure crash 3M W White City, KS– 11
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-18-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–11 Associated Press. “Bomber Crash Kills Eleven.” The Iola Register, KS. 1-7-1943, p. 1.
–11 Mireles 2006, Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents in US 1941-1945, Vol. 1, p. 232.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 1735 CWT, a Consolidated B-24D suffered a catastrophic structural failure of the tail section and crashed three miles west of White City, Kansas, killing 11 passengers and crew. Navigator-rated passenger 2Lt. Frank Maleckas parachuted to safety and was uninjured.
“The B-24 took off from the Army Air Base at Topeka, Kansas, at 1710 on an instrument training flight to Pueblo, Colorado. The airplane climbed to an altitude of 5,500 feet when it began picking up ice in the overcast. A crewmember in the rear of the airplane notified the pilots that the tail section was picking up a thick coating of ice. The pilot acknowledged the warning and said, “Do not worry.” The airplane began losing altitude rapidly. The pilot ordered the crew and passengers to put on parachutes and to stand by to bail out. Lt. Maleckas stood by in the nose section and after noticing that the airplane was beginning to shudder violently he pulled the emergency hatch lever and bailed out. He stated that the pilot gave no order to abandon ship.
“Investigation of the wreckage indicated that the port horizontal stabilizer, elevator, vertical fin and rudder had separated. From the airplane in one piece. The B-24 then dove straight ahead into the ground and exploded violently into flames. The severed port tail section was found over one-half mile from the scene of the main wreckage. Lt. Maleckas parachuted safely to the ground and ran to the wreckage immediately, but was kept away by exploding bombs, bullets and flares. The occupants had all been killed instantly. Investigators speculated that the structural failure was caused by an excessive amount of ice stressing the tail section and causing it to fail.” (Mireles 2006, Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents in US 1941-1945, Vol. 1, p. 232.)
Newspaper
Jan 7, AP: “Topeka, Jan. 7. (AP) – Eleven crewmen were killed in the crash of a Topeka air base four-motored bomber three miles west of White City late yesterday. Base officials said today only one man, 2nd Lt. Frank Maleckas, Custer, Mich., parachuted to safety before the plane fell into a cornfield and burned 20 minutes after leaving the home field on a routine training flight. Lieut. L. E. Larson, public relations officer announced the dead: [We place the names on separate lines.]
Flight Officer James G. Masters, Wisemantown, Ky.
2nd Lt. John Sedor, Hammond, Ind.
2nd Lt. Norman A. Kendall, Ruston, La.
2nd Lt. Clifford A. Smallwood, Toledo, O.
2nd Lt. Aldon A. Alleman, Santa Ana, Calif.
2nd Lt. Joseph P. Hulder, Jr., Armandale, N.J.
1st Lt. Robert Clyne, Tucson, Ariz.
Pvt. Leonard McNabb, Republic, Mo.
Pvt. Gustave Dzingoski, Camden, N.J.
Stf. Sgt. Vernon O. Larson, Rochelle, Ill.
Stf. Sgt. Thomas P. Merlino, Los Angeles, Calif.
“A board began investigating the accident this morning….” (Associated Press. “Bomber Crash Kills Eleven.” The Iola Register, KS. 1-7-1943, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Bomber Crash Kills Eleven.” The Iola Register, KS. 1-7-1943, p. 1. Accessed 5-18-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/iola-register-jan-07-1943-p-1/
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 1: Introduction, January 1941 – June 1943). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.