1954 — June 27, USAF KC-97G Stratotanker flies into Box Springs Mountain, CA –all 14

–14 Aviation Safety Network. USAF KC-97G Stratofreighter Crash 27 June 1954 near Riverside, CA.
–14 Long Beach Independent, CA. “Flying Tanker Rams Peak Near Riverside.” 6-28-1954, p1.
–14 NFPA. “Large Loss Fires of 1954.” Quarterly of the NFPA, Vol. 48, No. 3, Jan 1955, 306.
–14 YouTube. “KC-97G USAF Stratotanker Crash site story at Box Springs Mountain on 06.26.1954.”

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network:
“Date: Sunday 27 June 1954
“Time: 03:08
“Type: Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter
“Operator: United States Air Force – USAF
“Registration: 52-2654
“MSN: 16685
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
“Passengers: Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
“Total: Fatalities: 14 / Occupants: 14
….
“Location: 8 km (5 mls) N of Riverside-March AFB, CA…United States of America
“Crash site elevation: 1000m (3281 feet) amsl
“Phase: En route (ENR)
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Altus AFB, OK…
“Destination airport: Riverside-March AFB, CA…”

(Aviation Safety Network. USAF KC-97G Stratofreighter Crash 27 June 1954 ~Riverside, CA.)

NFPA: “June 27, Box Spring Mountain, Calif. U. S. Air Force, KC-97, $1,500,000, 14 killed.

“A crew of seven and seven passengers aboard a KC-97 ‘Stratotanker’ were killed in an explosive crash on Box Spring Moun¬tain at 3:08 A. M. The aircraft was en route to San Bernardino Air Force Base but hit the mountain at the 3,000-foot level. The tanker was on a training flight and did not have its full load of fuel but the fire was intense from the plane’s own fuel supply. Helicopters were used to retrieve the bodies because of the rugged terrain of the accident site.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1954.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 48, No. 3, Jan 1955, pp. 201-326, p. 306).)

YouTube: “Crash Site Visitation. USAF Boeing KC-97G 52-2654, aerial refueling tanker departed Altus AFB in Oklahoma on 6/26/54 for a long range rendezvous and navigational training flight. The final destination of the flight was March AFB in Riverside County, California. However, due to the GCA not being operational at March AFB Captain Phillips requested permission to land at nearby Norton AFB. At about 1:58 AM on 6/27/54, after eleven hours and ten minutes of flight, the KC-97G collided with the west slope of the Box Springs Mountains killing all on board. On Saturday, November 23, 2012 the brother of Captain John Phillips, Jr., Edward Phillips, and ten members of his family, many of whom had travelled from Minnesota, and Sacramento visited the crash site of the KC-97G to pay their respects to all fourteen men who died there on 6/27/54. Commander Edwards Phillips served with distinction as a Naval Aviator from 1944-1970.” (YouTube. “KC-97G USAF Stratotanker Crash site story at Box Springs Mountain on 06.26.1954.”)

Newspaper

June 28: “March Air Force Base (AP) – Fourteen men of the U.S. Air Force were killed Sunday [June 27] when their big refueling plane, groping through the dark and heavy overcast, crashed and burned on Box Springs Mountain, five miles east of Riverside, near this base.

“The KC97 Strato-Tanker of the 96th Bomb Wing at Altus, Okla. Air Force Base was headed for this Southern California base but because of murky weather was directed by radio to land at Norton Air Force Base at San Bernardino, 12 miles to the north.

“Box Spring Mountain lies between the two air bases. Air Force officials said that in circling to head for Norton, the big craft hit the mountain at about the 3,000-foot level and then bounced onto a boulder-strewn ridge.

“The Air Force said the plane, carrying a crew of seven and with seven passengers aboard, hit the mountain and exploded at 3:08 a.m. Within an hour and a half a crew from the 42nd Air Rescue Squadron of March Air Force Base reached the scene and found the flaming wreckage with all aboard dead. Because of the rugged terrain the grim task of bringing the bodies to the base hospital here was being done by a helicopter.

“Hours after the crash parts of the wreckage still were burning.

“The KC97 has four big fuel tanks and is the Air Force version of the C97 Stratocruiser. It is used in refueling other planes in flight and is the same kind of plane that was used last week in refueling the bombers which flew nonstop from March Air Force Base to Japan.

“The crash scene was visible to Sunday motorists traveling along Highway 60, which is about two miles to the south. Some stopped to watch the Air Force helicopter land on a ridge a few feet from the wreckage and carry out its task of taking the bodies to March Air Force Base.” (Long Beach Independent, CA. “Flying Tanker Rams Peak Near Riverside.” 6-28-1954, p. 1.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF KC-97G Stratofreighter Crash 27 June 1954 near Riverside, CA. Accessed 4-30-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19540627-1

Long Beach Independent, CA. “Flying Tanker Rams Peak Near Riverside.” 6-28-1954, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=45060486&sterm=plane+crash+box

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1954.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 48, No. 3, Jan 1955, pp. 201-326.

YouTube. “KC-97G USAF Stratotanker Crash site story at Box Springs Mountain on 06.26.1954.” Accessed 4-30-2023 at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX3yPnZdq7Y