1959 — May 11, Plane crash, US Navy P2V-5, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, WA– 9
— 9 AP. “Reason Sought…Crash of Navy…Bomber.” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. 5-12-59, 1.
— 9 Aviation Safety Network. USN Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune, Monday, 11 May 1959.
— 9 B3A. “Crash of a Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune at Whidbey Island NAS: 9 Killed.”
— 9 Nat. Fire Protect. Assoc. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Quarterly, July 1960, p. 28.
Narrative Information
B3A: “At liftoff, while in initial climb, the airplane went out of control and crashed in flames. A crew member was seriously injured while nine other occupants were killed. The tower saw the fire prior to takeoff and tried to warn the pilot, but apparently the plane left the ground at about the time of the warning and it was too late….
“Probable cause: A hydraulic line fluid rupture caused the fire.” (B3A. “Crash of a Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune at Whidbey Island NAS: 9 Killed.”)
NFPA: “U. S. Navy Aircraft near Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, Wash., May 11. 9 killed.
“During take-off, fire involved the right wing of a P2V-5 Neptune bomber. The pilot was unable to abort the take-off and the plane crashed just after becoming airborne. One crewman was pulled from the wreckage by crash crewmen but the other 9 aboard died in the burning wreckage.
“NFPA efforts to get additional information from the Naval Air Station have not been successful.” (National Fire Protect. Assoc. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Quarterly, July 1960, p. 28.)
Newspaper
May 12, AP, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, WA: “A Navy investigating board began probing Tuesday for the cause of a patrol bomber’s takeoff crash which killed nine of the 10 men aboard. The P2V3 plunged into a grove of trees near the south end of the runway after barely becoming airborne Monday on what was to have been an ordinary training flight. Fire mushrooming from the right engine was blamed unofficially for the disaster. The victims all were regular Navy men who had been in service for a number of years….all had been making their homes…close to this Puget Sound island naval base about 60 miles north of Seattle. All were family men….
“The only survivor, Radioman Gerlando P. Ilardi of Bath, N.Y., was reported in serious condition Tuesday at Bremerton Naval Hospital but he is expected to recover. Both legs and several ribs were broken and he was burned over about 25 per cent of his body.
“Witnesses said the pilot, Lt. Cmdr. William F. Wade of Arcadia, Calif., fought desperately to gain enough altitude to guide his stricken plane back to a safe landing. But the flaming right engine apparently lost all power about 300 feet in the air and the bomber tipped and dove into the ground. It exploded and burned.
“The other dead:
Lt. (jg) Eldwin J. Bruner, copilot, West Helena, Ark.;
Lt. (jg) Hilton L. Cutler Jr., Deer Creek, Ill.;
Aviation Ordnance man Joseph E. Foltz, Ontario, Calif.;
Ensign Vernon L. Garner, Vallejo, Calif.;
Aviation Machinist Mate 3.C. Harry A. Hartwell, Matoaka, W. Va.
Ensign Carl D. Johnson, Flamaton, Ala.;
Machinist Mate 1.C. John H. McMillan, 37, Bremerton;
Aviation Structural Mechanic George F. Robertson, Washita, Okla.”
(AP. “Reason Sought for Crash of…Bomber.” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. 5-12-59, 1.)
Sources
Associated Press, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station . “Reason Sought for Crash of Navy Patrol Bomber.” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. 5-12-1959, p. 1. Accessed 10-28-2014 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=225164346&sterm=navy+patrol+bomber
Aviation Safety Network. USN Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune, Monday, 11 May 1959. Flight Safety Foundation. Accessed 2-11-2020 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19590511-0
B3A (Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives). “Crash of a Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune at Whidbey Island NAS: 9 Killed. Accessed 2-11-2020 at: https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-lockheed-p2v-5-neptune-whidbey-island-nas-9-killed
National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Quarterly of the NFPA, Vol. 53, July 1960, pp. 7-38.