1962 — Sep 10, USAF SAC tanker crash on approach, Mt. Kit Carson ~Spokane, WA–all 44

–44 Baugher, Joseph F. 1960 USAF Serial Numbers. 9-26-2011 revision.
–44 Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 81.
–44 Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “Norton team to investigate crash of KC-135.” 9-11-1962, p. 1.
–44 Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “Search for victims of KC135 resumes today.” 9-11-1962, p. 1.
–44 Ruston Leader, LA. “Services for Lee Barney Announced.” 9-27-1962, p. 7.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker….0352 (c/n 18127) crashed in mountains on approach to Fairchild AFB, WA Sept 10, 1962. 44 killed.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1960 USAF Serial Numbers. 9-26-2011 revision.)

Gero: “Operated by the Strategic Air Command, the jet tanker [60-352] crashed [about 11:05] in mountainous terrain about 30 miles (50km) north-east of Fairchild Air Force Base, located near Spokane, where it was to have landed. All 44 men aboard perished, including a crew of four; except for one civilian passenger, the victims were Air Force personnel.

“The accident occurred near the end of an internal US passenger flight from Ellsworth Air Force Base, in South Dakota. Its undercarriage down and flaps retracted, the aircraft was longitudinally level but banked slightly to the right when it slammed into a wooded slope at an approximate elevation of 4,400ft (1,350m), exploded and burned during the approach to Runway 23 utilizing very-high¬ frequency omni-directional range (VOR) and instrument landing system (ILS) procedures. At the moment of impact, it was completing a right turn in order to effect alignment with the 20-degree radial of the Mead VOR station, and proceeding on a magnetic heading of 195 degrees, having failed to level off at the proper altitude.

“The local weather at the time of the accident consisted of a scattered to broken overcast at around 1,000ft (300m) and another cloud layer at 8,000ft (c.2,500m), with a visibility of 25 miles (40km).

“Although specific details were not disclosed by the Air Force, the primary cause of the crash was believed to have been an error by the navigator of 60-352.” (Gero 1999, pp. 80-82)

Newspapers

Sep 11: “Spokane, Wash. (UPI) – The search for victims of the crash of a KC135 jet Stratotanker with 44 men aboard resumed at dawn today in a rugged ravine on 5,310-foot Mt. Kit Carson 20 miles northeast of here. The Washington State Patrol said 31 bodies were found before the search was halted Monday night. The Air Force refused to confirm the figure but said it had not indication anyone survived the crash.

“The big four-engine jet from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., disappeared from a radarscope as it was approaching Fairchild Air Force Base west of here for a landing Monday. The plane apparently slammed nose first into the fog-covered mountain. The debris was scattered over an area 500 by 200 yards along the sheer wall of the ravine. Most of the wreckage burned but the fire did not spread into the forest, dampened by a day of rain.

“The plane was en route to Fairchild with four crewmen and 40 combat crew and maintenance personnel from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth. The 28th is temporarily assigned to Fairchild while construction is under way on the Ellsworth runways. An Air Force spokesman said the plane had checked in by radio while north of Spokane and was ordered to enter the approach pattern for Fairchild. It began to descend, swung north, then east in the pattern, then disappeared from the radar scope. It was some six hours before the wreckage was found.

“The Air Force said there had been no indication before the crash that the plane was in trouble. The $3.5-million KC135 normally is used for aerial refueling of jet bombers but can also be used
as a troop or cargo transport with a capacity of 80 passengers or 25 tons of cargo.” (Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “Search for victims of KC135 resumes today.” 9-11-1962, p. 1.)

Sep 11: “A five-man team of accident investigation specialists was dispatched from the Air Force Safety Center at Norton Air Force base last night to help determine why a KC-135 jet transport crashed in the mountains east of Spokane, Wash., yesterday. Brig. Gen. Jay T. Bobbins, 30919 Sutherland drive, Redlands, is heading the Pentagon-level team which was due to arrive at Fairchild AFB, Wash., at 10:30 last night. Gen. Bobbins is USAF director of flight safety….Also accompanying the group are Robert L. Terneuzen, San Bernardino, Federal Aviation Agency liaison representative to the directorate, and six safety officials from 15th Air Force head-quarters, March AFB, parent organization of the ill-fated aircraft.

“Maj. Gen. Perry B. Griffith of Redlands, deputy inspector general for safety, USAF, who is responsible for accident prevention and investigation throughout the Air Force, said he is prepared to convene a special Air Force-industry accident investigation board if the accident cause is not readily determined. Such a board would be a group of some 65 of the nation’s top experts, both military and civilian, on all systems of the KC-135.” (Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “Norton team to investigate crash of KC-135.” 9-11-1962, p. 1.)

Sep 27: “Services for Vienna resident, Senior M-Sgt. Lee E. Barney, age 49…were held Friday, September 21, in the Kilpatrick Chapel in Ruston with an Air Force chaplain officiating. Barney was the only Louisiana resident aboard a KC 135 jet Stratotanker which crashed Monday near Spokane, Wash. The plane crashed with 44 men aboard in a ravine on Mt. Kt Carson, 20 miles northwest of Spokane. There were no survivors.

“The big jet was approaching Fairchild Air Force Base during a trip from Ellsworth Air Force Base….” (Ruston Leader, LA. “Services for Lee Barney Announced.” 9-27-1962, p. 7.)

Sources

Baugher, Joseph F. 1960 USAF Serial Numbers. 9-26-2011 revision. Accessed 2-23-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1960.html

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “Norton team to investigate crash of KC-135.” 9-11-1962, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=156918741

Redlands Daily Facts, CA. “Search for victims of KC135 resumes today.” 9-11-1962, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=156918741

Ruston Daily Leader, LA. “Seven die in storms, steamy heat wave.” 7-18-1983, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=140563421