1965 — July 11, USAF Constellation engine fire, crash, ~100 miles off Nantucket, MA– 16

–16 Aviation Safety Network. USAF Lockheed EC-121H Super Constellation, 11 July 1965.
–16 NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1965.” Fire Journal, Vol. 60, No. 3, May 1966, p. 53.
–16 Sikora and Westin. Batcats: The United States Air Force 553rd Reconnaissance Wing…
–16 UPI. “Plane Survivors Tell of Violent Crash Into Sea.” Lowell Sun, MA. 7-13-1965, p. 15.
–9 in the crash or perished in the water
–7 missing

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network:
“Date: Sunday 11 July 1965
“Time: 22:22
“Type: Lockheed EC-121H Super Constellation
“Operator: United States Air Force – USAF
“Registration: 55-0136
“MSN: 4409
“First flight: 1956
….
“Total: Fatalities: 16 / Occupants: 19
“Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
“Location: 160 km (100 mls) off Nantucket, MA, USA (Atlantic Ocean)
“Phase: En rouge (ENR)
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Falmouth-Otis AFB, MA…
“Destination airport: Falmouth-Otis AFV, MA…
“Narrative:
“Lockheed EC-121 55-0136 took off from runway 23 at Otis AFB at 21:33 for an Active Air Defense mission to Air 1 station #2. Estimated time en route was 9:20 and 7:45 on station #2 at FL150. The flight was cleared for cross-rip departure 21 to Nantucket then, Control Extension 1144 to Cod intersection, direct station #2, climb to and maintain 15,000 feet. The route was flown as cleared and Honey 63 reported its position through Andrews Airways as over Cod Intersection at 21:49, FL150, estimating station #2 at 21:57.

“At approximately 22:10, the crew reported that the number three engine was on fire and that an emergency was being declared. Later, transmissions were received by a KC-135 and Brunswick Approach Control that the aircraft had lost number two engine and that number three was feathered and on fire. Position was reported as about 125nm from Nantucket Tacan on the 090 degree radial and clearance was requested to Nantucket. At approximately 22:13, the pilot reported, “preparing for ditching, we have number three engine on fire, and number two is not so good”. The pilot took up a heading of 270 degrees magnetic to the nearest land. The wind aloft was 230 degrees at 40 knots.

“A ditching was carried out at 22:22. The aircraft broke in two places on the fuselage with at least partial wing separation. Forward break was in the latrine/galley area (station area 592) and the rear break was in the APS 103 area (station area 962). At approximately 09:00 the next morning, three survivors and the bodies of nine other men, were picked up by whale boats from German Navy Destroyer “D170” and US Destroyer “Barry” at 41 degrees 40 minutes north, 67 degrees 37 minutes west. The remaining seven men were missing and presumed dead.” (Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Network. USAF Lockheed EC-121H Super Constellation, 11 July 1965.)

Sikora and Westin: “…on July 11, 1965 one aircraft crashed in the North Atlantic Ocean taking the lives of 16 of the 19 member crew…” (Sikora and Westin. Batcats: The United States Air Force 553rd Reconnaissance Wing…)

Newspapers

July 13: “Otis Air Force Base [Cape Cod, MA], (UPI) – An Air Force officer said today surviving crewmen told him the crash of a radar picket plane at sea Sunday night was ‘like hitting a brick wall at 100 mils an hour.’ Col. Raymond K. Gallagher, a wing commander of the 551st Flight Group, talked with two of the three survivors shortly after they wer flown here from the deck of the aircraft carrier Wasp.

“An Air Force board of inquiry was scheduled to convene here today to investigate the crash.

“The plane, a big four-engine patrol craft crammed with radar and electronic gear, ditched 100 miles off the Massachusetts Coast with 19 men aboard after losing two engines.

“Nine men were killed in the crash or perished in the water. Seven others were missing and feared lost. Six bodies were flown to a naval hospital at Chelsea, Mass. Monday night. Three others remained aboard a U.S. destroyer at the scene.

“The survivors, a navigator and two technicians, were picked up nearly 10 hours after the crash by a West German destroyer which had been participating in NATO maneuvers in the North Atlantic.

“Gallagher said he talked with two of the survivors, 1st Lt. Bruce E Wither of Redding, Calif., and Airman 2.C. David A. Surles of Raleigh, N.C., early today in the hospital at this Cape Cod base. Gallagher said they told him the $2.5 million plane hit the water at a steep angle, broke apart and sank within a few minutes. Several crewmen escaped before the plane went down, Gallagher said, but apparently some of them drowned and others died of exposure or shock. Gallagher said Lt. Witcher was hurled into the water when the plane crashed but swam to a piece of the wing and clung there until he was rescued. He said two other men clinging to the wing were washed away by a bit wave.

“Surles told Gallagher he climbed through a hole in the plane and managed to stay afloat through the night. He said a fog bank rolled in and the destroyer that rescued him nearly ran him down because visibility was so poor.

“Both Witcher and Surles walked into the hospital unassisted. The third survivor, A1.C. John W. Puopolo of Sagamore, Mass., was carried in on a stretcher, Col. Gallagher said he had severe leg cuts.

“Among the dead or missing were the aircraft commander, 1st Lt. Frederick H. Ambrosia, and the pilot, Cat. Murray J. Brody, both of New York City.

“Several Navy and Coast Guard ships continued searching throughout the night for missing crewmen. An Air Force radar plane, sister ship of the downed craft, circled overhead as her crew scanned the sea for a flare or other signal.

“Col. Gallagher said it would be necessary to recover the plane’s engines before the cause of the disaster could be determined. He said the water at the crash scene was 50 to 150 feet deep and Navy divers would be asked to help locate the wreckage and, if possible, raise the engines.

“Moments before the plane ditched, the pilot radioed that one engine was afire and another had been feathered because of a malfunction.

“The plane, a modified version of the Lockheed Constellation, was part of the early defense warning system. It was one of 36 such craft based here as part of the 551st Group.” (UPI. “Plane Survivors Tell of Violent Crash Into Sea.” Lowell Sun, MA. 7-13-1965, p. 15.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Network. USAF Lockheed EC-121H Super Constellation, 11 July 1965. Accessed 5-30-2022 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19650711-0

National Fire Protection Association. “The Major Fires of 1965.” Fire Journal, Vol. 60, No. 3, May 1966, pp. 52-54.

Sikora, Jack and Larry Westin. Batcats: The United States Air Force 553rd Reconnaissance Wing in Southeast Asia.

UPI United Press International). “Plane Survivors Tell of Violent Crash Into Sea.” Lowell Sun, MA. 7-13-1965, p. 15. Accessed 5-30-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-sun-jul-13-1965-p-35/