1970 – May 4, USAF Convair T-29D Plane Crash after takeoff, near Hamilton AFB, CA-13

–13 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. USAF Convair T-29D, 04 May 1970.
–13 Baugher. 1952 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 rev.
–13 Santa Rosa Press Democrat. “Hamilton Air Force plane crash recalled…” 6-20-2014.
–13 UPI. “Lone Survivor of A.F. Crash Critically Burned.” May 5, 1970.
–13 Walsh, Tom. “A Question About Plane Crash Resurrects Hamilton History.” Patch.com, 2-4-2011.

Narrative Information

ASN: Left San Rafael-Hamilton Field, CA for Spokane-Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. On approach “Clipped a haze-shrouded ridge and crashed.” (ASN. USAF Convair, 04 May 1970.)

Baugher: “Convair T-29D….5822 crashed on landing at Hamilton AFB, CA May 4, 1970. 13 killed, 1 survived.” (Baugher. 1952 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 rev.)

Walsh: “….In early May 1970, a flight destined for an airbase near Spokane, Wash., crashed shortly after takeoff from Hamilton. There was only one survivor; 12 Air Force servicemen and an Army specialist were lost.

“It was later determined that the aircraft’s windshield may have been a major contributing factor in the crash. The CV-240 was made by Convair, a subsidiary of General Dynamics. Seven years later, the same model of plane carrying the famed rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd would crash in a swampy forest near Gillsburg, Miss., killing six….” (Walsh, Tom. “A Question About Plane Crash Resurrects Hamilton History.” Patch.com, 2-4-2011.)

Newspaper

May 5: “Hamilton AFB (UPI) – The lone survivor of a fiery plane crash which claimed the lives of 13 Air Force men is in critical condition in a Texas burn center… The plane went down eight miles northeast of Hamilton with a crew of four and 10 military communications experts en route to Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Wash….” (UPI. “Lone Survivor of A.F. Crash Critically Burned.” May 5, 1970.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United States Air Force, Convair T-29D, 04 May 1970. Accessed at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19700504-0

Baugher, Joseph F. 1952 USAF Serial Numbers. Oct 29, 2011 revision. Accessed 1-7-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1952.html

Santa Rosa Press Democrat, CA. “Hamilton Air Force plane crash recalled 44 years later.” 6-20-2014; updated 7-19-2018. Accessed 3-13-2022 at: https://www.marinij.com/2014/06/20/hamilton-air-force-plane-crash-recalled-44-years-later/

United Press International. “Lone Survivor of A.F. Crash Critically Burned.” May 5, 1970. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/freepdfviewer.aspx?img=9959432

Walsh, Tom. “A Question About Plane Crash Resurrects Hamilton History.” Patch.com, Novato, CA. 2-4-2011. Accessed 3-13-2022 at: https://patch.com/california/novato/a-question-about-plane-crash-resurrects-hamilton-history