1982 — March 19, USAF KC-135 Tanker Explosion/Crash near Wonder Lake, IL — 27
— 27 Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Accident description. KC-135-BN.[1]
— 27 Baugher, Joseph F. 1958 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-16-2012 revision.
— 27 Chicago Tribune. “Crash of jet laid to blast in fuel tank.” 5-20-1982, p. 21, section 1.
— 27 Daily Herald, Chicago, IL. “Plane crash probe begins.” 3-21-1982, p. 1.
— 27 Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 142.
Narrative Information
ASN: Date: Friday 19 March 1982
Time: 21:10
Type: Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker
Operator: United States Air Force — USAF
….
First flight: 1959-03-24 (23 years)
….
Crew: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers: Fatalities: 23 / Occupants: 23
Total: Fatalities: 27 / Occupants: 27
….
Location: Greenwood, IL
Phase: Approach (APR)
….
Departure airport: Marquette-Sawyer International Airport, MI (MQT/KSAW)
Destination airport: Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, IL (ORD/KORD)
“Narrative: The airplane crashed following an on board explosion which occurred at FL137. A fuel pump was probably allowed to run dry, causing it to become overheated due to which fuel vapors ignited.” (Aviation Safety Network. United States Air Force Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker, 19 March 1982.)
Baugher: “Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker….0031 crashed Mar 19, 1982, Greenwood, IL. During descent to Chicago IAP, the aircraft exploded and crashed, killing all 27 on board. Cause was overheated fuel pump.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1958 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-16-2012 revision.)
Gero: “Operated by the Strategic Air Command, the jet tanker [58-0031] crashed, exploded and burned 40 miles (65km) north-west of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport [~21:10], where it was to have landed. All 27 American military personnel aboard perished, including four crewmen.
“The aircraft had earlier in the evening been on a training mission and making practice landing approaches to K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, in Upper Michigan, then landed there to pick up a load of passengers, all of whom were stranded by the grounding of a C-130 transport due to mechanical trouble. After being cleared for descent from 22,000 to 8,000ft (6,700-2,500m), and seconds after acknowledging a request for a speed reduction, the KC-135 disintegrated, its fuselage breaking apart and vertical and horizontal stabilizers and all four engines separating. At the moment of its structural failure, the cleanly-configured aircraft had been descending on an almost due southerly heading at a true air speed of around 360mph (580kph) and was at an approximate height of 13,700ft (4,200m), and it then plummeted almost vertically into the wooded, marshy terrain.
“Wreckage was scattered over an area about 5 miles…long and 2 miles (3km) wide. It was dark at the time of the accident, and the weather conditions in the area consisted of light to moderate rain showers, a ceiling of around 500ft (150m) and a surface visibility of 1 to 3 miles (1.5-5km). Winds at the approximate height of the break-up were about 30 knots from a south-westerly direction.
“According to the investigative report, the probability of thunderstorm activity being in the vicinity of the crash site at the time appeared ‘extremely low’. Following a thorough examination of the wreckage, no conclusive evidence was found pinpointing what caused the disintegration of the aircraft. Considered as ‘most probable’, according to the investigative report, was an over-pressurization under the cargo floor, an area that houses fuel and other potential sources of ignition. An explosion caused by the ignition of accumulated combustible vapors occurring in that area could, in fact, rapidly propagate to adjacent areas where fuel is present. There was also `strong evidence’ of explosive over-pressures in the forward, aft and upper fuel tank areas. Significantly, investigation showed that were the walls or fittings of the rubber bladder cells containing the volatile liquid to fail, fuel or vapor could be released into the tank cavity and in turn migrate to other parts of the aircraft.
“Although there was no evidence of a lightning strike, and no definite factor could be identified, the report noted that there would have been many potential sources of ignition throughout the KC-135. Among these were hot surfaces, such as boost pumps or bleed air lines; electrical arcing or chafing of electrical power lines. One recommendation was for the thorough examination of electrical wiring and antenna routing to assure proper clearance in order to prevent chafing, especially in areas where fuel vapors are present. Subsequent testing, however, showed that the ignition of fuel vapors through chafing of the very-high-frequency antenna lead, one early concern, was ‘not probable’.” (Gero 1999, pp. 142-143.)
Newspapers
March 20: “A military “stratotanker” aircraft crashed in a muddy field north of Woodstock late Friday killing all 20 airmen on board, police and military authorities said.
“The Illinois National Guard plane was carrying a crew of seven and 13 other passengers when it crashed in a rural area eight miles from the town, said McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Joosten said.
“Three bodies were pulled from the wreckage, and there were no known survivors.
“Joosten said military authorities confirmed late Friday that the plane had stopped to pick up extra passengers after leaving a Michigan air base.
“The crash was first spotted by a McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy about 9:11 p.m. Residents of the area called Illinois State Police to report a loud explosion and fire. Emergency crews from Woodstock, Wonder Lake and McHenry County were on the scene late Friday.
“Joosten said the plane “just missed a residential area” near Wonder Lake.
“A spokeswoman for McHenry Memorial Hospital in Woodstock said late Friday none of the victims from the disaster were brought to the hospital, though the emergency room was on alert….
“Authorities at Sawyer Air Force Base in northern Michigan confirmed the plane took off from the airfield Friday night and was bound for its home base at O’Hare International Airport. The plane arrived at Sawyer earlier in the day and made other stops on its return flight to O’Hare….
“The plane is a military version of the Boeing 707 jet that normally carries up to 40,000 gallons of fuel for inflight refueling… The plane, from 126th Air Refueling Wing of the National Guard, can carry up to 70 passengers. The crew was stationed at O’Hare.” (Daily Herald, Chicago, IL. “20 reported dead in crash.” 3-20-1982, p. 1.)
March 21: “Emergency crews searching on foot and horseback through muddy fields in McHenry County Saturday recovered the bodies of 26 of the 27 airmen killed when an Illinois National Guard tanker jet piloted by a Hoffman Estates man exploded in midair Friday night. The search for the 27th victim was set to resume at daybreak today.
“Eyewitnesses said the KC-135 tanker, on its way to O’Hare International Airport during a thunderstorm, exploded in a ball of fire at approximately 9:11 p.m. near the town of Wonder Lake. The explosion showered the ground with wreckage that scattered over more than two square miles. Some pieces of the large jet…fell between homes and a nearby school, where about 400 persons were attending a science fair. No one on the ground was Injured, however….
“…Members of rescue squads at the scene speculated the jet may have been hit by lightning, but the Federal Aviation Administration later said that was unlikely.
“Lt. Col. Duane Swimley of the National Guard said the last communication from the jet came about 10 minutes before the crash, and the crew indicated no danger. Unlike commercial aircraft, military craft such as the KC-135 are not equipped with “black boxes” that record flight information and radio communications.
“The pilot of the aircraft was identified as Maj William S. Dixon, 35, Hoffman Estates.
Other crew members were:
Capt. Robert Nicosia, 33, Algonquin, navigator
Capt. Kenneth L. Herrick, 36, Urbana;
and the boom operator, M Sgt Richard Crome, 39, Wilmette.
“All were members of the 126th Air Refueling Wing out of O’Hare.
“The passengers were air force reservists assigned to the 928th Tactical Air Lift Group who had hitched a ride back to Chicago when their own plane on its way from the state of Washington developed engine trouble and landed at K I Sawyer Air Force Base in northern Michigan.
“One passenger, Capt. Frank J C. Patton, was from Prospect Heights.
“The others were
Senior Airman Spyridon Agropoulos, Chicago,
Master Sgt. James A. Alexander Jr., Evanston;
Sgt. Frank C. Badoni Jr., Chicago;
Senior Airman Frank Barberini, Elmwood Park.
Airman 1st Class Joe L. Branch, Chicago;
Staff Sgt. Eugene W. Grygiel, Chicago;
Senior Airman Haunani A. Holt, Chicago;
Tech. Sgt. Kenneth J. Jarecki, Chicago;
Airman 1st Class Orval D. Jones, Chicago;
Airman Carlos R Melendez, Chicago;
Sgt. Stephen J. Olczyk, Carol Stream;
Airman 1st Class John A. Powell, Rockton;
Sgt. Augustine J. Salinas, Chicago;
[Article goes to another page I could not access.]
(Daily Herald, Chicago, IL. “Plane crash probe begins.” 3-21-1982, p. 1.)
May 20: “The U.S. Air Force jet tanker that crashed two months ago in McHenry County, killing all 27 persons aboard, apparently broke apart in midair after an explosion in a fuel tank, the official Air Force investigation has concluded….
“The aircraft, assigned to the Illinois Air National Guard, was returning from a training flight with a crew of 4 and 23 passengers — all Air Force reservists — when it crashed March 19 in overcast weather near the tiny town of Greenwood. The wreckage was scattered over a 2 by 5-mile area. The midair breakup of the plane occurred at about 13,000 feet as the plane was descending toward O’Hare International Airport, where it was based….” (Chicago Tribune (David Young and William Recktenwald). “Crash of jet laid to blast in fuel tank.” 5-20-1982, p. 21, section 1.)
Sources
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Accident description. KC-135-BN. Accessed 5-17-2017 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19820319-0
Baugher, Joseph F. 1958 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-16-2012 revision. Accessed 2-23-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1958.html
Chicago Tribune (David Young and William Recktenwald). “Crash of jet laid to blast in fuel tank.” 5-20-1982, p. 21, section 1. Accessed 5-17-2017 at: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1982/05/20/page/21/article/crash-of-jet-laid-to-blast-in-fuel-tank
Daily Herald, Chicago, IL. “20 reported dead in crash.” 3-20-1982, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=15698619
Daily Herald, Chicago, IL. “Plane crash probe begins.” 3-21-1982, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=15698828
Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.
[1] The ASN has the location as Greenwood. Greenwood is just to the west of the village of Wonder Lake, separated by the lake Wonder Lake. The explosion was in the air over the general location of both localities.