1992 — Nov 30, Two USAF C-141 Transports Collide Mid-Air, near Harlem, MT — 13

1992 — Nov 30, two USAF C-141B Starlifters collide about 9M north of Harlem, MT –all 13

–13 AP. “Cause Unknown in plane crash.” The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT. 12-2-1992, p.1.
–13 Aviation Safety Network. USAF C-141B Starlifter collision N of Harlem, MT, 1-Dec-1992.
–13 Baugher, Joseph F. 1965 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-16-2012 revision.
–13 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 160.
–13 Hansen, Paul M. (Lt. Col., USAFR Ret). C-141 Lifetime Mishap Summary. 10-1- 2004.
–13 Logansport Pharos-Tribune, IN. “13 Feared Dead in Collision…Planes.” 12-1-1992, 1.
–13 Planecrashinfo.com. “1992. Accident Details. USAF-USAF…~Harlem, MT, Nov 30.”

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1992: [1st plane]
“Date: Tuesday 1 December 1992 [Incorrect – was Monday night, Nov 30.]
“Time: 21:20
“Type: Lockheed C-141B Starlifter
“Operator: United States Air Force – USAF
“Registration: 65-0255
“MSN: 300-6106
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
“Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
….
“Collision casualties: Fatalities: 6
….
“Location: 14 km (8.8 mls) N of Harlem, MT
“Phase: En route (ENR)
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Tacoma-McChord AFB, WA (USA)
“Destination airport: Tacoma-McChord AFB, WA (USA)
“Narrative:

“Four Lockheed C-141B Starlifters were night air refueling/airdrop training mission. A KC-135 tanker was leading the Starlifters in a refueling pattern at FL255. The first Starlifter completed refueling and backed away to the left behind the KC-135 at FL250. It remained at an unusually close position. When the second C-141 had completed refueling it also backed away to the left, unaware of the unusual position of the first C-141. Both aircraft collided, breaking up in mid-air.”
(Aviation Safety Network. USAF C-141B Starlifter collision N of Harlem, MT, 1-Dec-1992.)

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1992: [2nd plane]
“Date: Tuesday 1 December 1992 [Incorrect – was Monday night, Nov 30.]
“Time: 21:20
“Type: Lockheed C-141B Starlifter
“Operator: United States Air Force – USAF
“Registration: 66-0142
“MSN: 300-6168
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
“Total: Fatalities 6 / Occupants: 6
“Collision casualties: Fatalities 7
….
“Location: 14 km (8.8 mls) N of Harlem, MT
“Phase: En route (ENR)
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Tacoma-McChord AFB, WA (USA)
“Destination airport: Tacoma-McChord AFB, WA (USA)
“Narrative: [Same as narrative above.]

Baugher: “Lockheed C-141A-LM Starlifter….0255 (c/n 300-6106, 62 AW) w/o Nov 30, 1992 in collision with 66-0142 over Harlem, MT. All 13 people on both planes killed.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1965 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-16-2012 revision.)

Gero: “Operated by the Military Airlift Command, the two jet transports [65-0255 & 66-0142] collided in mid-air about 10 miles (15km) north of Harlem, and both then crashed and burned [ ~21:20]. All 13 crewmen of both aircraft, seven in 65-0255 and six in 66-0142, were killed.

“The colli¬sion occurred at a height of around 25,000ft (7,500m) in darkness and meteorological conditions consisting of scattered clouds at lower altitudes,, a visibility of 7 miles (11km) and moderate turbulence. The two involved in the accident were among four transports engaged in a training mission, and had just completed mid-air refueling. Proceeding on a west-south-westerly collision, both aircraft then suffered catastrophic structural failure, and wreckage was scattered across the open terrain over an area of approxi¬mately 8 miles (13km) long by about three miles (5km) wide. No information pertaining to the pos¬sible or probable cause of the accident was disclosed.” (Gero 1999, 159-160)

Hansen: “Synopsis: The aircraft were flying a night air refueling/airdrop training mission involving 4 C-141 aircraft. The lead C-141 completed refueling, and moved back to an unusually close post refueling position. The #2 aircraft completed refueling. During the rejoin, the #2 aircraft impacted the lead aircraft. Both aircraft broke up in-flight and crashed. Thirteen crew members on the two aircraft were killed.” (Hansen. C-141 Lifetime Mishap Summary. October 1, 2004.)

Planecrashinfo.com: “The two aircraft on a training mission and refueling collided in darkness at 25,000 ft. and crashed to the ground. Seven killed on 65-0255 and 6 on 66-0142.” No survivors. (Planecrashinfo.com. “1992. Accident Details. USAF-USAF…~Harlem, MT, Nov 30.”)
Newspaper

Dec 1, AP: “Harlem, Mont. (AP) – Two military cargo jets on a nighttime refueling training mission collided and crashed near the Canadian border. All 13 people aboard apparently were killed, the Air Force said today.

“In Montana, witnesses said Monday night’s [Nov 30] collision of the C-141B cargo planes lit up the sky. “There was a big fireball in the sky and then it fell to the earth,” said Angie Fischer, who was at her mother’s house on a hilltop west of the crash site. ‘Then there was another fireball when it hit the ground.”

“The training mission involved four Air Force C-141Bs and a KC-135 tanker, said Ray Martell, a spokesman for McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma, Wash., where the transports were based.

“Two of the C-141Bs collided after refueling and crashed nine miles north of Harlem, about 30 miles south of the Canadian border, authorities said. The cause of the collision wasn’t immediately known.

“There were six people on one of the planes and seven on the other, said Gloria Rayford, spokeswoman for the 62nd Airlift Wing at McChord.

“Initial indications were that all of them were killed, said Sgt. Brian Orban, a spokesman at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls….

“The planes were flying between 24,000 and 27,000 feet and the weather at that level was clear, said FAA spokesman Lee Fryer in Seattle.

“The Washington Air National-Guard tanker was from Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Wash. A base spokesman, Lt. Col. Joe Jimenez, said it had finished refueling the cargo planes before the collision.

“Harlem Mayor Victor Miller, who also is a member of the town’s fire department, said early today that firefighters and ambulances were at the crash site, and that all fires had been put out. There were no reports of any buildings being hit or people injured on the ground.” (Logansport Pharos-Tribune, IN. “13 Feared Dead in Collision of Military Cargo Planes.” 12-1-1992, p. 1-2.)

Dec 2, AP: “Harlem, Mont. (AP) – The bodies of 13 airmen killed when their jumbo jet transports collided during a refueling operation will be taken from a temporary morgue on the northcentral Montana plains to Malmstrom Air Force Base at Great Falls, an Air Force spokeswoman says….

“The Monday night [Nov 30] collision of the two C-141B cargo planes, each capable of carrying up to 200 people, was the worst military air disaster in Montana history. In December 1942, the crash of a Flying Fortress out of Great Falls killed a crew of 12.

“The two transports were among four C-141Bs on a training mission out of McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma, Wash. The KC-135 tanker that refueled them was attached to the Washington National Guard at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane. The refueling operation concluded just prior to the collision of the two planes, said Lt. Col. Joe Jimenez, a spokesman for the Washington National Guard….” (AP. “Cause Unknown in plane crash.” The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT. 12-2-1992, p.1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Cause Unknown in plane crash.” The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT. 12-2-1992, p.1. Accessed 7-27-2023 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/kalispell-daily-inter-lake-dec-02-1992-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1992. USAF C-141B Starlifter collision N of Harlem, MT, 1-Dec-1992. Accessed 7-27-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19921201-2
Also at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19921201-3

Baugher, Joseph F. 1965 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-16-2012 revision. Accessed 2-27-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1965.html

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

Hansen, Paul M. (Lt. Col., USAFR Ret.). C-141 Lifetime Mishap Summary. October 1, 2004. Accessed at: http://www.c141heaven.com/mishap_paul_hansen.htm

Logansport Pharos-Tribune, IN. “13 Feared Dead in Collision of Military Cargo Planes.” 12-1-1992, 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=109341683

Planecrashinfo.com. “1992. Accident Details. USAF-USAF…~Harlem, MT, Nov 30.” Accessed at: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1992/1992-81.htm