1995 — April 17, Plane Crash, USAAF C-21 Learjet, Alexander City AP approach, AL– 8

— 8  ASN. “Accident description. 17 April 1995, 18:20. Learjet C-21A (Learjet 35A). USAF.

— 8  Diehl. Silent Knights: Blowing the Whistle on Military Accidents…. 2002, 207-215.

— 8  NYT. “All Eight Aboard Air Force Jet Die in Crash in Landing Attempt.” 4-18-1995.

 

Narrative Information

 

ASN: The ASN provides a detailed 12-paragraph summary of  the fuel imbalance, mechanical malfunction, lack of a USAF checklist or flight-manual guidance for problems encountered which led to crash at the website location noted below. ASN concluding paragraph:

 

“Because the crew did not have checklist or flight-manual guidance on this problem, the crew mis-analyzed the malfunction. They failed to correct the fuel imbalance as a result, allowed their airspeed to become too slow for the aircraft’s configuration when attempting to land and then made control inputs that caused the aircraft to enter a flight regime from which they could not recover.”

 

NYT: “Alexander City, Ala., April 17 – An Air Force jet exploded and crashed today in a wooded area near a subdivision while trying to land at the airport in this eastern Alabama town. All eight people on board were killed….

 

“The plane took off from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and was en route to Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio…The plane was trying to make an unplanned landing at the Alexander City airport when it crashed four miles from the town…

 

“A Pentagon official…told the Associated Press that both military and civilian personnel were aboard the plane….

 

“A Defense Department spokesman…in Washington said the plane was a C-21, a military version of the Learjet executive aircraft…” (NYT. “All Eight Aboard Air Force Jet Die in Crash in Landing Attempt.” 4-18-1995.

 

Sources

 

Aviation Safety Network (Flight Safety Foundation). Accident description. 17 April 1995, 18:20. Learjet C-21A (Learjet 35A). United States Air Force. Accessed 2-25-2016 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19950417-0

 

Diehl, Alan E. Silent Knights: Blowing the Whistle on Military Accidents and Their Cover-Ups. NY: Bristol Park Books, 2002.

 

New York Times. “All Eight Aboard Air Force Jet Die in Crash in Landing Attempt.” 4-18-1995. Accessed 2-25-2016 at: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/18/us/all-eight-aboard-air-force-jet-die-in-crash-in-landing-attempt.html