1958 — Oct 9, USAF C-123B transport crash near Little Willow Creek & Payette, ID–all 19

— 19 Aerobatic Teams.net. “Thunderbirds History.”
— 19 ASN. Accident description. USAF Fairchild C-123B-12-FA Provider near Payette, ID
— 19 Baugher. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 revision.
— 19 Billings Gazette, MT. “Recover Crash Victims Bodies.” 10-11-1958, p. 1.
— 19 Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 77.
— 19 Joplin Globe, MO. “19 Feared Dead in Idaho Crash of AF Transport.” 10-10-1958, 1.
— 19 Kebabjian, Richard. “1958.” Planecrashinfo.com
— 19 Times-News, Twin Falls, ID. “Payette Air Crash Probe is Complete.” 10-23-1958, p. 5.
— 19 Waymarking.com. “Thunderbirds Down – Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com.”
— 19 Wikipedia. “1958 in aviation.” 2-19-2012 modification.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Fairchild C-123B-12-FA Provider….4521 (c/n 20182) crashed near Payette, Idaho Oct 9, 1958. 19 killed.” (Baugher. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 rev.)

Gero: “The twin-engine transport crashed and exploded on flat terrain some 7 miles (11km) east of Payette, and all 19 persons aboard were killed. Except for two civilian passengers, the victims were all American servicemen, including the crew of five.

“Operated by the Tactical Air Command and desig¬nated as the support aircraft for the ‘Thunderbirds’, the US Air Force precision flying team, 55-4521A had been en route from Hill Air Force Base, in Utah, to McChord Air Force Base, near Tacoma, Washington, one segment of a transcontinental flight originating in North Carolina, when it appar¬ently stalled at an approximate height of 500ft (150m) above the ground, apparently after experi¬encing uncontrolled phugoid, or `porpoising’ motions.

“At the time of the accident, around dusk, the local weather was good, with an estimated ceiling of 9,000ft (2,700m) and a visibility of 30 miles (50km). The wind was calm. A loss of control or the incapacitation of one of the pilots may have factored in the accident.” (Gero 1999, pp. 77-78.)

Kebabjian: “….Crashed and exploded on flat terrain east of Payette. A loss of control or the incapacitation of one of the pilots may have factored in the accident.” (Kebabjian, Richard. “1958.” Planecrashinfo.com.)

Waymarking.com: “Quick Description: Support C-123-B for Thunderbird AF Squadron crashed, killing all 19 on board. Worst loss of life accident in the history of the Thunderbird Squadron….

“Long Description: The aircraft was assigned to 347th Troop Carrier Sq., 464th Troop Carrier Wg, 9th AF, TAC. Departed Hill AFB, UT enroute to McChord AFB, WA. At approx. 1824MST the aircraft crashed and burned 6.5 N.M. from Payette, Idaho, on a bearing of 095 DEG.

“CREW (347th TC Sq, TAC, 9th AF, 464th TC Wg, Pope AFB):

Cpt. James C. Wilson, Jr;
1LT John N. Frisby;
1LT Thomas C. Lampsa;
SSG James M. Hauver;
A1C James C. Miller

“PASSENGERS (4520th Combat Crew Tng Wg Nellis AFB – Members of Thunderbird Squadron Support Crew):

CWO Floyd L. Pulley;
MSG Boyd O. Lambeth;
SSG John H. Bishop;
SSG George H. Blanchard;
SSG Charles H. Hillhouse;
SSG Robert L. Meyers;
SSG George J. Stevens;
A1C Elmer G Houseman;
A1C Richard T. Lashley;
A1C Don L. Seaney;
A2C Jerry R. Adams;
A2C Adrain C. Gayther

CIVILIANS:

Mr. Stanley A. Shegda, North American Aviation Tec Rep
Mr. Joseph Paul, North American Aviation Mechanic

“Actual crash site is 2.5 miles NE of monument on private ranch land. No public access….

“Primary cause was undetermined.

“Possible cause was mechanical control problem.

“Contributory causes: Overloaded, pilot incapacitation, crew rest restrictions violated, or pilot seat not occupied by qualified pilot.” (Waymarking.com. “Thunderbirds Down – Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com.”)

Newspapers

Oct 10: “Payette, Idaho (AP) – A twin engine Air Force transport crashed and burned near this southwest Idaho town Thursday night. Air Force officials said the plane carried 19 passengers and crewmen in a flight from Utah to Tacoma, Wash. They said no survivors were reported.

“The transport fell near Little Willow Creek in rough country about eight miles southwest of Payette. The crash occurred on the farm of Charlie Nelson. Idaho state police quoted an Air Force officer at the scene as saying the plane carried 19. He said no survivors had been found.

“The C123 prop-jet transport left northern, Utah’s Hill Air Force Base late in the afternoon, en route to McChord AFB, Wash. Its home base was Pope AFB, N. C.

“Charlie Hastings, a Payette newsman, said he got to the scene shortly after the crash, and saw the fuselage caved in, wings sheared off and no sign of the motors. “I saw four bodies,” Hastings
said. He said an unidentified farmer told him he looked up when he heard the plane’s motors sputtering and saw the craft heading for a crash. The farmer said it appeared to hit a flock of geese in its final drive.” (Joplin Globe, MO. “19 Feared Dead in Idaho Crash of AF Transport.” 10-10-1958, p. 1.)

Oct 11: “Payette, Idaho (AP) – The bodies of 17 airmen and two civilians were recovered Friday from the wreckage of a transport plane which crashed and burned near here Thursday night. They included 14 men who serviced the famed Thunderbirds Air Force acrobatic jet team. Officials at McChord Air Force Base Washington, said the Thunderbirds planned to perform there Saturday as scheduled.

“The five crew members were from Pope Air Force Base, N.C. where the big plane was stationed. The Thunderbird service team, including two technical representatives of North American Aviation Inc., was from Nellis AFB, Nev.

“Brig. Gen. James C. McGehee, wing commander at Nellis, flew here to help find out what caused the crash. Officials said he would also help identify the bodies, which were brought to a Payette mortuary from the sagebrush-covered hill which the plane hit.

“Officials at Pope AFB said the plane had been flying an extended support mission for the Thunderbirds, and had left Pope about Oct. 1. It took off Thursday from Hill AFB near Ogden, Utah, on its way lo McChord.

“There were indications that the crash came while the pilot was attempting a wheels-down emergency landing. There also was speculation that the craft may have run into a flock of geese,
contributing to the disaster….Idaho Aeronautics Director Chet Moulton said he did not think geese could have caused the crash.

“Witnesses said the plane appeared to be gliding to a landing just before it smashed into a hillside on a ranch near this community in southwest Idaho. It set fire to brush and grass, but a farmer plowed a fire break around it….

“A rancher, Eldro Gisell, said the plane appeared to be flying through a flock of big birds. He said, ‘The formations of geese broke up and the birds flew in all directions. Then I heard the plane’s engine stutter and it seemed to stall. For a moment it sounded like the engines roared wide open and the plane seemed to pull up. Then it knifed downward and I heard the explosion’.” (Billings Gazette, MT. “Recover Crash Victims Bodies.” 10-11-1958, p. 1.)

Oct 23: “Mountain Home, Oct. 23 (AP) — Air force officials said yesterday there probably will be no more investigation into the Payette plane crash that killed 19 persons. The board will write a report that the cause of the crash is undetermined, said Mark E. E. Ours, information services staff officer for Mountain Home air force base.

“The board, headed by Lieut. Col. H. O. Mendel, Mountain Home, ended a week-long series of meetings last Friday into the Oct. 9 crash. At that time, they said evidence was insufficient to make a decision.

“Wreckage from the C123 twin-engined plane was sent for analysis to an air force depot at Middletown, Pa.” (Times-News, Twin Falls, ID. “Payette Air Crash Probe is Complete.” 10-23-1958, 5.)

Sources

Aerobaticteams.net. “Thunderbirds History.” Accessed 2-21-2012 at: http://aerobaticteams.net/thunderbirds-history.html

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Accident description. United States Air Force Fairchild C-123B-12-FA Provider near Payette, ID 09 Oct 1958. Accessed 1-29-2023 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19581009-0

Baugher, Joseph F. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 revision. Accessed 1-14-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1955.html

Billings Gazette, MT. “Recover Crash Victims Bodies.” 10-11-1958, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=77577076

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

Joplin Globe, MO. “19 Feared Dead in Idaho Crash of AF Transport.” 10-10-1958, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=167079657

Kebabjian, Richard. 1958. Planecrashinfo.com. Accessed 2-21-2012 at: http://planecrashinfo.com/1958/1958-51.htm

Times-News, Twin Falls, ID. “Payette Air Crash Probe is Complete.” 10-23-1958, p. 5. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=169458676

Waymarking.com. “Thunderbirds Down – Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com.” Accessed 2-21-2012 at: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1A9W

Wikipedia. “1958 in aviation.” 2-19-2012 modification. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_in_aviation#October