1955 — Feb 23, USAF KC-97 tanker engine fire after Sedalia AFB takeoff, crashes ~Windsor, MO–9

–9 NFPA. “Summary of Large Loss Aircraft Fires [1955].” Vol. 49, No. 4, April 1956, p. 393.

Narrative Information

Feb 24, AP: “Windsor (AP) – Nine Air Force men perished last night in the fiery crash of a gasoline-loaded refueling plane about 5½ miles northwest of this central Missouri town. Two crewmen parachuted to safety from about 250 feet as the flaming craft neared the ground. Both were unhurt.

“The KC97 tanker, which refuels other craft while in the air, crashed just two minutes after it left the Sedalia Air Force Base on a routine training flight.

“Persons living near the scene said they first saw the plane gliding toward the earth in flames. A tremendous explosion followed.

“T. Sgt. Walter H. Polk, Knoxville, Tenn., and S. Sgt. Stanley C. Beach, Lambert Lake, Me., who parachuted to safety, said they first noticed sparks from the No. 2 engine of the plane, and the plane soon caught fire. ‘Once the fuel caught it was a matter of seconds,’ Sgt. Polk related. ‘We knew it was going to explode, but we couldn’t make it back. I landed about a quarter of a mile from the crash in an open plowed field. Not a bruise on me. In the mud, face down was like a feather pillow.’ Sgt. Beach landed about a quarter of a mile farther from the crash scene.

“A conductor riding in a caboose on a Rock Island freight train saw the huge craft flaming in the air. ‘In a matter of seconds it had burst into a regular torch,’ said Asa Gunn, 62, Eldon, Mo., ‘and then it disappeared over a knoll ahead of the engine. ‘There was an awful flash – it went way up in the air. I knew then the plane had crashed and exploded…’….”(Associated Press. “Air Crash Near Windsor Fatal For 9 Persons.” Jefferson City Post-Tribune, MO. 2-24-1955, p. 1.)
Sources

Associated Press. “Air Crash Near Windsor Fatal For 9 Persons.” Jefferson City Post-Tribune, MO. 2-24-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-18-2023 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/jefferson-city-post-tribune-feb-24-1955-p-1/

National Fire Protection Association. “Summary of Large Loss Aircraft Fires [1955].” Vol. 49, No. 4, April 1956, pp. 393-395.