1954 — Oct 6, USAF RB-50G Plane Crash and fire, near Willows, Glenn County, CA– 13

–13 Aviation Safety Network. USAF Boeing RF-50G crash near Willows CA, 06-Oct-1954.
–13 NFPA. “Large Loss Fires of 1954.” Quarterly of the NFPA, Vol. 48, N. 3, Jan 1955, p. 309
–13 Oakland Tribune, CA. “Wreckage of Big Bomber Investigated,” Oct 7, 1954, p. 1.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network:
“Date: 06-Oct-1954
“Time: night
“Type: Boeing RV-50G Superfortress
“Owner/operator: United States Air Force (USAF)
“Registration: 47-154A
“MSN: 15838
“Fatalities: Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 17
….
“Location: 3 mi SE of Willows, CA – United States of America
“Phase: Unknown
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Biggs AFB, TX
“Destination airport: Biggs AFB, TX
“Confidence Rating: Little or no information is available
“Narrative: Crashed.”

National Fire Protection Association: “Oct. 6, near Willows, Calif. U. S. Air Force, B-50, $850,000, 13 killed.

“No details are available on this accident which book 13 lives. The B-50 was appar¬ently in trouble before the crash impact as three crewmen parachuted to safety. The aircraft was in flames when first seen by ground observers.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1954.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 48, No. 3, Jan 1955, pp. 201-326.)

Newspaper

Oct 7: “Willows,, Glenn County, Oct. 7.—Air Force investigators probed through the charred wreckage of a giant B-50 bomber today in an effort to determine the cause of the fiery crash last night six miles southeast of here. Thirteen crewmen were killed but four miraculously survived when the big four-engined plane plummeted to the ground while on a flight described as a ‘routine weather reconnaissance’ from Biggs Air Force Base at El Paso, Tex.

“Eleven bodies, many of them burned beyond recognition, were recovered from the wreckage last night, and the last two were found this morning — one in the tail section and one lying nearby. Earlier, some hope had been expressed that the two missing men might have managed to parachute to safety, as did three of the survivors when the plane was only 500 feet off the ground….The fourth survivor crawled from the tail section of the plane after it hit the ground and as a series of explosions rocked the countryside….

“The big plane crashed into a rice paddy on the J. F. O’Brien ranch, two miles east of U.S. Highway 09, just a short time after it had made a routine position report from 15,000 feet above San Francisco. The radio message indicated nothing amiss… Minutes later the big silver plane was a mass of flames 100 miles to the north.

“Air Force officers, who swarmed to the scene from Hamilton and McClellan Air Force bases, refused to speculate on the cause and maintained secrecy at the wreckage site.

“Several residents in the vicinity said they heard the plane’s engine begin mis-firing as it droned high overhead. Glenn County Sheriff Lyle Sale, investigating an auto wreck in the vicinity, witnessed the crash.

‘I knew it was in trouble because the motors would roar, then quit altogether…It dove out of the clouds right toward the ground. I thought it was going to go right straight in, but it leveled off for a moment. Three men jumped out in parachutes. They opened alright. Then another man jumped but his chute did not open. He shot right down to the ground.’

“The plane burst into flames as it struck the ground, then exploded with a roar and flash of flame that could be seen and heard for miles around. It struck the ground only 150 feet from the home of the O’Brien ranch foreman, A. B Chittenden and his wife, and about the same distance from a warehouse containing 1,400 gallons of gasoline.

“Pieces of the wreckage, which were scattered over a two-acre area, knocked a grain storage bin from its foundations and set it afire. But light rain which began falling a short time late quenched the flames….Fierce flames and small explosions kept firemen at bay for more than two hours.” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “Wreckage of Big Bomber Investigated,” Oct 7, 1954, p. 1.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF Boeing RF-50G crash near Willows CA, 06-Oct-1954 (ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 153961). Accessed 4-29-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/153961

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1954.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 48, No. 3, Jan 1955, pp. 201-326.

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Wreckage of Big Bomber Investigated.” 10-7-1954, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=34497070