1953 — Jan 13, USAF B-50D Superfortress spins down out-of-control ~Gridley, CA –all 12

–12 Aviation Safety Network. USAF Boeing B-50D, crash, 8M W of Gridley CA, 13 Jan 1953.
–12 Baugher. 1949 USAF Serial Numbers. 8-17-2011 revision.
–12 Billings Gazette (MT). “12 Men Killed in B-50 Crash,” January 14, 1953, pp. 1 and 10.
–12 Oroville Mercury Register. “Plane Crash near Gridley. [AF] Probes Crash Fatal to 12.” 1-13-1953.
–11 NFPA. “Worst No. American Aircraft Fires – 1953.” Quarterly of…. 47/3, Jan 1954, p309.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation:
“Date: 13-Jan-1953
“Time: 13:40 PT
“Type: Boeing B-50D-125-BO Superfortress
“Owner/operator: 328th BSqn / 93d Bomb Wing, United States Airforce.
“Registration: 49-0386
“MSN: 16162
“Fatalities: Fatalities: 12 / Occupants 12
“Other fatalities: 0
….
“Location: 8 miles west of Gridley, California…
“Phase: En route
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Castle AFB, California
“Destination airport: Castle AFB, CA
“Confidence Rating: Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities
“Narrative:

“The B-50D was one in a flight of four on a routine navigational flight when it was seen to spin down out of clouds and somewhat leveled out before it crashed in a grain field on the Terrill Sartain property, about three and a half hours after take-off. The impact completely destroyed the aircraft, but no fire was started as its engines were buried deep in the mud.

“The following crewmen were killed in the crash:

Aircraft commander Lt. Col. Gerald W. Fallon, age 34…of Merced, CA
Maj. William P. McMillan, age 37, husband of Greta A. McMillan, of Atwater, CA
Capt. William S. Raker, age 27, husband of Lorraine G. Raker, of Atwater, CA
Capt. Edward Y. Williams, age 33, of Spokane, WA
1st Lt. George D. Griffitts, age 23, of Hico, TX
T/Sgt. Curtis F. Duffy, age 27, husband of Ruth A. Duffy, of Atwater, CA
T/Sgt. Bobby G. Theuret, age 29, husband of Barbara L. Theuret, Atwater, CA
M/Sgt. Joe L. Bradshaw, age 37, husband of Jessamine Bradshaw, of Atwater, CA
M/Sgt. William H. Clarke, age 32, husband of Audrey W. Clark, of Merced, CA
M/Sgt. Wallace N. Schwart, age 28, of Maywood, IL
A.J. William B. Crutchfield, age 27, husband of Della Ann Crutchfield, of Atwater, CA
A1C Charles W. Hesse, age 21, of Sauk Center, MN.”

(Aviation Safety Network. USAF Boeing B-50D, crash, 8M W of Gridley CA, 13 Jan 1953.)

Baugher: “Boeing B-50D-125-BO Superfortress….386 (93rd BW) crashed 13 mi W of Gridley, CA Jan 13, 1953, killing all 12 on board.” (Baugher. 1949 USAF Serial Numbers. 8-17-2011 revision.)

National Fire Protection Association: “Jan. 13, near Gridley, Calif. U.S. Air Force, B-28 [sic], $750,000, 11 Killed.

“Marsh land made almost inaccessible the location of this crash and there were no survivors among the crew of 11 men aboard. An explosion and fire enveloped the wreckage denying escape of the occupants.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Worst No. American Aircraft Fires – 1953.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association. Vol. 47, No. 3, January 1954, p. 309.)

Newspaper

Jan 14, Oroville Mercury Register, CA:
“By Floyd Tucker Mercury Staff Reporter

“Gridley-Air Force investigators swarmed over a muddy field 13 miles west of here today searching for a clue to the crash yesterday of a B-50 Super fortress that carried 12 crewmen to their deaths. Other crews probed the wreckage for eight bodies that were still unrecovered this afternoon. The huge aircraft spun out of the clouds at 1:40 p.m. while engaged in a ‘routine navigational flight’ from Castle Air Force Base, Merced with three sister ships. The bomber was attached to the 93rd Bombardment Wing of the Strategic Air Command.

“Statements of witnesses indicated the plane lost power, although Air Force sources declined comment on possible causes of the crash. Those who saw the craft fall said the pilot ‘revved’ his engines several times in an effort to bring its nose up. A special investigations team was dispatched early today from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, O. Salvage, and additional recovery of bodies, waited on the arrival of a 92 foot crane sent from McClellan Air Force Base, Sacramento. Gridley residents said the doomed plane ‘barely cleared treetops’ while passing over the town seconds before the crash, but regained altitude momentarily. Eyewitnesses to the actual crash said the bomber came out of the clouds at 2,000 feet in a spin. Many heard the pilot gunning his engines during the fall, and the plane appeared to level out slightly just before the impact half buried it in the mud of an open grain field on the Terrill Sartain property, two miles west of the Butte-Colusa county line. Shortly before the crash the flight of Four-multi-engine bombers were seen in formation over Oroville….” (Oroville Mercury Register, CA “Plane Crash near Gridley. Air Force Probes Crash Fatal to 12.” 1-14-1953.)

Jan 14, UP: “Gridley, Calif. (UP)—A Strategic Air Command B-50 from Castle Air Force Base, Calif., crashed and exploded in a flooded rice field 12 miles west of here Tuesday, killing all 12 men aboard. Capt. James Carmichael, public information officer at Castle AFB near Merced, said the plane (modified version of the wartime B-29) was on a routine training mission. The officer said the plane, attached to the 93rd bombardment squadron, carried 12 men and Colusa County sheriff’s deputies said all aboard were killed.

“Witnesses on surrounding ranches said the huge four-engined craft appeared to be having engine trouble and suddenly dived into a flooded field and exploded in a sheet of flame and water.

“Civilian aircraft and helicopters from nearby air force bases circled over the scene as rescue parties floundered through gummy, hip-deep mud in horse-drawn wagons and tractors….

“The crash was the tenth military air disaster in the Pacific Coast area in two months. Previous crashes took a toll of 276 lives….

“The plane crashed on the 5,000-acre Rice Ranch of M.D. Shore, about one mile from the Gridley-Colusa highway….

“Mrs. George Dawley, a resident of near-by Biggs, said the plane ‘just cleared the houses’ as it roared over the town…” (Billings Gazette (MT). “12 Men Killed in B-50 Crash,” Jan 14, 1953)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF Boeing B-50D, crash, 8M W of Gridley CA, 13 Jan 1953 (ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98675). Accessed 5-25-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/98675

Baugher, Joseph F. 1949 USAF Serial Numbers. Aug 17 2011 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1949.html

Billings Gazette, MT. “12 Men Killed in B-50 Crash,” January 14, 1953, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=77605002

National Fire Protection Association. “Worst No. American Aircraft Fires – 1953.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association. Vol. 47, No. 3, January 1954, pp. 309-315.

Oroville Mercury Register, CA “Plane Crash near Gridley. [AF] Probes Crash Fatal to 12.” 1-14-1953. Accessed 5-25-2023 from 1-11-2008, Oroville Veterans Memorial Park website posting by Stu Shaner, at: http://www.orovilleveteransmemorialpark.org/lookingback/2008_1_11.htm