1945 – March 6, USAAF B-24D, AP approach crash, 1M ~Mountain Home AAF, ID –all 10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard for: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/  Last edit 12-11-2023.

–10  Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V3, Aug 1944-Dec 1945, 1052.

–10  UP. “Air Base Reveals 3rd Plane Crash. Ten Die…Mountain Home.” Twin Falls Telegram, ID, 3-7-1945, p1.

 Narrative Information

 

Mireles: “At 1111 MWT, a Consolidated B-24D attempting a landing crashed one-quarter mile west of Mountain Home Army Air Field, Mountain Home, Idaho, killing ten crewmembers. The airplane was part of a five-ship flight that was returning to the field after successfully completing a routine training flight. The airplane peeled off and entered the traffic pattern. The airplane flew a normal pattern and radioed in on the base leg. The airplane, flying at about 800 feet agl, was observed in a vertical bank to the left while in the turn from base to final. The airplane was righted but moments later it again entered a vertical bank. The airplane rolled to an inverted attitude and then dove into the ground, bursting into flames upon impact. Investigators speculated that the B-24 experienced an aileron stall from which the pilot was unable to recover.” (Mireles 2006, p. 1052.)

Newspapers

 

March 7: “Mountain Home (UP) – The third crash of a Mountain Home plane in the last few days was announced late Tuesday by Col. John H. Gibson, commanding officer of the Mountain Home air field. The entire 10-man crew aboard a Liberator bomber were killed at 11:15 this morning when their plane crashed one mile northwest of Mountain Home air field while on a combat training flight, said Gibson. The heavy bomber crashed while attempting a landing….” (United Press. “Air Base Reveals 3rd Plane Crash. Ten Die in Mishap Near Mountain Home.” The Twin Falls Telegram, ID, 3-7-1945, p. 1.)

 

 

Sources

 

Mireles, Anthony J.  Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 3:  August 1944 – December 1945). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.

 

United Press. “Air Base Reveals 3rd Plane Crash. Ten Die in Mishap Near Mountain Home.” The Twin Falls Telegram, ID, 3-7-1945, p. 1. Accessed 12-11-2023 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/twin-falls-telegram-mar-07-1945-p-1/