1943 – Feb 26, USAAF B-17F crash just after takeoff, Biggs Field, El Paso, TX — 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-16-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–10 El Paso Herald-Post. “10 Fliers Killed In Biggs Field Plane Crash.” 2-27-1943, p. 1.
–10 Mireles 2006, Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents in US 1941-1945, Vol. 1, p. 284.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 2119 MWT, a Boeing B-17F flew into the ground just after take-off from Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas, killing ten crewmembers and seriously injuring the pilot….
“Investigators stated,
2Lt. Edward M. Kelley, flying B-17F No. 42-29528 on a night formation mission, began his take-off about thirty seconds after the B-17 ahead of him. His take-off was normal, but upon leaving the runway he glanced ahead to the lights on the B-17 [ahead of him], which began turning to the left and then [he, Lt. Kelley,] began flying on instruments. There was no distinguishable horizon and there were no lights ahead on the ground to judge his altitude above the terrain after he had passed the runway lights. The pilot stated that he followed the ship ahead, that he couldn’t gain altitude, and that he was just beginning to fly ‘good’ when he hit the ground.
Actually, his airplane hit the rough terrain several hundred feet to the right of where he thought he was flying, indicating that he may have been a victim of vertigo — meaning that due to the combination of flying by visual reference to the moving lights of the ship ahead and immediately changing to instrument flight, he actually was flying on a course over the ground different than he thought he was. The few seconds [that had] elapsed was not sufficient to correct, by reference to instruments, for the dangerous position of the aircraft. The pilot stated that he was successfully…correcting for instability caused by the [propeller turbulence] from the B-17 just ahead. If the landing lights had been used during this take-off, this accident might have been avoided.
“Killed in the crash were: [We break names out of paragraph into separate lines.]
F/O [Flight Officer] Charles G. Novak, co-pilot;
2Lt. James W. Bishop, navigator;
2Lt. Ernest F. Pasqua, bombardier;
Sgt. V. A. Berrath, engineer;
Sgt. A. J. Burke, radio operator;
SSgt. Melvin P. Simms, Jr., assistant engineer;
Sgt. Woodrow W. Erwin, assistant radio operator;
SSgt. Joseph P. Bancom, gunner;
Pvt. Robert M. Parcham gunner;
Sgt. Howard T. Speak, passenger.”
(Mireles 2006, Vol. 1, p. 284.)
Sources
El Paso Herald-Post. “10 Fliers Killed In Biggs Field Plane Crash.” 2-27-1943, p. 1. Accessed 5-16-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/el-paso-herald-post-feb-27-1943-p-1/
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 1: Introduction, January 1941 – June 1943). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.