1943 — April 15, USAAF AT-18 landing crash Buckingham AAF, Fort Myers, FL –all 11
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-13-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–11 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V. 1 Jan 1941-Jun 1943, p. 341.
–11 Panama City News-Herald, FL. “Eleven Army Fliers Killed.” 4-16-1943, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 1640 EWT, a Lockheed AT-18 crashed while attempting a landing at Buckingham Army Air Field, Fort Myers, Florida, killing 11 fliers. Investigators stated,
“[The pilot] was returning from a routine gunnery mission and attempted to land into the north on the 5,000-foot North-South Runway. He made a normal approach, attempted a three-point landing with full flaps and bounced once. A witness from the control tower stated that the pilot then apparently moved his control column forward and bounced a second time, approximately 30 feet [into the air]. It was at this point that the pilot decided to go around again. He applied power and retracted his landing gear. It was observed that the [airspeed] was low and the airplane was in an excessive climb attitude. The airplane was observed to mush and yaw. Inspection of the wreckage indicated that the flaps [were] in the full up position when the crash occurred. At an altitude of approximately 100 feet the airplane stalled off on the left wing and fell into a spill to the left, bursting into flames immediately upon crashing. The airplane had turned approximately 270 degrees to its original heading when it crashed. The airplane crashed on the outer edge of the ramp, approximately 1,000 feet short of the north end of the North-South Runway.” (Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V. 1 Jan 1941-Jun 1943, p. 341.)
Newspaper
April 16, Associated Press: “Fort Myers, Fla., Apr 16 – (AP) – Eleven Army fliers were killed instantly late yesterday when a twin-engine advanced training plane crashed at Buckingham Field near here, public relations officers announced today.
“The plane was returning to the field after a routine gunnery mission over the range just off Fort Myers beach it crashed and burst into flames only a few hundred feet from a plane parking area.
“All of the bodies were recovered soon after the accident and taken to the post hospital for identification. Cause of the accident was not determined immediately….” (Panama City News-Herald, FL. “Eleven Army Fliers Killed.” 4-16-1943, p. 1.)
Sources
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.
Panama City News-Herald, FL. “Eleven Army Fliers Killed.” 4-16-1943, p. 1. Accessed 10-4-2012 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=34821407