lornajarrettblanchard

— 5 Bakersfield Californian. “5 Crippled Youngsters Die in Fire.” 11-27-1958, p. 1.
— 5 Greeley Tribune, CO. “Handicapped Home Fire Said Caused by Child…” 11-28-1958, 16.
— 5 Hamilton Daily News Journal, Fort Hamilton, OH. “10 Children…Die in Fires.” 11-28-58

Narrative Information

Nov 27: “Oklahoma City (UPI) – Fire destroyed a. private convalescent nursery in a quiet, suburban neighborhood here today, but frantic residents of the area were able to rescue only 17 of the helpless handicapped children still abed in the rambling, two-story frame and brick building. Firemen carried five bodies from the residence and said a sixth youngster was critical burned.

“Peace Justice Wendell Foster was awaiting identification of four bodies taken to Mercy Hospital when firemen found another in a charred bed at the rear of the home.

“The fire was discovered shortly before 8 a.m. at the Mary Flake Home, in suburban Warr Acres.

“The rescues had been completed before fire trucks from Warr Acres and nearby Bethany, another suburb, arrived. Thirty minutes later, after reinforcements arrived from the Oklahoma City Fire Department, the flames were quelled so that firemen could begin checking the second floor rooms.

“William L. Brown, a Civil Aeronautics Administration employee who lives next door to the home, groped into the smoke-filled rooms and carried at least 12 of the children to safety. Some of the youngsters were mentally retarded, some victims of cerebral palsy, and others of congenital defects. Brown carried the youngsters from the building and put them wrapped in blankets, in the front yard. Other neighbors in the near, middle-income neighborhood, rushing from their homes in their night clothes, carried the youngsters out of the 30-degree weather. ‘Some of them were hardly awake,’ Brown said. ‘Some were lying in there crying, just waiting for help.’

“Most of the youngsters were under five or six years old.

“The home was operated by Mrs. Mary Flake and her…[unclear, but looks like “niece”] Mrs. Harvey Prince. Mrs. Flake received burns about the face and hands in helping with the rescues.

“At least two of the injured youngsters were taken to Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City.

“Brown said both of the women and 14-year-old Carolyn Flake, daughter of the owner, almost remained in the upstairs portion of the building too long in their rescue attempts. ‘They were almost blind and choking with smoke when we finally got them to leave,’ Brown said.

“Carolyn, a student at Benedictine Heights School in Guthrie, Okla., said she was in bed downstairs when her mother yelled that the house was on fire.

“Firemen said the cause of the blaze had not been determined. The fire was not brought under control until reinforcements from Oklahoma City arrived to help the suburban firemen. The two suburban fire units had only three hoses available….” (Bakersfield Californian. “5 Crippled Youngsters Die in Fire.” 11-27-1958, p. 1.)

Nov 28: “New York (AP) – Ten children and a mother and father perished in three Thanksgiving Day fires. Flames roared through two private dwellings and a private home for children. At Oklahoma City, five youngsters in a nine-room private home for handicapped children were killed. Seventeen other children were carried to safety. The cause of the blaze was not immediately determined, but firemen guessed that a defective gas heater could have started it….” (Hamilton Daily News Journal, Fort Hamilton, OH. “10 Children Two Parents Die in Fires.” 11-28-1958, 1.)

Nov 28: “Oklahoma City (AP) – Fire started in a trash basket by a youngster playing with matches, the state fire marshal’s office said today, caused the deaths of five children. Chester Stringer investigated the blaze at a home for handicapped children on the northwest outskirts of Oklahoma City. He said the youngster, Lee Wilhelm, one of those who died in the fire, apparently set the basket on fire accidentally, then his clothing caught fire. The boy, about 6, ran upstairs, apparently spreading the flames which gutted the two-story brick house.” (Greeley Daily Tribune, CO. “Handicapped Home Fire Said Caused by Child Playing with Matches.” 11-28-1958, p. 16.)

Sources

Bakersfield Californian. “5 Crippled Youngsters Die in Fire.” 11-27-1958, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=154237645&sterm

Greeley Daily Tribune, CO. “Handicapped Home Fire Said Caused by Child Playing with Matches.” 11-28-1958, p. 16. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=51330030&sterm

Hamilton Daily News Journal, Fort Hamilton, OH. “10 Children Two Parents Die in Fires.” 11-28-1958, 1. http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=155840873&sterm=handicapped+fire+oklahoma+city

–15  Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised 2^nd edition). 2000, p. 81.

–15  Sheldon Air Service. “24 Jul Don Sheldon’s Review Today.” 7-24-1959.

–15  UPI. “Air Force to Recover Bodies of 15.” The Daily Herald, Provo, UT, 12-26-1958, p. 1.

Narrative Information

Gottehrer/AP: “Dec. 22, 1958. A U.S. Air Force C-54 transport plane, based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, crashed in the Iliamna Mountains and exploded on contact. All 15 Air Force personnel aboard were killed, including Lt. Col. George I. Poole, commander of the Air Force camp at Shemya.” (Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised 2^nd edition). 2000, p. 81.)

Sheldon Air Service: “On Dec. 25 [1958], Christmas morning, Lt. Col. Maurise S. Speer, then commanding the 71st Air Rescue Sq., contacted Sheldon and asked him if he would assist in making positive identification of the C-54 wreckage located on top Mt. Iliamna, 130 miles south-southwest of Anchorage…. The missing C-54 had been the object of an intense three-day search after the plane had plunged into the 10,116 mountain to claim the lives of 15 Air Force crew members and passengers. Bad weather had prevented search aircraft from penetrating the Mount Iliamna area where the crash was believed to be located.

“The C-54 flying a routine supply mission to Shemya, disappeared off the radar scope at approximately 7:59 a.m. Dec. 22.

“Flying his aircraft very low through treacherous air currents and rugged mountainous area, Sheldon had to make six passes before he could get close enough to read the aircraft numbers off the tail section. It was all the evidence the 71st need to confirm the wreckage.” (Sheldon Air Service. “24 Jul Don Sheldon’s Review Today.” 7-24-1959. Accessed 8-25-2017.)

Newspapers

Dec 23: “Anchorage, Alaska (AP) — Bad weather and early darkness stalled the search Monday night for an Air Force C54 with 15 aboard, missing and believed down along the rugged Aleutian chain. The big, four-engined plane took off from Elmendorf Air Force Base here Monday [Dec 22] and disappeared from the radarscope 47 minutes later. It was headed for the refueling and radar base at Shemya, a tiny island in the North Pacific. The last fix on the plane was over the Iliamna mountains about 130 miles southwest of here. Amphibians and helicopters searched the flight route before being forced in by weather and darkness. All aboard were military personnel….” (AP. “Plane Down in Aleutians, 15 on Board.” Mt. Vernon Register-News, IL, 12-23-1958, p. 1.)

Dec 26: “Anchorage, Alaska (UPI) — The Air Force planned today an attempt to recover the bodies of 15 men killed when their C54 transport crashed into the side of Mr. Iliamna, 130 miles south of here.

“A raging storm Thursday prevented a helicopter from landing in the area, but veteran bush pilot Don Sheldon, of Talkeetna, Alaska, got close enough to the wreckage to positively identify it as the C54 which had been missing since Monday…” (UPI. “Air Force to Recover Bodies of 15.” The Daily Herald, Provo, UT, 12-26-1958, p. 1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Plane Down in Aleutians, 15 on Board.” Mt. Vernon Register-News, IL, 12-23-1958, p. 1. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/mt-vernon-register-news-dec-23-1958-p-1/?tag

Gottehrer, Dean M.  The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised and 2^nd edition). Fairbanks, Alaska: Epicenter Press, 2000. Partially digitized by Google at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=O53zwdFYTGEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Sheldon Air Service. “24 Jul Don Sheldon’s Review Today.” 7-24-1959. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: http://www.sheldonairservice.com/news/don-sheldons-review-today

United Press International. “Air Force to Recover Bodies of 15.” The Daily Herald, Provo, UT, 12-26-1958, p. 1. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/provo-daily-herald-dec-26-1958-p-1/?tag

— 33 Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. “Report News.” November 2008.
— 33 Krebes. “Carl D. Bradley Sinking 42nd Anniversary.” Encyclopedia Titanica. 2000.
— 33 Swayze. Great Lakes Shipwrecks “B.”
— 33 Swayze. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 38.
— 33 Thompson. Graveyard of the Lakes. 2006, p. 10.
— 33 USCG. Commandant’s Action…foundering…SS CARL D. BRADLEY, Lake Mich…, 1959.

Narrative Information

Krebs: “The S.S. Carl D. Bradley was once the largest Great Lakes ore boat until, ironically, the Edmund Fitzgerald’s entrance of service the very same year the Brad would be lost displacing her from that hallowed place. The Bradley’s hull was worn out by the time of what was supposed to be her final voyage of the season in November of 1958, and her owners had budgeted an $800,000 overhaul which would have given the ship a brand-new one. Slated to take place once the ’58 season closed.

“Her weakened hull was the prime factor in her destruction on that fatal night in 1958 on Lake Michigan’s storm-roiled waters.

“The Bradley was nearing her destination of Rogers City, Michigan, at 5:31 p.m. on November 18th, when an alarmingly unusual noise compelled Captain Roland Bryan and First Mate Elmer Fleming, in the pilothouse, to look back down the Brad’s spar deck. They saw that the ship was beginning to break apart!

“Fleming sent out mayday call after mayday call, and Bryan urged the crew over the loudspeaker to grab their life jackets, and then gave the “abandon ship” signal on the ship’s whistle.

“At 5:45 p.m., the Bradley broke in two.

“Some of the crew tried to launch one of the lifeboats on the aft deckhouse, but to no avail.
Most of the men had donned life jackets by the time they were plunged into the water as the Brad rapidly went down, but with the water only 36 degrees, and the air in the twenties, death came slowly but surely to many.

“First Mate Fleming and watchman Frank Mays wound up almost on top of the Bradley’s only life raft when they hit the water, and they scrambled aboard it, and tried to pull aboard other crewmen in the water around them, finally getting two men into the raft, watchman Gary Strzelecki, and deckhand Dennis Meredith.

“By the time the Coast Guard cutter Sunew saw the raft the next day, Strzelecki and Meredith had died, and were not even on the raft…Meredith had been lost when the raft capsized during the night and the others had to right it and scramble back in, and Strzelecki had gone into shock and slipped off despite Fleming and May’s efforts to keep him aboard. Tragically, four instead of two could have lived had only the last flare in the raft fired when Fleming spied a nearby ship in the rain and wave-swept darkness shortly after the Brad sank….” (Krebes 2000.)

“Battling 30-foot waves and 65 mph winds , she rode up on a huge wave and broke in two, sinking quickly. The German motor vessel Christian Sartori was first on the scene, but was unable to find any of her crew. Extensive air-sea rescue operation by the Coast Guard yielded just two freezing survivors on a raft 14 hours later. She was bound from Buffington Harbor, IL, for Calcite, MI, and was the 2nd largest vessel ever lost on the Lakes….

Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News: “….Today [Nov 18, 2008], the people of Rogers City will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bradley’s loss. The centerpiece for the commemoration will be the recently recovered bell from the vessel. Last summer, divers removed the bell and replaced it with a replica engraved with the names of the entire crew to serve as a memorial marker to those lost. The original bell was returned to Rogers City and restored. It is displayed in a place of honor at the Great Lakes Lore Museum there, where it has remained silent for the last year. Tuesday evening, it will be rung once for each of the crewmembers. The first to ring it will be Frank Mays, the sole remaining survivor.” (Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. Report News (Nov 2008); cites: John Belliveau and Bob Vandevusse from the Holland Sentinel [MI].)

Swayze: “Her homeport of Rogers City, MI was also the home of 33 of her crew. Hull located in Sep ’59 in 360′ of water.” (Swayze. Great Lakes Shipwrecks “B.”)

Sources

Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive. “Report News (November 2008).” Accessed at: http://www.boatnerd.com/news/archive/11-08.htm

Great Lakes Shipwrecks “B.” Accessed at: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/b.htm

Krebes, Richard A. “Carl D. Bradley Sinking 42nd Anniversary.” Encyclopedia Titanica. 11-18- 2000. At: http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/discus/messages/6937/1300.html?974905246

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.

Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004.

United States Coast Guard. Commandant’s Action on Marine Board of Investigation; foundering of the SS CARL D. BRADLEY, Lake Michigan, 18 November 1958 with loss of life. Wash. DC: Commandant, USCG, July 7, 1959. At: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/docs/boards/carlbradley.pdf
Accessed 11-13-2020 at: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/boards/carlbradley.pdf

–11 AP. “KC97 Crash Kills 11 A.F. Crewmen.” San Antonio Express, TX. 11-13-1958, p. 1.
–11 AP. “Seek Clue to Cause of Air-Tanker Crash.” Pasadena Independent, CA. 11-14-1958, p6.
–11 Aviation Safety Network. USAF KC-97 Stratotanker crash after take-off, Savannah, GA, 11-12-1958.

aNarrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database:
“Date: 12-Nov-1958
“Time: c. 14:00
“Type: Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker
“Owner/operator United States Air Force (USAF)
“Registration: [Not noted.]
“MSN: [Not noted.]
“Fatalities: Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 11
“Other fatalities: 0
….
“Location: Savannah, GA. [Actually, Isle of Hope, 10 miles southeast of Savannah.]
“Phase: Unknown [Blanchard – the phase was takeoff.]
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Hunter AFB [Savannah, GA]
“Destination airport: [Not noted.] [An aviastar.org commenter states the plane was going TDY
to England.]
“Confidence rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources
“Narrative: Crashed in residential area two minutes after take-off and exploded.”

Aviastar.org. Boeing 377 “Stratocruiser.”
“Ron Curtis…24.02.2017…I was stationed at Hunter AFB Savannah GA from July 1956 until October 1959 A/2C 2nd Field Maintenance Squadron. Does anybody remember the KC97 crash on November 12th 1958 just east of the runway at Hunter. Going TDY to England 11 airmen on board no survivors. I still have the front page of the Savannah Morning News November 13th 1958 and a letter I sent to my parents. I was on a cleanup detail at the crash site…the exact location of the crash between Salcedo Ave and Easy Street. just east of Harrock Hall DR. The nose (emph) came to rest just short of a brick home….”

Newspaper

Nov 13, AP: “Savannah, Ga. (AP) – Eleven Air Force crewmen died Wednesday in the flaming wreckage of a KC97 refueling tanker. The four-engine plane was blazing, witnesses reported, before it descended to treetop level with its doomed crew. It blew apart and fell with a series of deafening explosions in a residential area on the Isle of Hope, 10 miles southeast of Savannah. It crashed a few minutes after a 2 p.m. takeoff from Hunter Air Force Base. Two houses were wrecked. A civilian, working in his garden, was burned severely by burning wreckage. Flames covered the crash area after the taker clipped the tops off several trees and plowed a swath 100 feet wide and 300 feet long into the ground.

“The plane apparently lost an engine, said Maj. Robert H. Reed, Hunter public relations officer. It dumped some fuel, he explained, after taking off in an effort to gain altitude.

“Frightened residents thought the plane would hit a school or a nearby playground, but it crashed half a mile away. ‘As the plane skimmed by,’ said Reva Odorn, Savannah Morning News staff writer, ‘a member of the crew was seen leaning from a window and waving. Many people thought the crewman was waving at the children in the playground to get back – my two youngest were there – but more likely he was waving goodbye to the world. He was dead in less time than it takes to count to ten.’

“Pieces of torn and twisted wreckage from the shattered plane covered lawns in the housing development. The plane, officially called a Strato-freighter, is a propeller-driven craft used primarily for refueling. It normally carries a crew of six.” (Associated Press. “KC97 Crash Kills 11 A.F. Crewmen.” San Antonio Express, TX. 11-13-1958, p. 1. )

Nov 14, AP: “Savannah, Ga. (AP) A team of Air Force investigators sifted through charred bits of metal as they sought to find out what caused the fiery crash of a KC-97 refueling tanker. Eleven airmen perished late Wednesday afternoon when the giant four-engine plane crashed and exploded in a residential area on the Isle of Hope, 10 miles southeast of Savannah.

“The dead and their home towns:

Lt. William L. Bowles 25 Warwick, VA the pilot
Lt. Harold G. Lassen 26 New York City
Lt. Freddie Levine 25 Charleston, SC
Sgt. Warren R. Martin 29 Yakima, Wash.
Sgt. Curtis W. King 37 Waycross, GA
Airman Malcolm Rogers 22 Prattville, AL
Sgt. Lonnie E. Owens 25 Moultrie, GA
Airman Douglas A Cole 23 Washington, IA
Airman John A Boyer 20 South River, NJ
Airman Joseph P. Turner 21 Moultrie, GTA
Airman John M. Scherbak 21 Wallington, NJ

“Officials said most of the men were married and lived in Savannah with their families.

“The plane crashed a few minutes after taking off from Hunter Air Force Base….” (Associated Press. “Seek Clue to Cause of Air-Tanker Crash.” Pasadena Independent, CA. 11-14-1958, p. 6.)

Sources

Associated Press. “KC97 Crash Kills 11 A.F. Crewmen. Big Tanker Blows Apart in Georgia. Plane Crashes into 2 Houses; Civilian Burned.” San Antonio Express, TX. 11-13-1958, p. 1. Accessed 7-8-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/san-antonio-express-nov-13-1958-p-1/

Associated Press. “Seek Clue to Cause of Air-Tanker Crash.” Pasadena Independent, CA. 11-14-1958, p. 6. Accessed 7-8-2023 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/california-pasadena-independent-nov-14-1958-p-6/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database. USAF KC-97 Stratotanker crash after take-off, Savannah, GA, 11-12-1958. Accessed 7-8-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/171583

–14 Hanna, Pat. “Born out of tragedy.” The Register-Herald, Beckley, WV. 10-25-2008.
–14 United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the [US]. “Oglebay-Norton…”
–14 WV Archives & History. “On This Day in West Virginia History…Oglebay Norton’s…”
–14 WV Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present.

Narrative Information

Hanna: “….[On] Saturday…a memorial was dedicated to the families and communities that lost loved ones in an explosion 50 years ago at Oglebay-Norton’s Burton Mine (commonly known as Richwood Sewell), which was located in a remote area along the Gauley River in Nicholas County.

“Fourteen miners died in the accident. Three who were underground and 37 others who were working on the surface side of the explosion survived.

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States: A list of 13 of the 14 victims can be found at the USMRA site noted below in Sources.

West Virginia Archives & History: “On October 28, 1958, an explosion at the Oglebay Norton’s Burton coal mine in Nicholas County resulted in the deaths of fourteen miners.”

Sources

Hanna, Pat. “Born out of tragedy.” The Register-Herald, Beckley, WV. 10-25-2008. Accessed 1-26-2023 at: https://www.register-herald.com/news/local_news/born-out-of-tragedy/article_a5869bc1-0fc3-5135-b772-3acc8b579f64.html

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Oglebay-Norton Coal Company Burton Mine Explosion, Craigsville, Nicholas County, West Virginia, October 28, 1958. Accessed 1-26-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/burton_news_only.htm

West Virginia Archives & History. “On This Day in West Virginia History…October 28, 1958 Oglebay Norton’s coal mine…” Accessed 1-26-2023 at: https://archive.wvculture.org/history/thisdayinwvhistory/1028.html

West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present. MHS&T, October 9, 2008 update. At: http://www.wvminesafety.org/disaster.htm

–22 Bureau of Mines. Historical Summary of Coal Mine Explosions in the [US], 1959-81. 264.
–22 US Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the [US]. “Pocahontas Fuel Company…”*
–22 WV Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present

*Blanchard note on United States Mine Rescue Association. From the full citation in Sources one can see that the location is listed as in Bishop, Wise County, Virginia. Other sources note Bishop, WV. The explanation, we speculate, has to do with the fact that the town of Bishop is within both Virginia (Wise Co. and West Virginia (McDowell Co.).

Narrative Information

Bureau of Mines: “October 27; Bishop (No. 34) Mine, McDowell County, W. Va.; 22 killed. (From Bureau of Mines report, by W. R. Park, E.M. Lewis, G. Noe, and E. Menta).

“Shots fired at the face of No. 6 place, 2 left off Pine Ridge left section, blasted through to No. 5 place (No. 3 Drainway entry) and ignited an explosive mixture of methane and air about 8:28 a.m., resulting in the death of 22 men. None of the other 185 men in the mine at the time of the explosion was injured. However, 37 men in the inby [in the direction of the working face] Pine Ridge left and Pine Ridge main sections observed forces, dust, and fumes from the explosion enter their working areas. These men erected barricades and remained behind the barricades until rescued. The men in the Pine Ridge main section were removed from behind the barricade about 9:35 a.m. and the men in the Pine Ridge left section were removed from behind the barricade at 10:15 a.m. on the day of the explosion.

“The disaster resulted from the ignition of a large quantity of methane that was liberated during blasting operations in No. 5 working place (No. 3 Drainway entry). The ignition occurred when one or more shots from the face of No. 6 entry of 2 left entries blasted through into NO. 3 Drainway entry, where the face had been blasted shortly before. The victims of the explosion, all found within 875 feet of the faces of 2 left section, were burned severely.

“Coal dust in the areas inby the mine-car loading point entered into the explosion and aided in its propagation.

“The 2 left off Pine Ridge left section (explosion area) consisted of a set of 6 entries turned off Pine Ridge left entries and driven a distance of about 2,900 feet. Until shortly before the disaster, the 6 entries were ventilated with intake air coursed through the Nos. 3, 4, and 5 (center) entries, split right and left near the faces, and returned through Nos. 1, 2, and 6 entries. During a Federal ventilation survey of the mine in September 1958, 49,000 c.f.m. of intake air was coursed through the 3 center entries; 28,000 and 21,000 c.f.m. of air was measured in the immediate returns, Nos. 1 and 6 entries, respectively. However, after the ventilation survey was completed, a new set of entries (Drainway entries) was turned right off 2 left entries, and the 2 left entries and the Drainway entries were developed simultaneously with one set of face equipment and one loading ramp. The turning and driving of the Drainway entries with thee 2 left entries required ventilation changes in the immediate face regions. Previous to turning the Drainway entries, 3 entries left and 3 entries right of 2 left were ventilated with separate splits of air; whereas, on the day of the explosion, the left split of air ventilated 5 entry faces, and the right split of air was coursed past 4 additional entry faces. Providing adequate face ventilation for the additional entries necessitated the use of additional check curtains and line brattice, which in turn increase the hazards of air leakage and ventilation interruptions.

“The diluting and quenching effect of the rock dust applied was the principal factor in preventing further spread of this explosion. Other factors that helped limit the explosion were the cooling effect of the extensive rib, roof, and floor surfaces of the numerous entries in the path of the explosion and ample open areas for expansion of forces.” (Bureau of Mines (H. B. Humphrey). Historical Summary of Coal Mine Explosions in the United States, Volume 1, Coal Mines, 1810-1958 (Bureau of Mines Bulletin 586). Washington DC: US GPO, 1960, pp. 272 and 275.)

West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety & Training (Table):
“Oct. 27, 1958…Pocahontas Fuel Co…No. 35…Bishop…Gas Explosion…22.”

Sources

Bureau of Mines (H. B. Humphrey). Historical Summary of Coal Mine Explosions in the United States, Volume 1, Coal Mines, 1810-1958 (Bureau of Mines Bulletin 586). Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1960. Accessed 1-29-2023 at: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc12740/

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Pocahontas Fuel Company Bishop No. 34 Mine Explosion. Bishop, Wise County, Virginia, October 27, 1958, No. Killed – 22.” Accessed 1-29-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/bishop.htm

West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. WV Mine Disasters 1884 to Present. MHS&T, October 9, 2008 update. At: http://www.wvminesafety.org/disaster.htm
Accessed 1-29-2023 at: https://minesafety.wv.gov/historical-statistical-data/wv-mine-disasters-1884-to-present/

— 11 Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (140053 to 145061). 11-7-2011.
— 11 Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Bodies of Five More crash Victims Found.” 10-22-1958, p. 1.
— 11 Evening Standard, Uniontown, PA. “Divers Seek Bodies…Plane Crash.” 10-20-1958, p. 1.
— 11 Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. “Big Navy Radar Plane Crashes.” 10-18-1958, p. 1.
— 11 Planecrashinfo.com. “1958…Accident Details…USN…Placentia Bay, Canada, Oct 18.”

Narrative Information

Baugher: “141294 w/o Oct 18, 1958, Argentia Bay, Newfoundland 1000 feet short of the runway while making instrument landing approach. 11 of 29 aboard killed.” (Baugher. 11-7-2011.)

Planecrashinfo.com: “Lockheed WV-2 Super Constellation…29 passengers and crew… Crashed 1,000 feet short of the Argentia, NAS runway.” (Planecrashinfo.com.)

Newspapers

Oct 18: “Argentia, Nfl. (AP) – A big U.S. Navy Constellation with 29 men aboard plunged into the Atlantic in darkness early today while attempting an instrument landing. One serviceman was killed and 10 are missing. Eighteen others were picked up by crash boats in a dramatic rescue that defied bad weather and the darkness. The four-engine craft, equipped for radar patrol, was transferring personnel from the U.S. Naval base at Patuxent River, Md., to Argentia.

“The plane was coming in shortly after midnight. It struck the water just short of the base’s runway. Crash boats from the Argentia base sped out to the scene and picked up survivors. A search was continuing for the missing.

“The plane itself was to become part of the U.S. barrier aircraft group that flies radar early warning patrols over the North Atlantic.

“Argentia is on the west side of Placenta Bay on Newfoundland’s south coast. About 3,000 Americans man the base.

“Details of the crash were sketchy and the cause was not immediately known….

“At Argentia, it was reported the 10 missing were believed trapped inside the plane, still afloat in
choppy waters a half mile offshore. Efforts were being made to reach them despite the fog and the rain.

“A Navy officer said Argentia’s runway ‘is well lighted…We don’t know what happened.’….” (Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. “Big Navy Radar Plane Crashes.” 10-18-1958, p. 1.)

Oct 20: “Argentia, Nfld. (AP) – Seven U. S. Navy divers went down in Placentia Bay here today looking for the bodies of 10 men believed trapped in an American radar patrol plane. One man was known to have been killed in Saturday’s crash, 10 are missing and 13 were rescued.

“A wing of the giant Navy super constellation was found Sunday but there was no sign of the fuselage. Officials have expressed the opinion that wind-whipped waves may have broken it up.

“The plane plunged into 30 feet of water about 1,000 feet from a runway of the U.S. Naval Base here during an instrument landing. It was raining and foggy at the time but a Navy officer said the field was well lighted.

“Winds whipped the bay into a fury Sunday and halted search operations for six hours.

“Lt. John Koskey, the plane’s co-pilot, said he surrendered the controls to the pilot seconds before the crash. Altitude then was 250 feet. The weather was bad. The pilot is among the missing. Koskey said things happened so quickly he didn’t know the plane was in trouble ‘until I felt something rough.’ He escaped through a window in the submerged nose….” (Evening Standard, Uniontown, PA. “Divers Seek Bodies From Plane Crash.” 10-20-1958, p. 1.)

Oct 22, United Press International: “Argentia, Nfld. (UPI) — Frogmen planned to resume their search Wednesday for the bodies of 5 of the 11 men who died when a U.S. navy Super Constellation crashed into Argentia bay last Saturday. The frogmen brought up 5 bodies Tuesday. One body was found shortly after the crash, and 18 men were rescued.” (Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Bodies of Five More crash Victims Found.” 10-22-1958, p. 1.)

Oct 25, Ottumwa Daily Courier: “Lyle W. (Cy) Foster, 56, former Ottumwan, is missing and presumed dead following crash of a navy Constellation plane at Newfoundland on October 18. He was a field director for the American Red Cross, living near Annapolis, Md. Foster was returning to the navy base at Argentia, Newfoundland, having spent a month’s leave with his wife at Admiral Heights, near Annapolis.

“The plane was taking equipment and personnel from Patuxent River, Md., to Argentia when it crashed into Placentia Bay. Eighteen of the 29 men aboard were rescued by surface vessels, but Foster was said to be one of the 10 believed caught in the sunken fuselage. Boats and helicopters searched the area without finding a trace of other survivors, however….” (Ottumwa Daily Courier, IA. “Cy Foster Missing After Plane Crash.” 10-25-1958, p. 6.)

Sources

Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (140053 to 145061). Nov 7, 2011 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries17.html

Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Bodies of Five More crash Victims Found.” 10-22-1958, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=44848081

Evening Standard, Uniontown, PA. “Divers Seek Bodies From Plane Crash.” 10-20-1958, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=84543998

Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. “Big Navy Radar Plane Crashes.” 10-18-1958, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=162523154

Ottumwa Daily Courier, IA. “Cy Foster Missing After Plane Crash.” 10-25-1958, p. 6. Accessed 1-29-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/ottumwa-daily-courier-oct-25-1958-p-6/

Planecrashinfo.com. “1958…Accident Details…USN…Placentia Bay, Canada, Oct 18.” Accessed at: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1958/1958-52.htm

— 19 Aerobatic Teams.net. “Thunderbirds History.”
— 19 ASN. Accident description. USAF Fairchild C-123B-12-FA Provider near Payette, ID
— 19 Baugher. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 revision.
— 19 Billings Gazette, MT. “Recover Crash Victims Bodies.” 10-11-1958, p. 1.
— 19 Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 77.
— 19 Joplin Globe, MO. “19 Feared Dead in Idaho Crash of AF Transport.” 10-10-1958, 1.
— 19 Kebabjian, Richard. “1958.” Planecrashinfo.com
— 19 Times-News, Twin Falls, ID. “Payette Air Crash Probe is Complete.” 10-23-1958, p. 5.
— 19 Waymarking.com. “Thunderbirds Down – Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com.”
— 19 Wikipedia. “1958 in aviation.” 2-19-2012 modification.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Fairchild C-123B-12-FA Provider….4521 (c/n 20182) crashed near Payette, Idaho Oct 9, 1958. 19 killed.” (Baugher. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 rev.)

Gero: “The twin-engine transport crashed and exploded on flat terrain some 7 miles (11km) east of Payette, and all 19 persons aboard were killed. Except for two civilian passengers, the victims were all American servicemen, including the crew of five.

“Operated by the Tactical Air Command and desig¬nated as the support aircraft for the ‘Thunderbirds’, the US Air Force precision flying team, 55-4521A had been en route from Hill Air Force Base, in Utah, to McChord Air Force Base, near Tacoma, Washington, one segment of a transcontinental flight originating in North Carolina, when it appar¬ently stalled at an approximate height of 500ft (150m) above the ground, apparently after experi¬encing uncontrolled phugoid, or `porpoising’ motions.

“At the time of the accident, around dusk, the local weather was good, with an estimated ceiling of 9,000ft (2,700m) and a visibility of 30 miles (50km). The wind was calm. A loss of control or the incapacitation of one of the pilots may have factored in the accident.” (Gero 1999, pp. 77-78.)

Kebabjian: “….Crashed and exploded on flat terrain east of Payette. A loss of control or the incapacitation of one of the pilots may have factored in the accident.” (Kebabjian, Richard. “1958.” Planecrashinfo.com.)

Waymarking.com: “Quick Description: Support C-123-B for Thunderbird AF Squadron crashed, killing all 19 on board. Worst loss of life accident in the history of the Thunderbird Squadron….

“Long Description: The aircraft was assigned to 347th Troop Carrier Sq., 464th Troop Carrier Wg, 9th AF, TAC. Departed Hill AFB, UT enroute to McChord AFB, WA. At approx. 1824MST the aircraft crashed and burned 6.5 N.M. from Payette, Idaho, on a bearing of 095 DEG.

“CREW (347th TC Sq, TAC, 9th AF, 464th TC Wg, Pope AFB):

Cpt. James C. Wilson, Jr;
1LT John N. Frisby;
1LT Thomas C. Lampsa;
SSG James M. Hauver;
A1C James C. Miller

“PASSENGERS (4520th Combat Crew Tng Wg Nellis AFB – Members of Thunderbird Squadron Support Crew):

CWO Floyd L. Pulley;
MSG Boyd O. Lambeth;
SSG John H. Bishop;
SSG George H. Blanchard;
SSG Charles H. Hillhouse;
SSG Robert L. Meyers;
SSG George J. Stevens;
A1C Elmer G Houseman;
A1C Richard T. Lashley;
A1C Don L. Seaney;
A2C Jerry R. Adams;
A2C Adrain C. Gayther

CIVILIANS:

Mr. Stanley A. Shegda, North American Aviation Tec Rep
Mr. Joseph Paul, North American Aviation Mechanic

“Actual crash site is 2.5 miles NE of monument on private ranch land. No public access….

“Primary cause was undetermined.

“Possible cause was mechanical control problem.

“Contributory causes: Overloaded, pilot incapacitation, crew rest restrictions violated, or pilot seat not occupied by qualified pilot.” (Waymarking.com. “Thunderbirds Down – Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com.”)

Newspapers

Oct 10: “Payette, Idaho (AP) – A twin engine Air Force transport crashed and burned near this southwest Idaho town Thursday night. Air Force officials said the plane carried 19 passengers and crewmen in a flight from Utah to Tacoma, Wash. They said no survivors were reported.

“The transport fell near Little Willow Creek in rough country about eight miles southwest of Payette. The crash occurred on the farm of Charlie Nelson. Idaho state police quoted an Air Force officer at the scene as saying the plane carried 19. He said no survivors had been found.

“The C123 prop-jet transport left northern, Utah’s Hill Air Force Base late in the afternoon, en route to McChord AFB, Wash. Its home base was Pope AFB, N. C.

“Charlie Hastings, a Payette newsman, said he got to the scene shortly after the crash, and saw the fuselage caved in, wings sheared off and no sign of the motors. “I saw four bodies,” Hastings
said. He said an unidentified farmer told him he looked up when he heard the plane’s motors sputtering and saw the craft heading for a crash. The farmer said it appeared to hit a flock of geese in its final drive.” (Joplin Globe, MO. “19 Feared Dead in Idaho Crash of AF Transport.” 10-10-1958, p. 1.)

Oct 11: “Payette, Idaho (AP) – The bodies of 17 airmen and two civilians were recovered Friday from the wreckage of a transport plane which crashed and burned near here Thursday night. They included 14 men who serviced the famed Thunderbirds Air Force acrobatic jet team. Officials at McChord Air Force Base Washington, said the Thunderbirds planned to perform there Saturday as scheduled.

“The five crew members were from Pope Air Force Base, N.C. where the big plane was stationed. The Thunderbird service team, including two technical representatives of North American Aviation Inc., was from Nellis AFB, Nev.

“Brig. Gen. James C. McGehee, wing commander at Nellis, flew here to help find out what caused the crash. Officials said he would also help identify the bodies, which were brought to a Payette mortuary from the sagebrush-covered hill which the plane hit.

“Officials at Pope AFB said the plane had been flying an extended support mission for the Thunderbirds, and had left Pope about Oct. 1. It took off Thursday from Hill AFB near Ogden, Utah, on its way lo McChord.

“There were indications that the crash came while the pilot was attempting a wheels-down emergency landing. There also was speculation that the craft may have run into a flock of geese,
contributing to the disaster….Idaho Aeronautics Director Chet Moulton said he did not think geese could have caused the crash.

“Witnesses said the plane appeared to be gliding to a landing just before it smashed into a hillside on a ranch near this community in southwest Idaho. It set fire to brush and grass, but a farmer plowed a fire break around it….

“A rancher, Eldro Gisell, said the plane appeared to be flying through a flock of big birds. He said, ‘The formations of geese broke up and the birds flew in all directions. Then I heard the plane’s engine stutter and it seemed to stall. For a moment it sounded like the engines roared wide open and the plane seemed to pull up. Then it knifed downward and I heard the explosion’.” (Billings Gazette, MT. “Recover Crash Victims Bodies.” 10-11-1958, p. 1.)

Oct 23: “Mountain Home, Oct. 23 (AP) — Air force officials said yesterday there probably will be no more investigation into the Payette plane crash that killed 19 persons. The board will write a report that the cause of the crash is undetermined, said Mark E. E. Ours, information services staff officer for Mountain Home air force base.

“The board, headed by Lieut. Col. H. O. Mendel, Mountain Home, ended a week-long series of meetings last Friday into the Oct. 9 crash. At that time, they said evidence was insufficient to make a decision.

“Wreckage from the C123 twin-engined plane was sent for analysis to an air force depot at Middletown, Pa.” (Times-News, Twin Falls, ID. “Payette Air Crash Probe is Complete.” 10-23-1958, 5.)

Sources

Aerobaticteams.net. “Thunderbirds History.” Accessed 2-21-2012 at: http://aerobaticteams.net/thunderbirds-history.html

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Accident description. United States Air Force Fairchild C-123B-12-FA Provider near Payette, ID 09 Oct 1958. Accessed 1-29-2023 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19581009-0

Baugher, Joseph F. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 revision. Accessed 1-14-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1955.html

Billings Gazette, MT. “Recover Crash Victims Bodies.” 10-11-1958, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=77577076

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

Joplin Globe, MO. “19 Feared Dead in Idaho Crash of AF Transport.” 10-10-1958, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=167079657

Kebabjian, Richard. 1958. Planecrashinfo.com. Accessed 2-21-2012 at: http://planecrashinfo.com/1958/1958-51.htm

Times-News, Twin Falls, ID. “Payette Air Crash Probe is Complete.” 10-23-1958, p. 5. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=169458676

Waymarking.com. “Thunderbirds Down – Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com.” Accessed 2-21-2012 at: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1A9W

Wikipedia. “1958 in aviation.” 2-19-2012 modification. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_in_aviation#October

–10 Aviation Safety Network. US Navy Lockheed P2V-5 crash 29 September 1958.
–10 Post-Register, Idaho Falls, ID. “Navy Plane Wreck Found.” 10-1-1958, p. 28.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation:
“Date: Monday 29 September 1958, 15:30
“Type: Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune
“Operator: United States Navy
“Registration: 131461
“MSN: 426-5342
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10
“Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
“Total: Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10
….
“Location: 35 km (21.9 mls) N off Key West, FL
“Phase: en route
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Key West NAS, FL…
“Destination airport: Key West NAS, FL…
“Narrative: Crashed during a routine instrument checking mission.”

(Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. US Navy Lockheed P2V-5 crash 29 September 1958. Accessed 1-29-2023.)

Newspaper

Oct 1, Associated Press: “Key West, Fla (AP) – Aircraft looking for a Navy patrol plane missing with 10 men aboard found airplane wreckage late Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico, 22 miles north of Key West. A spokesman said a jet plane from Boca Chica Naval-Air Station here sighted a portion of the nose and other wreckage in the water. No rafts were observed. Crash boats and mine sweepers went to the scene where the debris was sighted. Depth at the spot was estimated at 48 feet. More than 20 planes have been searching for the PV2 twin-engined plane which disappeared at 3:30 p.m. Monday. The patrol plane, based at Brunswick, Maine, Naval Air Station, was on an antisubmarine warfare training operation.” (Post-Register, Idaho Falls, ID. “Navy Plane Wreck Found.” 10-1-1958, p. 28.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. US Navy Lockheed P2V-5 crash 29 September 1958. Accessed 1-29-2023 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19580929-2

Post-Register, Idaho Falls, ID. “Navy Plane Wreck Found.” 10-1-1958, p. 28. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=75694249

— 7 Assoc. Press. “Co-Pilot Jumps, 7 Others Dead.” Winona Daily News, MN. 9-17-1958, p.1.
— 7 Cabot. “Survivor of B-52 Crash in IGH Speaks.” Southwest Review News, MN. 9-16-2008.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Boeing B-52D-20-BW Stratofortress c/n 464017 crashed Sep 16, 1958 at Inver Grover Heights, MN near St Paul, MI, due to flight control failure which led to tail separation. Only one crewmember survived. Several local farm family members injured. There is a plaque on a piece of granite at the site commemorating the crash and the victims who lost their lives that night.” (Baugher. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 rev.)

Newspaper

Sep 17, Associated Press: “South St. Paul (AP) – A B52 bomber on a training mission crashed in flames on a farm near here Tuesday night. The co-pilot parachuted to safety. Seven other crew members were missing and presumed dead. The giant plane, based at Loring Air Force Base, Limestone, Maine, missed the densely-populated Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan district by three miles, and an oil refinery by a similar distance.

“Exploding fuel tanks of the big plane fired the house, barn and outbuildings on the August Kahl farm three miles south of here. Eight members of the Kahl family, representing three generations, were hospitalized as a result of burns, three in serious condition.

“The plane had been in the air eight hours on a practice bombing mission to Minneapolis when it crashed.

“Capt. Jack Douglas Craft, 29, the co-pilot, parachuted to safety after he reported the big ship ‘started to come apart in the air.’ He was hospitalized suffering from shock, cuts and bruises. He could give no word of his seven fellow crew members. The ambulance driver who took Craft to the hospital said the co-pilot told him the plane was flying at 36,000 feet at exactly 600 miles per hour. ‘Then, all of a sudden, the plane started falling apart, he told me,’ Duane Zimmerman said. ‘It just broke up on us, he said. He was right by the controls and didn’t know what happened.’

“Witnesses reported seeing the plane streaking flame as it roared toward the ground. Aa it crashed, it erupted in a geyser of fire visible for 10 miles and accompanied by a thunderous explosion. Fuel spewing from the ruptured tanks fired several acres of brush and grass….

“Although B52s are designed to carry atomic weapons, Col. Edwin Ambrosen, commander of the Twin Cities Wold-Chamberlain Air Force Base, said the smashed plane carried no armament….” (Associated Press. “Co-Pilot Jumps, 7 Others Dead.” Winona Daily News, MN. 9-17-1958, p.1.)

Source

Associated Press. “Co-Pilot Jumps, 7 Others Dead.” Winona Daily News, MN. 9-17-1958, p.1. Accessed 1-26-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/winona-daily-news-sep-17-1958-p-1/

Baugher, Joseph F. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 revision. Accessed 1-14-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1955.html

Cabot, Danielle. “Survivor of B-52 Crash in IGH Speaks.” Southwest Review News, MN. 9-16-2008. Accessed at: http://www.southwestreviewnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=62&SubSectionID=275&ArticleID=3306&TM=56264.72