20th Century

1949 — Oct 13, Lakenheath AB USAF B50 takeoff engine fire/crash ~Isleham England–(US/11) 12

–12  Aviation Safety Network. USAF B-50 crash after takeoff .5M SC of Isleham, Eng., 10-13-1949.

–12  Baugher. 1946-1948 USAAF Serial Numbers. 10-15-2011 revision.

–12  Daily Capital News, Jefferson City, MO. “US B-50 Crashes in England…” 10-14-1949, p2.

–12  Statesville Daily Record, NC. “12 US Airmen Killed in Crash of Bomber.” 10-13-1949, 15

–11  Aviation Heritage. “USAF History – 1949.”  May 8, 2011.

–11  Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fliers Sacrificed to Save Village.” 10-16-1949, p. 42.

Narrative Information

Aviation Heritage: “October 13:  A 43rd Bomb Group B-50 operating from RAF Sculthorpe,[1] England crashes near the town of Isleham. The twelve 500lb bombs being carried detonate, with the explosion being felt for miles. All eleven USAF personnel and an RAF observer onboard are killed.” (Aviation Heritage. “USAF History – 1949.”  May 8, 2011.)

Baugher: “Boeing B-50A-25-BO Superfortress….60 (43rd BW, 65th BS) based at RAF Lakenheath crashed near Isleham, UK Oct 13, 1949.  Crew of 12 killed.” (Baugher. 1946-1948 USAAF Serial Numbers. 10-15-2011 revision.)

Newspapers

Oct 13, Associated Press: “Isleham, Eng., Oct. 13 – (AP) — A U. S. air force B-50 bomber with a load of live bombs, dived into a wheat field, today and exploded with a roar heard 12 miles away.  All 12 crew members were killed. The plane, designed as the atom bomb carrying version of the B-29, was on a 180-mile practice mission to the North sea island of Helgoland with twelve 500-pound bombs. Villagers said the plane appeared to burst into flames just before it dropped through a light ground fog and struck the field. Flaming bits of the four-engined craft were blown hundreds of yards in all directions from the huge central crater dug by the blast.

“Burning gasoline set fire to a ring of farm buildings and to 60 tons of stacked wheat. Windows shattered and plaster ceilings fell in Isleham houses. Fire equipment was summoned from nearby Newmarket, 60 miles northeast of London, and from Cambridge, Mildenhall and Oxfordham.

“The U. S. third air division in London said the plane crashed at 9:25 a.m., local time (2:25 a.m. CST), only a few minutes after it left Lakenheath airfield, seven miles away in adjoining Norfolk

county, for its Helgoland mission. Both British and American aircraft regularly use Helgoland for live bombing practice. Helgoland was a Nazi submarine and antiaircraft base during the war.

“The third air division said this was the first accident involving a B-50 since the 43rd group of these craft arrived Aug. 18 from their Tucson, Ariz., base.  The group is stationed at Scolthorpe, Norfolk county, for 90 days of operational training. A B-50 bomber crashed near Fairbanks, Alaska, last Dec. 22, killing all ten men aboard.

“The third air division withheld the names of today’s dead until next of kin are notified. It also declined to furnish nickname of the plane, since this would serve to identify the crew to persons familiar with the 43rd group when it was in Tucson. The B-50’s usually have nicknames, the most famous of which is “Lucky Lady,” which flew non-stop around the world earlier this year.

“A Royal Air Force rescue squadron recovered the 12 bodies from the smoking, twisted wreckage within two hours after the crash. The plane, one of the newest types in the U. S. air force, is designed to carry conventional bombs as well as the atom bombs. The RAF threw a guard around the wreckage to protect secret equipment.

“There was no immediate indication of the cause of the crash. Air force headquarters said weather in the area was foggy, with visibility of about an eighth of a mile.” (Daily Capital News, Jefferson City, MO. “US B-50 Crashes in England with Live Bomb Load.” 10-14-1949, p. 2.)

Oct 13, United Press: “Isleham, England, Oct. 13. – (UP) – A U. S. Air Force B-50 bomber carrying six tons of bombs crashed and exploded with a deafening roar in a field near here in heavy fog today. All 12 crewmen aboard the big four-engined plane were killed. The bomber plunged to earth at 3:25 a. m., only minutes after it had taken off from the U. S. air base at Lakenheath for a practice bombing run across the North Sea to Heligoland. 

“The blast shook the countryside, blew a woman off a bicycle on a nearby country road, and shattered windows and cracked walls of houses. Miss M. Clark, a clerk in the Isleham post office, said the tail of the plane was on fire and ‘shooting sparks’ as it passed over the village. ‘The pilot appeared to be making an effort to avoid houses,’ she said.  ‘As soon as it cleared the village, the plane came down in a corn field and blew up with a terrific explosion.  It was terrifying.’ Her story seemed to spike a theory that fog caused the crash. Visibility was only an eighth of a mile at the time the plane dived into the field a mile southeast of Isleham and about seven miles from Lakenheath base. Other witnesses said the crew fired several warning rockets before the plane crashed.

“Although the B-50 is a modified version of the B-29 designed especially to carry atom bombs, the plane carried only conventional bombs. They blew up when the bomber crashed and dug a huge crater. The crewmen apparently were killed instantly….

“The B-50 has a range of 6,000 miles, but one recently flew nonstop around the world, refueling

in flight.

“The crash brought back wartime memories to the countryside ‘It sounded like the war all over again,’ said Abel Watkins, a farmer who Jives six miles away.”  (Statesville Daily Record, NC. “12 US Airmen Killed in Crash of Bomber.” 10-13-1949, p. 15.)

Oct 15, AP: “Isleham, Eng., Oct. 15 – (AP) A British coroner said today the crew of a bomb-laden U. S. B-50 plane which crashed near here Thursday died gallantly trying to save this village from disaster. The coroner, V. O. D. Cade, said the pilot, identified as Maj. George H. Ingham, of Tucson, Ariz., ‘took every step he could’ to avoid death and destruction. Eleven U. S. airmen and one Briton were killed. Had the plane landed in the village, Cade said, the death toll and damage ‘would have been colossal.’  Cade conducted an inquiry into the death of the one Briton aboard, David James Garrett, 26.  His verdict was accidental death. The hearing was held in the village school whose walls and ceiling were damaged by the blast, only 400 yards away.

“The flight control officer at the plane’s base at Sculthorpe, Norfolk county, testified three messages had come from the plane, two of a routine nature, and a third stating the craft was in trouble. Witnesses told of seeing the plane shoot out of the clouds with fuselage and starboard engine afire.

“Coroner Cade praised the Americans as men serving their country in a strange land – men whom the world can ill afford to lose.” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fliers Sacrificed to Save Village.” 10-16-1949, p. 42.)

Sources

Aviation Heritage. “USAF History – 1949.”  May 8, 2011. Accessed 12-28-2011 at:  http://aviationheritage.blogspot.com/2011/05/usaf-history-1949.html

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949. USAF B-50 crash after take-off .5M SC of Isleham, Eng., 10-13-1949. Accessed 9-9-2023 at:

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/153620

Baugher, Joseph F. 1946-1948 USAAF Serial Numbers. Oct 15, 2011 revision. Accessed 1-3-2012 at:  http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1946.html

Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fliers Sacrificed to Save Village.” 10-16-1949, p. 42. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40635195

Daily Capital News, Jefferson City, MO. “US B-50 Crashes in England with Live Bomb Load.” 10-14-1949, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=90770071

Statesville Daily Record, NC. “12 U.S. Airmen Killed in Crash of Bomber.” 10-13-1949, p. 15. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=142852138

[1] “In April 1944 the 803rd and 214 Squadron departed for RAF Oulton leaving Sculthorpe empty for its redevelopment as a Very Heavy Bomber Base with the work not being completed until the spring of 1946.  Sculthorpe was refurbished for USAF use during the Berlin Crisis in 1949 and then later, in 1952, it became home for the 49th Air Division (Operational) and the 47th Bombardment Wing, who were to stay for a decade….” (Wikipedia.  “RAF Sculthorpe.” 12-27-2011 modification.)

 

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1949 – Sep 30, USAF B-17 crash into mesa in storm/poor visibility, 4M W of Raton, NM–10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Sep 17, 2023 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  Assoc. Press. “Plane Crash Near Raton Kills Ten.” Hobbs Daily News, NM. 10-2-1949, p.1.

–10  Aviation Safety Network. USAF B-17 crash 4M W of Raton, NM, 30-Sep-1949.

–10  United Press. “10 Killed in B-17 Crash Near Raton.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 10-1-1949, p1.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949:

“Date:                          30 Sep 1949

“Type:                         Boeing SB-17G Flying Fortress

“Owner/operator:        United States Air Force (USAF)

“Registration:              44083567

….

“Fatalities:                   Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10

“Other fatalities:          0

“Location:                   4 mi W of Raton, NY – USA [AP and UP note the crash was N of Raton.]

“Phase:                        Unknown

“Nature:                       Military

“Departure airport:      [Not noted]      [UP: Biggs Field, El Paso TX.]

“Destination airport:    [Not noted]      [AP: Lowry Air Base, Denver, CO.]

“Narrative:

“Crashed into hill due to bad visibility after encountering thunderstorm. Coordinates listed on Cert. of Death was 36 deg 59’N; 104 deg 27′ 30″W

“Those killed were stationed at Lowry AFB, Denver, Colorado. All were WWII Veterans.


Walter C Williams, USAF, Buried: Sharon, Pennsylvania
Melvin R Truman, USAF, Buried: Dallas, Texas
James L Reidinger, USAF, Buried Little Rock, Arkansas
Martin L Murray, USAF, Buried Rapid City, South Dakota
Floyd C Melton, Jr. USAF, Buried Waco, Texas
Frank M Kackstetter, USAF, Buried Fairmount Maus., Denver, Colorado
James R Irby, USAF, Buried East Point, Georgia
Carl A Hill, USAF, Buried Mount Ida, Arkansas
Arthur L Gaudreault, USAF, Buried South Berwick, Maine
Melvin C Brock, USAF, Buried Salt Lake City, Utah.”

Newspaper

Oct 1, AP: “Raton, Oct. 1 (AP) – Ten men, three of them from Biggs Air Force Base, El Paso, Texas, were killed last night in the crash of a B-17 air rescue plane near here. The plane, during a storm, hit about 150 feet below the top of 9,500-foot Lynwood Mesa seven miles north of Raton. Wreckage was scattered over 400 yards. Only the tail section remained intact. Seven crew members killed in the crash were stationed at Lowry air base in Denver..” (Associated Press. “Plane Crash Near Raton Kills Ten.” Hobbs Daily News, NM. 10-2-1949, p. 1.)

Oct 1, UP: “Raton, N.M., Oct. 1 (UP) – An Air Force B-17 crashed in rugged mesa country six miles north of here  sometime last night and authorities at its home base, Biggs Field, Tex., said all 10 crewmen were killed. In El Paso, Biggs Field spokesman said it had confirmed that the crewmen, from Flight B of the 2151st Air Rescue Unit, had not survived the crash.

“Two ranch employes discovered the wreckage of the four-engine bomber scattered over a quarter-mile area in the almost inaccessible wilderness country of the Bartolino Ranch north of here shortly after dawn this morning. The ranch hands, Herman Lyle and Gus Sackariason, said they believed the plane exploded.

“The site of the crash is about 10 miles south of Trinidad, Colo.

“The plane, bound from Biggs Field at El Paso, Tex., to Denver, apparently crashed shortly after 6 p.m. An unidentified rancher told civilian authorities he heard the sound of a plane engine at about that time and then shortly afterward heard a big ‘boom’.” (United Press. “10 Killed in B-17 Crash Near Raton.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 10-1-1949, p.1.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Plane Crash Near Raton Kills Ten.” Hobbs Daily News, NM. 10-2-1949, p. 1. Accessed 9-17-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hobbs-daily-news-sun-oct-02-1949-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949. USAF B-17 Flying Fortress crash 4M W of Raton, NM, 30-Sep-1949. Accessed 9-17-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/63650

United Press. “10 Killed in B-17 Crash Near Raton.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 10-1-1949, p1. Accessed 9-17-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/yuma-sun-sep-30-1949-p-8/

 

 

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1949 — Nov 16, Two USAF B-29s Collide (9 die in each craft) over Stockton, CA      —     18

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Sep 8, 2023 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–18  92nd USAAF-USAF Memorial Association. “History of the 326th Bomb Squadron.”

–18  Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949.

            –9  USAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 44-69939

            –9  USAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 44-86364

–18  Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-40049 to 44-70254). Oct 28, 2011 revision.

–18  Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Three Quizzed on B-29 Tragedy.” 11-19-1949, p. 14.

–18  National Fire Protection Assoc.. “Large Loss Fires of 1949.” Quarterly, 43/3, Jan 1950, 167.

–18  San Mateo Times, CA. “Cause of B-29 Stockton Crash Still Mystery.” 11-18-1949, p. 5.

Narrative Information

92nd USAAF-USAF Memorial Association: “….on November 16, 1949, a 326th B-29, 44-86364, was in a Mid-Air collision with a 325th B-29, 44-69939 near Stockton California. Nine crewmembers died in each aircraft, one 326th crewman survived and two 325th crewmen survived.” (92nd USAAF-USAF Memorial Association. “History of the 326th Bomb Squadron.”)

Baugher: “Boeing B-29-70-BW Superfortress….69939 in midair collision with B-29 44-86364 at 26,000 feet over Stockton, CA Nov 16, 1949. 18 crew of 21 lost. 69939 crashed 14 mi NW of Stockton.” (Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-40049 to 44-70254). Oct 28, 2011 rev.)

Newspapers

Nov 17: “Two B-29 Superfortresses collided in the air and crashed in the island marshes west of Stockton at midnight. Only four of 21 airmen on the two planes were known to have survived.  Earlier reports that there were 11 on each plane were corrected by Spokane Air Force Base, where the  Superforts were based. There were 11 men on one plane and 10 on the other, the base announced.

“One of the four-engine giants hit on McDonald Island on the east levee about nine miles west of

Stockton.  It fell in flames and burned. The other crashed three miles away on the Rindge Tract, also an island.

“Both planes were from the Spokane, Wash. Air Force base, attached to the 92nd Bombing Group. They were among 13 B-29’s from Spokane on practice bombing missions. An Air Force officer at Spokane said they were supposed to be flying individually, not in formation, and could advance no theory on the possible cause of the crash.

“Dense tule fog, with visibility zero, covered the delta land and only seven bodies were reported recovered eight hours after the midair collision. Three charred bodies were taken from the plane which burned and a highway patrolman said four had been recovered from the one on the Rindge Tract.

“At the McDonald Island crash scene attempts to recover more bodies were delayed until the wreckage cooled.

“At the Rindge Tract, San Joaquin County Sheriff Carlos Sousa and the Air Force ordered all except official personnel off the island because some 4000 gallons of high octane [unclear] had sprayed a wide area. Efforts to recover more bodies from this plane were delayed until daylight and the arrival of a foam truck which was to spray the plane and the surrounding ground….

“Three of the known survivors were from the Rindge Tract plane, which was resting on its wings in mud reportedly 16 feet deep. The other survivor was from the plane which burned. The survivors included Lieut. Warren F. Sharrock, pilot of the plane which hit on Rindge Tract.  Lieutenant Sharrock was found beside a road on King Island, across the slough from Rindge Tract, by Jack Henry of King Island. The flier was dazed and had a cut on his forehead….”  (Oakland Tribune, CA. “17 Missing, 4 Saved as B-29s Collide.” 11-17-1949, p. 1.)

Nov 18, UP: “Stockton, Nov. 18. – (UP) – Air force salvage crews attempted to learn today what caused two B-29 superfort bombers to collide, killing 18 crewmen in one of the most costly tragedies in peacetime aviation history. Each of the big planes cost about $1,000,000, according to officers at Hamilton air base in California. Additionally, the taxpayers had paid about $250,000 to train the crewmen killed in the freak collision.

“A heavy fog clung along the ground when the two ships crashed into each other Wednesday night but the air at their flight level of 26,000 feet apparently was clear. The three survivors still had not given coherent accounts.

“Special crews were ordered to begin sifting the ashes of the planes for the remains of seven crewmen still believed to be in the charred wreckage. Eleven bodies were recovered from the two wrecks when operations stopped last night and seven other crew members were listed as ‘missing and presumed dead.’ The three survivors parachuted to safety.

“The two superforts were on a routine training mission from the Spokane, Wash. Air base when they collided over the swampy marshland of the San Joaquin river delta. One of the planes smashed into the ground on McDonald Island and burned for several hours. The other buried itself in the mud of Rindge tract, two miles to the north across the river.

“An Air Force board of inquiry, headed by Lt. Col. McLyle Zumwalt, was due to fly to the scene from the Spokane air base.  The board said no explanation of the mishap could be given pending further questioning of survivors and further investigation.

“From the plane that crashed and burned on McDonald island one survivor, S/Sgt Robert S. Kluge, Spokane, had parachuted. Three bodies, badly charred, were taken out and the remains of six more were believed to be still among the ashes of the wreckage. The plane carried a crew of 10. Recovery of the six bodies thought to be in the plane awaited the arrival of sifting equipment.

“The airplane that crashed on Rindge tract carried a crew of 11. Two crewmen, Pfc. Keith Burns, Boise, Ida., and T/Sgt. Frank D. Schmidt, Spokane, saved themselves by parachuting. Eight bodies were removed from the wreckage and another, that of the turret gunner, had been spotted inside the plane. The huge craft was half-buried in the slime and soft earth of the delta land, making recovery work extremely difficult.

“The air force abandoned hope that any of the six missing in the McDonald island plane had survived the crash. At first it was thought that the pilot, Lt. Warren Sharrock of Jamestown, Calif., had parachuted, but his body was unofficially identified last night by a ‘dog tag’ found on one of the three bodies pulled from the burned plane.” (San Mateo Times, CA. “Cause of B-29 Stockton Crash Still Mystery.” 11-18-1949, p. 5.)

Nov 19: “Stockton, Nov. 19, (UP) Three survivors of a head-on collision between two B-29 Superforts were questioned today in an effort to learn what caused the accident.  The crash took the lives of 18 airmen Wednesday night. An Air Force board of inquiry took charge of the investigation. 

 

“Officials announced that they had recovered the 12th body from the wreckage and said the remaining six were so badly burned it may be “days” before they are identified.” (Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Three Quizzed on B-29 Tragedy.” 11-19-1949, p. 14.)

Sources

92nd USAAF-USAF Memorial Association. “History of the 326th Bomb Squadron.” Accessed 12-28-2011 at:  http://92ndma.org/326thBSHistory.html

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949. B-29 Superfortress 44-86364 collision with another B-29, 16 Nov 1949. Accessed 9-8-2023 at:

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/147651

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949. B-29 Superfortress 44-69939 collision with another B-29, 16 Nov 1949. Accessed 9-8-2023 at:

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/138575

Baugher, Joseph F. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-40049 to 44-70254). Oct 28, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-25-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.html

Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Three Quizzed on B-29 Tragedy.” 11-19-1949, p. 14.  Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=47044013

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1949.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 43, No. 3, January 1950, pp. 151-170.

Oakland Tribune, CA. “17 Missing, 4 Saved as B-29s Collide.” 11-17-1949, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=33552986

San Mateo Times, CA. “Cause of B-29 Stockton Crash Still Mystery.” 11-18-1949, p. 5. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=39377126

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1949 — Nov 1, Eastern Air 537 & Bolivian P-38 jet collide south of National Airport, VA–  55

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard 9-4-2023 for upload to http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—  55  Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description, Eastern Air Lines Flight 537

—  55  Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 rev.

—  55  CAB. Air. Eastern Air and P-38 Air Collision – Near Wash. National AP, Nov 1, 1949.

            –51 passengers           —  4 flight crew

—  55  Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, p. 233.

—  55  Sturkey, Marion F. Mid-Air: Accident Reports and Voice Transcripts… 2008, pp. 45-50.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949:

“At 11:37 A Bolivian Air Force Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter[1] (NX26927) took off from runway 3 at Washington-National Airport, DC (DCA) [then and now located in Arlington, VA, with the Potomac River being boundary with DC]. The pilot was carrying out an acceptance test flight.[2] Because of erratic operation of the right hand engine, the pilot decided to land as soon as possible. When abeam runway 36 the pilot transmitted, “Washington Tower, this is Bolivian P-38. I got engine trouble request landing instructions.” Waiting for instructions he circled the field. When he was between Bolling Field and the National Airport and at about 3,500 feet altitude, the tower asked, “Bolivian P-38, you were asking landing instructions?” The Bolivian pilot answered, “Yes, I have engine trouble. I am in a hurry,” and that the tower at that time responded, “Bolivian P-38 cleared to land number two on runway 3.”

“Number one on the approach was Eastern Air Lines flight 537, a Douglas C-54. Because the P-38 was descending above and behind the C-54, it was then told to enter the left traffic pattern and to land behind the C-54. This message was never confirmed, nor complied with. The tower then switched to the Eastern aircraft and told it to turn left. When turning left, half a mile short of the runway at an altitude of 300 feet, both aircraft collided and crashed. The pilot of the P-38 survived with serious injuries.”[3]  (Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description, Eastern Air Lines Flight 537.) Took record as the worst aviation disaster in the U.S. at the time. (ASN, Eastern…Flight 537)

Baugher: “Douglas C-54B-10-DO Skymaster….17165 (c/n 18365/DO139) to US Navy as R5D-2 BuNo ????  09/46 to Eastern Airlines, Inc. as N88727, side no 716.  November 01, 1949 on a flight from Boston-Logan, MA to Washington-National, DC as Flight 537 while on final approach to runway 03 was in a midair collision with a Bolivian Air Force P-38L-5-LO, (ex 44-26927 c/n 422-7931) with the registration of NX26927. From the C-54B, 4 crew, 51 PAX fatal. From the P-38, the Bolivian test pilot survived, both aircraft were destroyed. It was (at the time) the worst plane crash in the history of civil aviation. The P-38 pilot was accused of causing the accident, later tried and cleared of the charges, which are now believed to have been an ATC [Air Traffic Control] error.” (Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 rev.)

Civil Aeronautics Board, Accident Investigation Report:

“The Accident

 “Eastern Air Lines’ Flight 537, a DC-4, N-88727, and a P-38 aircraft bearing identification NX-26927 collided at approximately 11:46, 1 November 1, 1949, while both planes were on final approach for landing at the Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C. All of the 51 passengers, including two babies in arms, and the flight crew of four in the DC-4 were killed, the pilot of the P-38 was seriously injured. Both aircraft were completely destroyed.

“History of the Flights

“On November 1, 1949, Easter’s Flight 537 was flying from Boston via intermediate points to Washington. Over Beltsville, 15 miles northeast of the Washington National airport, it contacted the Washington Control Tower on 119 1 megacycles voice communications and was cleared by the tower to enter a left traffic pattern for landing on Runway 3. One minute before, at 11:37, the P-38 flown by Erick Rios Bridoux, a Bolivian national, had taken off from Runway 3 at Washington National Airport.

“Rios was test flying the P-38 for acceptance by the Bolivian Government. Previously, he had notified the tower through Paul M. Aubin, that he intended to make the flight and that his communications with the tower would be accomplished over VHF radio, Channel B on 126 18 megacycles. Rios also stated that he requested Aubin to notify the tower to hive him a light if radio contact could not be established. This message was not transmitted to the tower and Aubin denied hearing Rios make this last request. Throughout the entire ground operation of the P-38, including clearance for take-off, no difficulty was experienced by either the tower or Rios in communication. Departure of the P-38 was noted by the tower to be at 11:37, and from that time until after the accident, visibility in the vicinity of the airport remained at 15 miles, ceiling was 6,500 feet with scattered clouds at 3,500, and surface wind was from the northeast 20 to 25 miles per hour.

“Testimony of control tower personnel and that of the pilot of the P-38 were in conflict. Rios stated that he had taken off not from Runway 3, but from Runway 36, turning left at an altitude of about 300 feet. His climb was made, he said, to the north of the Pentagon [Arlington, VA], and because of the erratic operation of the right engine, he decided to land as soon as possible. Continuing to climb to about 2,500 feet or more, he made a second left turn so as to fly south, parallel to Runway 36, and when abeam of the control tower, he transmitted. ‘Washington Tower, this is Bolivian P-38. I got engine trouble – request landing instructions.’ His testimony continues to the effect that because no answer was received, he turned left again to circle the field where he could see light signals from the tower. He stated that he received none, but that when he was between Bolling Field and the National Airport and at about 3,500 feet altitude, the tower asked, ‘Bolivian P-38, you were asking landing instructions?’ Rios stated that he answered, ‘Yes, I have engine trouble, I am in a hurry,’ and that the tower at that time responded, Bolivian P-38 cleared to land number two on Runway 3.’ Rios stated that the tower did not inform him that the aircraft ahead of him was an Eastern DC-4. Rios said that he continued to turn left, and at a reduced speed of 150 miles per hour, started a descent of 500 to 600 feet per minute, completing a second 360-degree turn around the airport until reaching an altitude of approximately 2,400 feet.

“Rios said that a downwind leg was flown at about 1,500 feet, and when about five miles south of the field, he turned left 90 degrees, flying east on a short base leg at an altitude of about 1,200 feet. During his downwind leg, he observed a C-60 or C-45 on approach to Runway 3 or 36, and while on his base leg, he saw it complete its landing and turn off the runway to the left. Rios made a left turn from the base leg to an approach course of 20 degrees for landing on Runway 3. As soon as the turn had been completed, Rios transmitted, ‘Washington Tower, this is Bolivian P-38 on approach.’ The tower responded, said Rios, ‘Bolivian P-38 cleared to land on Runway 3. Rios stated that his approach was made a little higher than normal, for safety reasons, and that one minute after leaving the base leg, he extended the flaps, the landing gear having been put down previously when he was west of the field. Rios heard the tower say, ‘Clear to the left, clear to the left,’ but he stated that he did not know for whom it was intended because the tower did not use any call sign. Almost immediately afterwards, he felt the shock of the collision with the DC-4.

“According to control tower personnel, the P-38 took off from Runway 3, turned left, and proceeded in a climb 10 miles west of the field. Then a second left turn was made, and the aircraft, still climbing, continued in a southerly direction. The P-38 was next observed from  the control tower circling left, south of Alexandria at an estimated altitude between 3,000 and 4,000 feet. The tower operators stated that while the P-38 was circling south of Alexandria, they received ‘Washington Tower, this is Bolivian 927 requesting landing instruction.’ After the controller had asked if Bolivian 927 had requested landing instructions, and the pilot had replied affirmatively, the controller instructed the P-38 to enter a left traffic pattern for Runway 3 and to report when west of the tower on downwind leg. When the instruction was not acknowledged by Rios, it was repeated. Prior to these instructions, the tower had cleared the Eastern flight to land number one on Runway 3.

“Shortly after the Eastern DC-4 was observed 1½ miles west to southwest from the end of Runway 4, making a continuous left turn from the downwind leg to final approach, tower personnel observed the P-38 on a long high final approach. The controller thereupon requested Rios to make a 360-degree turn to his left, saying that he was number two to land following an Eastern DC-4 turning on its final approach below. Since there was neither acknowledgment nor compliance with this second instruction, another transmission was made to the P-38, which was identified as Bolivian 927, and Rios was then told ‘Turn left, turn left,’ and was again told that the DC-4 was turning on final approach below. Again there was no response or compliance by the P-38, whereupon the tower then instructed the Eastern DC-4 to turn left. The DC-4 promptly acted in response to this instruction, but before 5 degrees of turn were made, the two aircraft collided at an approximate altitude of 300 feet about ½ mile southwest of Runway 3.

 

“In addition to the foregoing, there were two additional sources of information as to the communications between the tower and the two planes involved in the collision.

“National Airlines’ Flight 53, a DC-4 flying the same route as the Eastern flight, received when over Beltsville at approximately 11:41 a clearance from the Washington National Control Tower to enter the traffic pattern. The copilot of this flight stated that immediately before, he had overheard the Washington tower give the Eastern flight a clearance to enter the traffic pattern. At About 11:44, three minutes after the National plane had received its clearance to enter the traffic pattern (Eastern’s DC-4 was at this time north of the airport in the traffic pattern on its downwind leg), the National copilot heard the tower tell the Eastern crew that there was a P-38 in traffic. The National copilot further stated that about two minutes after this transmission to the Eastern flight, he overheard the tower toll the Eastern flight in a rather alarmed voice, ‘Look out for the P-38.’ (Eastern at this time had just completed its turn onto final.) He did not recall hearing a request for landing instruction or the tower giving landing instructions to the Eastern crew. The captain in the National DC-4 had no recollection of these transmissions described by the copilot.

“Sgt. William S. Buckwalter, who was serving as a controller in the Bolling Field tower, which had a speaker tuned to Channel B, testified that he heard an alarmed voice saying, ‘Bolivian, Bolivian, Bolivian,’ and looked up just in time to see the crash. He also remembered having previously heard routine landing instructions transmitted to the P-38, but did not recall hearing any acknowledgments of such instructions.

“Reconstruction of Events….

The evidence shows that the traffic around the Washington National Airport was light during the critical period, 11:37 to 11:46, and the only aircraft other than the P-38 and Eastern’s Flight 537 which could have constituted landing traffic was a United States Air Force B-25 which made a practice instrument approach to Runway 36. This aircraft, however, according to the landing records, passed over the field without landing at 11:43, about three minutes before the accident….

 

“As the Eastern DC-4 rolled out of its left turn onto final approach, approximately ¾ mile from the end of Runway 3, and as the P-38 continued to descend above and behind the DC-4, the tower transmitted to Rios either, “Turn left, turn left,’ or ‘Clear to the left, clear to the left.’….

“…the two aircraft collided at a point in line with and ½ mile from the approach end of Runway 3 at an altitude of 300 feet….

“Analysis

“Conceivably, a good part of the tower’s instructions to the P-38 may not have been received. If Rios had been calling the tower at the same time the tower was attempting to have him instructions, neither the tower nor Rios would have received the intended messages, since the transmission and reception on any one particular radio frequency cannot be effected simultaneously. However that may be, a landing approach should not have been initiated until clearance to land was received. Although Rios stated that he had been given a clearance to land, the preponderance of testimony indicates he was given clearance to enter traffic pattern only. The first clearance to Rios was to enter a left traffic pattern and the later clearance, not given until after a landing approach was started, was to land number two behind an Eastern DC-4. He was never given a clearance to land number one….

“Since Rios was making a long, high final approach, he should have maneuvered the P-38 so that he could make sure that there were no aircraft in front of him….

“We impute poor judgment to the tower in its adherence to the single course of guiding and corrective action which it selected even though normally it had every right to expect such action to be effective. Full alertness and dispatch on the part of personnel trained to anticipate and cope with critical traffic situations called for an earlier effort to notify Eastern’s pilot of the position and course of the P-38 in an additional effort to avoid the collision….

“Findings:

….

“4. Other than the erratic engine speed and manifold pressure of the right engine of the P-38, there was no mechanical trouble experienced in its operation.

“5. Visibility in the vicinity of the Washington National Airport at the time of the accident was 15 miles, ceiling was 6,500 feet, and surface wind was from the northeast at 20 to 25 miles per hour.

“6. Approximately two minutes before the collision, Eastern Air Lines’ DC-4 was on downwind leg, at which time it was cleared to land number one on Runway 3.

“7. The P-38 was 2 ½ to 3 miles south of the end of Runway 3 on a high straight-in approach to that runway when the tower observed the Eastern flight in a continuous turn from the downwind leg to the final approach about 1½ miles west to southwest of the approach end of Runway 3.

“8. The pilot of the P-38 attempted to land the airplane without obtaining the required clearance from the tower, and without maintaining a proper lookout for other aircraft.

 

“9. The P-38 and the Eastern DC-4 collided at a point in line with and ½ mile from the approach end of Runway 3 at an altitude of 300 feet.

“10. The tower did not act with the requisite alertness and promptness in communication to Eastern the position of the P-38 in the critical traffic situation which confronted it, but this cannot be said to have contributed to the cause of the accident.”

“Probable Cause

“The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the execution of a straight-in final approach by the P-38 pilot without obtaining proper clearance to land and without exercising necessary vigilance.” (CAB. Air. Eastern Air and P-38 Air Collision – Near Wash. National AP, Nov 1, 1949.)

Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, pp. 233-240:

“1 November. Two Planes Collide over National Airport, 55 Dead.

“On 1 November 1949 a terrible two-plane collision near Washington National Airport killed fifty-five people and shocked the nation with this country’s worst civil aviation accident. An Eastern Air Lines DC-4, on a final approach to the airport was struck, 100 feet above the ground, by a World War II P-38 fight plane flown by a Bolivian, who was the only survivor [Cpt. Erick Rios Bridoux, Director of Civil Aviation in Bolivia]. The airliner broke into two sections, one of which fell into a lagoon near the Potomac River, about a mile south of the airport; the second, or forward, section and the P-38 crashed into the deep water of the river about 100 yards offshore. [The District of Columbia boundary in this area extends to the Virginia shore. The Potomac River waters fall within DC territory.] The Bolivian pilot was rescued by a crash boat from nearby Bolling Field [on Potomac north bank in DC] and was hospitalized with multiple injuries….[His] first comments on the disaster…were through the Bolivian Ambassador in the hospital where he indicated that engine difficulties had occupied his attention, and he did not hear the final warnings from the control tower….

“At the 9 November CAB hearings, Col. S. D. Grubbs, Commanding Officer of the Headquarters Company at Bolling Field stated, ‘It is possible that the B-25 could have confused the Bolivian pilot, but I seriously doubt it.’ Col. Grubbs had previously issued orders that there should be no instrument landings or ground control approaches to the National Airport because of traffic congestion over the field. Howev4r, the chief of traffic control at the National Airport had frequently requested blind landings be made by Bolling Field airplanes to provide practice for new controllers….

“On 8 November Senator Edwind C. Johson, Democrat of Colorado, Chairman of the Sena Interstate Commerce Committee, emphasized his apprehension over what he considered failure of military pilots to observe regulations imposed on civil aircraft by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. He directed his questions of Joseph J. O’Connell, Chairman of the CAB, to Delos W. Rentzel, Administrator of the CAA, and to W. Stuart Symington, Secretary of the Air Force. In the meantime the Air Line Pilots Association, AFL, stated on 8 November that all airliners should bear distinctive, highly visible markings and all other aircraft should be compelled to steer clear. They also recommended that the federal government should establish an independent Air Safety Board responsible only to the public and to Congress. The latter recommendations were directed to the C.A.B. ….

“It was disclosed on 13 November 1949 that, one week after the tragedy at the National Airport, another near-miss had occurred between a B-25 bomber and an Eastern Air Lines plane in the Washington area. It was difficult to understand why, so soon on the heels of the fatal earlier crash, military planes continued to make blind training flights near this busy airport. Why were these exercises not confined to locations where there were no possible chances of collision [such as Andrews, Bolling, or Anacostia]….

[The CAB hearings] “revealed Capt. Rios had only a limited license, such as those issued to foreign airmen, if they possessed a valid flying license. It was also reported that on 29 September 1947 Rios had failed a government examination as an air transport pilot. Information also came out that no certificate or airworthiness had been issued to cover the surplus World War II P-38 airplane. It was also pointed out that while the records showed the DC-4 involved in the collision was airworthy, no maintenance or other records were available to determine the condition of the P-38.

“In the closing moments of the CAB public hearings, Harold A. Jones, CAB examiner, said that military aircraft had become a ‘hazard’ to commercial passenger flights, and he urged that test flights be barred from busy commercial airports….

“On 16 November 1949, Delos W. Rentzel, CAA head, announced a new ruling that, henceforth, all combat-type aircraft would be forbidden use of the National Airport….” (Haine)

Sturkey. Mid-Air: “….The Collision:….The rear half of the DC-4 fuselage fell like a brick and plunged upside-down into mud flats on the bank of the Potomac [If the wreckage was on a bank, then it would be within the territory of Arlington, VA.[4]

Newspaper

Nov 1, AP: “Washington, Nov. 1. – (AP) – A Bolivian fighter plane collided in the air with an Eastern Airlines plane near the National Airport today, plunging the airliner with its 53 passengers and crew to the ground at the Potomac River’s edge [meaning VA]….The collision occurred about a half mile south of the airport over Mount Vernon Boulevard [today’s US Rt. 1] which runs from the nation’s capitol through Alexandria, Va., to Mr. Vernon, the home of George Washington….”

Sources

Associated Press. “Airliner Plunges Into Potomac. 49 Passengers And Crew of Four Aboard EAL DC-4.” The Bee, Danville, VA. 11-1-1949, pp. 1-2. Accessed 9-4-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/danville-bee-nov-01-1949-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network.  Accident Description. Eastern Airlines Flight 557, 30 Jul 1949.  Accessed 2/9/2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19490730-0

Baugher, Joseph F.  1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). Nov 7, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-18-2011 at:  http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1943_2.html

Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Board.  Eastern Air Lines, Inc. and P-38 Air Collision – Near Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C., Nov 1, 1949.  Washington, DC:  CAB, September 26, 1950, 10 pages.  Accessed at: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*P%3A%5CDOT%5Cairplane%20accidents%5Cwebsearch%5C110149.pdf

Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, 394 pages.

Sturkey, Marion F. Mid-Air: Accident Reports and Voice Transcripts from Military and Airline Mid-Air Collisions. Plum Branch, SC: Heritage Press International, 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Sturkey: “The P-38 represented a radical change in fighter design. It had tricycle landing gear, a twin-boom empennage, two liquid cooled Allison V-1710 engines, self-sealing fuel tanks, and heavy armor protection for the pilot. The high altitude interceptor had a top speed of almost 400 knots and could climb to 20,000 feet in six minutes. It was armed with four .50 caliber machineguns plus a 20mm cannon. With external fuel drop-tanks the P-38 had a 2,200 mile range. It was the only American fighter with enough range to conduct the famous ‘Yamamoto Raid’ in early 1943. The Lockheed factory turned out 9,200 of these potent warbirds.”

[2] “Government officials said the Bolivian government bought two P-38 planes from the U.S. about three or four weeks ago for the Bolivian air force. One was sent to Bolivia. The other had been kept here pending routine clearance.”  (AP/UP Wire, “Eastern Line Craft Plunges Into Potomac,” Charleston Daily Mail (WV), Nov 11, 1949)

[3] “Bolivian embassy officials said he was their country’s best pilot and had been trained in various U.S. schools and at Randolph field.”  (AP/UP, “Eastern Line Craft Plunges Into Potomac,” Charleston Daily Mail, WV, 11-1-1949.)

[4] There are mudflats just to the north of the airport, on Gravelly Point, which is in Arlington County, VA. There is also a low-lying area just to the south of the airport named Daingerfield Island. This appears to me to be the location of the land-falling half of the Eastern Air Lines plane.

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1949 — Nov 29, American Airlines 157 Landing Crash and Fire, Dallas-Love Field, TX–  28

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Sep 7, 2023 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–28  Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. American Airlines, 29 Nov 1949.

–28  CAB. Accident Investigation Report. American Airlines, Inc. Dallas Tex Nov 29, 1949.

–28  Eckert. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” AJFM&P, 3/1, Mar 1982, p.53.

–28  Nat. Fire Protection Assoc. “Large Loss Fires of 1949.” Quarterly, 43/3, Jan 1950, p. 167.

Narrative Information

Civil Aeronautics Board, Investigation of Aircraft Accident, Preliminary Statement of Facts:  

“The Accident

“American Airlines, Flight l57, of November 28, 1949, a DC-6, N 90728, crashed and burned following an attempted landing at Love Field, Dallas. Tex., on November 29, 1949, about 0549. Of 46 occupants, 28 received fatal injuries. Survivors included 15 passengers, the captain, the first officer and the flight engineer, both of whom were seriously injured.

“History of the Flight

“Flight 157 originated at LaGuardia Field, New York, for Mexico City, Mexico, with stops scheduled at Washington, D C., and Dallas, Tex. Departure from LaGuardia was at 2147, November 28 Between LaGuardia and Washington the flight was reported to be uneventful with all of the aircraft’s components functioning normally….

“….The crew included Captain Laurens Claude, First Officer Robert E. Lewis, and Flight Engineer William Stephan Forbes….

“….In the vicinity of Nashville, Number 1 engine started backfiring at intervals of about 20 seconds. Various corrective measures were applied but they were not successful. The captain and the flight engineer decided to feather Number 1 engine. This feathering occurred at a point about 25 miles southwest of Nashville and was subsequently reported to the company from the vicinity of Altheimer, Arkansas, a routine position reporting point about 125 miles beyond Memphis, with a request for an equipment change at Dallas….

“Flight 157 contacted Love Field Control at a point over Garland, Texas, about 15 miles northeast of Dallas. It was given permission to enter the traffic pattern with a right-hand turn and to land on Runway 36….The right-hand turn into the final approach, as executed, placed the aircraft in misalignment with the runway. The result was that at the conclusion of that turn the aircraft was to the left of the runway and an ‘S’ turn was made to effect proper alignment. During this ‘S’ the airspeed dropped sharply and the aircraft drifted to the left and settled. Additional power was applied to engines Numbers 2, 3 and 4, which was made necessary by the loss of airspeed.

“During the latter part of the approach to Runway 36 the flight engineer saw a warning light flicker and the fuel flow meter of No. 4 engine reading zero. He immediately notified the pilots that No 4 engine was cutting out, and the captain told him to put the booster pump to it. The flight engineer did so. Full throttle was then quickly applied to engines Nos. 2, 3 and 4. The captain stated that No. 4 engine came in with a ‘terrific’ surge of power (overspeeding), the left wing dropped and the aircraft started to turn to the left. He then retarded throttles Nos. 3 and 4 in an attempt to raise the left wing with No 2 engine. When the wing was partially up he opened throttles Nos. 3 and 4 and called for gear and flaps up. The first officer raised the gear but did not raise the flaps. He then observed that No. 4 tachometer indicated only 1200 rpm, noted that the fuel pressure to that engine was zero, and immediately feathered No. 4 propeller. The flight engineer turned on the cross-feed fuel valves. At this time the first officer radioed the tower to the effect that a crash was imminent….

“The aircraft continued in a generally northwest direction, across the airport on a heading about 40 degrees to the left of Runway 36, in a tail low attitude. Its air speed continued to fall, its attitude became increasingly nose-high. And a stall developed just prior to striking a hangar and other buildings on the northwest side of the airport. Fire followed at once Emergency procedures were put into effect resulting in fire, medical and police aid arriving within a few minutes.” (CAB. Accident Investigation Report. American Airlines, Inc. Dallas Tex Nov 29, 1949.)

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949, Accident Description: Probable Cause: “The faulty execution of an engine-out approach.”  (ASN, American Airlines, 29 Nov 1949.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949. Accident Description. American Airlines Flight 157, 29 Nov 1949.  Accessed 2-9-2009 at:

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19491129-0

Civil Aeronautics Board, Investigation of Aircraft Accident. American Airlines: Dallas, Texas: 1949-11-20. Washington, DC: CAB, 12-28-1949. Accessed 9-7-2023 at:  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/33382

Eckert, William G. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Vol. 3, No. 1, March 1982, Table 1.

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1949.” Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 3, January 1950, pp. 151-170.

 

 

 

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1949 — Sep 6, Howard Barton Unruh Rampage Mass Shooting, Camden, NJ            —    13

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Sep 9, 2023 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–13  Duwe, Grant.  Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007, p. 28.

–13  Shipkowski, Bruce (AP). “Camden mass murderer Howard Unruh dies at 88.” 10-20-2009.

–13  Wikipedia. “Howard Unruh.” 12-16-2012 modification.

Narrative Information

Shipkowski (Associated Press): “Trenton – Howard Barton Unruh, who killed 13 people as he walked the streets of Camden in a psychotic 1949 shooting rampage that was the nation’s worst mass murder at the time, died yesterday. He was 88. Camden County Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk said that Unruh died at 3:35 p.m. in a Trenton nursing facility after an extended illness.

“Unruh, then 28 and an honorably discharged World War II combat veteran and pharmacy student, planned the killings for more than a year. He kept a meticulous journal on his intended victims.  He killed five men, five women and three children. Some Unruh knew and intentionally targeted; others were simply strangers he encountered on the street that morning.

“A recluse who read the Bible and loved guns, he was convinced…his neighbors were ridiculing him behind his back and plotting against him. He was also depressed about his homosexual liaisons in a Philadelphia movie theater. “They have been making derogatory remarks about my character,” Unruh would later tell authorities. What finally set him off was his discovery that someone had stolen the gate to his fence.

“Unruh, armed with a war-souvenir Luger and 33 rounds of ammunition, left the apartment that he shared with his mother, Freda, in the blue-collar neighborhood. With calm and deadly precision, the 6-foot Unruh, a tank gunner and expert marksman in the Army, carried out his execution plot in the neighborhood around 32nd Street and River Road. Neighbors screamed “crazy man” and scrambled for cover as bullets flew.

“At a shoe-repair shop, Unruh shot a cobbler in the head. Next door at a barber shop, he killed a 6-year-old boy on a hobbyhorse chair, and then the barber. Next on Unruh’s list was a tailor, but he had left his shop on an errand. So Unruh shot the man’s bride of six weeks in the head as she begged for her life. Along the way he fatally shot a man at the wheel of his car, two women in another car and a 3-year-old boy peeking out a window at his home. A 10-year-old boy was wounded and died the next day.

“A terrified tavern owner managed to shoot Unruh in the thigh with a .38-caliber pistol from a second-story window, but Unruh continued walking. He then shot one of his prime targets, an insurance salesman who had sold policies to the Unruh family. Unruh then went to the apartment of a neighbor, who had complained that Unruh played loud music. While a boy hid in a clothes closet, Unruh fatally shot the boy’s parents and his grandmother.

“He left the apartment and wounded two others before returning to his own apartment. He surrendered after police pumped tear gas into the building.

“He later told police that he had spent the previous evening sitting through three showings of a double feature and had thought that actress Barbara Stanwyck was one of his hated neighbors.

“Unruh provided a detailed account of his actions during the killings, and only at the end of the interrogation did authorities learn that he had been wounded as well.

“He faced 13 counts of ‘willful and malicious slayings with malice aforethought’ and three counts of ‘atrocious assault and battery.’ He was eventually pronounced insane and put in a unit for the criminally insane at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital.” (Shipkowski, Bruce (AP). “Camden mass murderer Howard Unruh dies at 88.” 10-20-2009.)

Sources

Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007.

Shipkowski, Bruce (AP). “Camden mass murderer Howard Unruh dies at 88.” 10-20-2009. Accessed 12-16-2012 at: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/64889962.html?c=r

Wikipedia. “Howard Unruh.” 12-16-2012 modification. Accessed 12-16-2012 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Unruh

 

 

 

 

 

 Text content

1949 — Aug 31, US Navy Martin Mariner PBM-5 takeoff crash, off NAS San Diego, CA–10

–10 Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (80259 to 90019). 4-13-2023 rev.
–10 Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives. Crash of PBM Mariner off No. Island NAS: 10 killed.
–10 Daily Review, Hayward, CA. “Navy Plane Crashes.” 8-31-1949, p. 2.
–10 Long Beach Independent, CA. “Identify 10 Crash Dead.” 9-2-1949, p. 16.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Martin PBM-5 Mariner….84770 (VP-46) wing hit water after takeoff Aug 31, 1949, NAS San Diego, CA. 10 crew killed.” (Baugher. US Navy and Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (80259 to 90019). 4-13-2023 revision.)

Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives:
“Date & Time: Aug 31, 1949
“Type of aircraft: Martin PBM Mariner
“Operator: US Navy
“Registration: 84770
“Flight Phase: Takeoff (climb)
“Flight Type: Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance
“Survivors: No
“Site: …Ocean…
“Location: North Island-Halsey Field NAS (San Diego), California
….
“Crew on board: 10
“Crew fatalities: 10
….
“Circumstances: The crew was apparently involved in a maritime patrol flight from North
Island-Halsey Field NAS, San Diego. Shortly after takeoff, the seaplane encountered strong winds, causing a wing to drop and hit the water surface. The aircraft went out of control and crashed, killing all ten crew members.”

Newspapers

Aug 31, United Press: “San Diego (UP) – A giant Navy PBM Martin Mariner flying boat crashed and sank two miles west of North Island today and the crew of 10 were all believed to be dead, the 11th Naval District reported.” (Daily Review, Hayward, CA. “Navy Plane Crashes.” 8-31-1949, p. 2.)

Sep 2, International News Service: “San Diego – (INS). Deep-sea divers continued to probe the wreckage of a huge patrol bomber Thursday for additional bodies as the navy announced the names of 10 men killed when the plane crashed at the mouth of San Diego Harbor Wednesday. Bodies of three of the victims aboard the PBM Martin Mariner patrol plane had been recovered and more, were expected to be located soon. The four officers and six enlisted men who died in the crash were identified by the 11th Naval District as:

Lt. Martin H. T. Morgan, 29, chief pilot, Coronado, Calif.
Ensign Walter L. Brown, 21, second pilot, Jacksonville, Fla.
Ensign Marshall J. Barry, 22, Altadena, Calif.
Lt. (jg) James W. Wettengeld (or Wettengel [Hoffman]), 23, Milwaukee.
Johnny J. Boyd, 19, airman, Hamlin, Texas.
Harry W. Sweezey, aviation mchn 3/c, 34, Sangres, Mass.
Donald A. Sletten, 23, aviation ordin. 1/c, Washington, D. C.
Ray W. Lavender, 23, Electra, Texas.
Dwayne D. Hull, 2Q, airman, Montebello, Calif.
Chief Machn. Mate George Olliver, 30, Akron, Ohio.”

(Long Beach Independent, CA. “Identify 10 Crash Dead.” 9-2-1949, p. 16.)

Sources

Baugher, Joseph. US Navy and Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (80259 to 90019). 4-13-2023 revision. Accessed 7-1-2023 at: https://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries9.html

Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives. Crash of a Martin PBM-5S Mariner off North Island NAS: 10 killed. Accessed 7-1-2023 at:
https://www.baaa-acro.com/index.php/crash/crash-martin-pbm-5s-mariner-north-island-nas-10-killed

Daily Review, Hayward, CA. “Navy Plane Crashes.” 8-31-1949, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=47013079

Long Beach Independent, CA. “Identify 10 Crash Dead.” 9-2-1949, p. 16. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=45633361

1949 — Aug 26, gale, scallop dragger Gay Head hits shoal/shatters off Nantucket MA — 11

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 8-9-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–11  Fairhaven Neighborhood News, MA. “Photos of fishing boats/people sought for ‘Lost…”[1]

–11  Lost Fishermen From The Port Of New Bedford. “Gay Head.” Accessed 8-9-2024.

Narrative Information

Lost Fishermen From The Port Of New Bedford. “Gay Head.”

 

“8/26/1949 

 

“The scallop dragger Gay Head was returning to Fairhaven with a full catch when she struck a shoal during a heavy gale and was instantly shattered by the heavy seas off Nantucket, giving the crew no opportunity to escape. She had last been sighted that morning by the Jerry and Jimmy about 30 miles east of the Nantucket Lightship.

 

“The dragger Southern Cross sighted wreckage off Wasque buoy, and the Coast Guard tug Arundel searched the scene. The wreckage, found on Muskeget Shoal, was landed at the State Pier in New Bedford, where the owner, Captain Daniel F. Mullins, identified it. No trace of the crew members was ever found. One of the crew members, Kenneth Warne, was the nephew of Captain Karl Haakonsen.”

[List of Crewmen]

 

Jacob Helgesen

Karl Haakonsen

Hans Johansen

Sivert Pettersen

Peter Apeland

Douglas Cline

William Dunn

Terge Pedersen

Lewis Tripp

Kenneth Warne

Ranyald Abelsen”

 

Newspapers

 

Aug 31, AP: “New Bedford, Aug. 31 (AP) – A 70-foot scallop dragger, carrying a crew of 11, which was at sea during Monday’s gale, was listed as overdue today. The vessel, the Gay Head, was last reported off Nantucket lightship Monday morning, apparently heading back to New Bedford with a full trip of fish.” (Associated Press. “New Bedford.” The Lowell Sun, MA. 8-31-1949, p. 1.)

 

Sep 3, INS: “New Bedford, Mass. (INS). Coast Guard air and surface craft continued a hunt off the Massachusetts coast today for a New Bedford scallop dragger missing since Monday. The dragger Gay Head was last seen before the tail end of the Florida hurricane struck the area Monday.” (INS. “Hust Is Continued For Scallop Dragger.” Newburyport Daily News, MA. 9-3-1949, p. 2.)

Sources

 

Associated Press. “New Bedford.” The Lowell Sun, MA. 8-31-1949, p. 1. Accessed 8-9-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-sun-aug-31-1949-p-25/

 

Fairhaven Neighborhood News, MA. “Photos of fishing boats/people sought for ‘Lost Fishermen’.” 4-14-2016, p. 13. Accessed 8-9-2024 at: https://www.fairhavenneighborhoodnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/04-14-16-HealthFair.pdf

 

INS. “Hust Is Continued For Scallop Dragger.” Newburyport Daily News, MA. 9-3-1949, p. 2. Accessed 8-9-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/newburyport-daily-news-and-newburyport-herald-sep-03-1949-p-2/

 

Lost Fishermen From The Port Of New Bedford. “Gay Head.” Accessed 8-9-2024 at:

https://www.lostfishermen.com/vessel/45/Gay%20Head

[1] Lists the name of the boat as “Gayhead.”

1949 — Aug 10, Greyhound bus hits bridge, rolls, burns, IN-37 near Bloomington, IN–     16

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Sep 9, 2023 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–16  City of Bloomington. Fire Department. “Historic Fires.” Accessed 5-21-2013.

–16  Greensburg Daily News, IN. “Greyhound Co. Named in New Damage Suits.” 11-9-1949, 3.

–16  Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Court…in Flaming Bus Deaths of Aikmans.” 9-15-1949, 1, 21.

–16  Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Fingerprints Show Mistake in Identity.” 8-23-1949, p. 3.

–16  Kokomo Tribune, IN. “State Officials to Participate in Road Opening.” 10-18-1949, p. 3.

–16  Logansport Press, IN. “Driver Again Tells His Story.” 8-16-1949, p. 3.

–16  Long Beach Independent, CA. “Reckless Driving Charges Recommended.” 8-18-1949, 26.

–16  National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).

–16  Pharos Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Bloomington Jury will Investigate…Crash.” 10-11-1949.

–16  Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Driver Wants to Tell Story in Bus Crash.” 11-30-1949, 7

–16  Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Identify all but One Man in Bus Crash.” 8-13-1949, 1.

–16  Tipton Daily Tribune, IN. “Bus Driver has Careless Record.” 8-12-1949, p. 1.

–16  Tipton Daily Tribune, IN. “Indiana News.” 11-28-1949, p. 1.

–16  Tipton Daily Tribune, IN. “Soldier Dies; Bus Crash Toll is 16.” 8-11-1949, p. 1.

–16  Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, IN. “Official Verdict.” 8-17-1949, p. 6.

–16  Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, IN. “Identity of Wreck Victim is Changed.”  9-13-1949, 10.

–15  NFPA.  “Fires Causing Large Loss of Life.” Handbook of Fire Protection.  1954, p. 35.

Narrative Information

City of Bloomington:  “August 10, 1949 – Greyhound bus wreck, 16 people burn to death when trapped in wreckage in worst loss of life in fire department history.” (City of Bloomington. Fire Department. “Historic Fires.” Accessed 5-21-2013.)

Newspapers

Aug 10, UP: “Bloomington, Ind., Aug. 10 – (UP) – A Greyhound bus hit a concrete bridge abutment and exploded into a roaring sheet of flames today, trapping and killing 15 passengers.  Fourteen persons survived, many of them saved by bus driver Wayne Cranmer, 25, Indianapolis, who braved the fire and was burned himself dragging out the screaming injured. Six hours after the Indianapolis-to-Evansville coach ripped into the abutment, burst into an inferno and overturned on its side, 15 bodies were removed. They were placed in a convoy of eight ambulances and brought to the Bloomington armory where a temporary morgue was set up by Mayor Tom Lemon.

“More hours later, three bodies were identified tentatively as those of Mrs. Joan Aiken (1910 Harrison St.), Kokomo, Ind., and her six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter. Mrs. Aiken’s husband, Dale, 30, a soldier stationed at Camp Campbell, Ky., was among the surviving injured.

“Steven Campbell, a Bloomington undertaker who helped remove the bodies said the 15th body was the last. Rescuers abandoned the charred and smoking wreckage, from which they removed 13 of the bodies with acetylene torches.

“The huge bus, blackened and twisted by the heat of flames fed by 100 gallons of gasoline in the coach’s tanks, blocked part of Ind. 37, a winding, hilly 50-mile highway connecting Indianapolis with this Indiana University city. The dead included two children, eight women, four men and one adult so badly burned its sex could not be determined. It looked like a flame-thrower had destroyed the bus. Melted metal from the white-hot wreckage poured into the highway. Firemen pumped water from a small creek beneath the bridge, but it was hours after daybreak before work crews could enter the debris and remove bodies.

“Two hand fire extinguishers, charred by the flames, remained on the dashboard of the bus. Neither had been used. The flames shot up so fast there was no time. Cranmer believed a tire blew out, swerving the bus into the abutment. But State Police Trooper R. A. Dunlap said it would never be known just what happened. He said the tires were burned completely off the wheels.

“Bus company officials said 37 passengers were on the bus when it left Indianapolis around midnight. Cranmer said some got off at Martinsville, Ind., and other points along the line and he believed there were 28 left when the accident happened….

“Many of the bodies were so badly burned they were shapeless. Some were just charred torsos. The limbs were burned off. They were laid side by side beneath sheets at the roadside until the torch welders signaled ambulance drivers that the 15th body was the last. Then the eight ambulances lined up, loaded the bodies and drove slowly over the hilly curves to the morgue.

“Cranmer seemed to be the only person who knew for sure how many persons were on the bus. He stuck to the figure 29, including himself, hours afterward in Bloomington hospital where a Greyhound representative said he had been given a sedative because he was suffering from shock.

“Dale Aikman, a soldier from Camp Campbell, Ky., who was burned severely, told authorities his two children, ages 6 and 8, were on the bus with him. They were believed to be returning to Camp Campbell after a visit with Aikman’s brother in Laporte, Ind. The children were not among the known survivors and were presumed dead.

“At the morgue, the bodies were laid out on the floor in two rows, covered with white sheets. ‘I don’t know how we’re going to identify any of them,’ said Coroner Robert E. Lyons. ‘There is recognizable dental work in only one body.’” (Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Fiery Bus Crash Kills 15. Passengers Trapped in Flaming Wreckage near Bloomington, Ind.”  8-10-1949, p. 1.)

Aug 10, United Press: “Bloomington, Ind., Aug. 10 – (UP) — Tentatively identified as dead in the Greyhound bus crash-fire today were:

Mrs. Joan Aikman….Kokomo, Ind.

Mrs. Aikman’s four-year-old daughter, name unknown.

Mrs. Aikman’s six-year-old son, name unknown.

Missing and presumed dead were:

Charles Elderbrook, 79, Evansville, Ind;

Mrs. Ruth Elderbrook, 67, his wife.

Mrs. Grace Cardwell, 29…Evansville…..”

(Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Identified Dead and Survivors of Hoosier Bus Crash.” 8-10-1949, p1.)

Aug 11, International News Service: “Bloomington, Ind., Aug. 11 (INS) — The fatality toll in Wednesday’s tragic Greyhound bus crash mounted to 16 today with the death of Sgt. Dale Aikman in a Bloomington hospital this morning. The 35-year-old Camp Campbell, Ky., soldier died although blood plasma had been rushed to Bloomington from his army base. His wife, Mrs. Joan Coulburn Aikman, 24, and their two children, Vicki, 4, and Jimmy 6, perished in the flames after the bus crashed into a bridge abutment, turned over and burst into flames about 1:45 yesterday morning five miles north of Bloomington. Meanwhile authorities opened a two-pronged investigation into claims that the bus driver might have been sleepy.

“Bodies of three of the 16 victims remained unidentified as coroner Robert Lyons, Jr., scheduled an inquest for 10 a.m. today. The interstate commerce commission also is probing the smashup….

“The charge that driver Wayne Cranmer, 25, of Indianapolis, ‘went to sleep at the wheel’ was leveled by a passenger, Wilfred Luttrull, 34, an Evansville truck driver who was thrown through the windshield when the vehicle stuck a bridge abutment, burst into flames, and overturned.  Cranmer, a hero who rescued several from the inferno that the bus became, denied the charge. He said from his hospital bed: ‘I think a front tire blew out and made me lose control.’ Greyhound lines officials refused comment. Luttrull said in a statement to the coroner: ‘I was sitting in the first right hand seat and had observed the driver perspiring freely. He kept nodding. At a stop I heard him say to a couple of other drivers that he had been called out of bed to take the run. I was tired and would have taken a nap, but I stayed in my seat and kept awake. It did not look like a blowout or steering failure to me.’” (Tipton Daily Tribune, IN. “Soldier Dies; Bus Crash Toll is 16.” 8-11-1949, p. 1.)

Aug 12, INS:  “Bloomington, Ind., Aug. 12. – (INS) – An Indianapolis chain grocery company official revealed today that Wayne Cranmer, whose Greyhound bus crashed arid burned, killing 16 persons, was fired as a driver because of “carelessness.”  Meanwhile, a coroners inquest and three separate probes continued into the funeral pyre accident near Bloomington early Wednesday.  William White, of the Standard Grocery company, said he dismissed Cranmer as a truck driver last February after an accident about four miles from the fatal spot where the big bus crashed.

“Bloomington, Ind., Aug. 12 — (INS) — Coroner Robert E. Lyons, Jr., today held that driver Wayne Cranmer was responsible for the crash of a greyhound bus which burst into flames and killed 16 persons near Bloomington early Wednesday. The greyhound bus company immediately suspended the 25-year-old Indianapolis driver. Monroe county officials, who threw an “iron curtain” around proceedings in Thursday’s inquest, refused to reveal details of another bus accident in which Cranmer was involved recently near Indianapolis. No one was injured when the bus struck another bridge abutment.

“Monroe county Coroner Robert E. Lyons, Jr., drove to Evansville last night to question a survivor of the crash who had claimed the bus driver was sleepy at the time of the accident. Wilfred N. Luttrull, an Evansville truck driver, told the coroner, in a signed statement.

It was probably about 100 feet before the crash when I could tell an accident was going to happen unless the driver swerved the bus and made some effort to avoid it. He had both hands on the wheel at the time and made no attempt to turn it…The man is bound to have been asleep when he hit the abutment or he would have made some effort to avoid it.

“Two other passengers in the bus at the time of the accident, Billy Ellerbrook, of Evansville, and Leonard Shute, of Bloomington, did not confirm Luttrull’s statement. Ellerbrook said he kept asking the driver questions and that Cranmer answered by nodding his head.

“Meanwhile, an interstate commerce safety inspector said a federal probe of the flaming crash will be started within a few days, when survivors are expected to have recovered from shock. A preliminary ICC inspection of the wreckage showed no evidence of mechanical failure. State police inspection of the wreckage also has failed to disclose any mechanical failure, according to Capt. Harry Sutherlin.

“Fourteen of the dead have been identified. The latest victim identified was Charles Raymond, 74, of Evansville.” (Tipton Daily Tribune, IN. “Bus Driver has Careless Record.” 8-12-1949, p. 1.)

Aug 13, UP:  “Bloomington, Ind., Aug. 13 – (UP) – Coroner Robert E. Lyons said only one of 16 victims of a bus crash near here early Wednesday morning still was unidentified. Lyons yesterday blamed the accident on Greyhound Bus Driver Wayne Cranmer, 25,  Indianapolis.  Lyons said Cranmer “failed to make proper allowance for clearing a bridge abutment into which the bus crashed.”

“The body of Richard Kunkel…Jasper, Ind., was identified by his father, Felix G. Kunkel, and that of Vernon Trisler, Bedford, Ind., through his teeth and by a key in his pocket.  Lyons said there were few clues to the identity of the charred remains of a man, believed to have been between 50 and 70 years, and weighing from 125 to 130 pounds. The man apparently was a heavy smoker and had a full set of vulcanite dentures. At the time he was burned to death the man was wearing a flannel shirt and a necktie with diagonal stripes of grey, pink and blue.

“While the difficult task of identification was nearly completed, Lyons said his investigation of the accident was not finished. The coroner said he was waiting for reports from the Interstate Commerce Commission, the state police and state fire marshal, all of whom made separate inquiries.

“Cranmer blamed either a blowout or a mechanical failure in the right front wheel. But one passenger, said Cranmer was “groggy” and another said he was sure it wasn’t a flat tire….

“Lyons said his investigation thus far disclosed that Cranmer had slept only a few hours, in the back seat of his car, on Tuesday. Cranmer arrived at Indianapolis on a run from Bloomington at 7:30 a. m., Tuesday morning, and left with the death bus about midnight for Evansville.” (Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Identify all but One Man in Bus Crash.” 8-13-1949, 1.)

Aug 16, AP: “Indianapolis, Aug. 13 (AP) — Wayne L. Cranmer of Indianapolis, questioned repeatedly since 16 persons burned to death in a Great Lakes Greyhound bus he was driving, again told his story of the tragedy today at state police headquarters. The bus struck a concrete bridge railing on State Road 37 about five miles north of Bloomington early Wednesday morning. The heavy vehicle flipped over on its left side and caught fire. Only 13 of the 28 occupants crawled out, and one of them died later.

“The 25-year-old driver told Dr. Robert E. Lyons, Monroe county coroner, that “something slumped” at the right front end of the bus, throwing it into the concrete wall. Two other survivors disputed the statement.

“State police would not disclose the results of today’s questioning.  Lt. Lloyd Hickerson said the department merely was completing its record of the state’s worst bus accident and any information obtained would be turned over to Monroe county authorities. Coroner Lyons and prosecutor Robert McCrea were reported present at the state police session, but headquarters would not say who sat in on Cranmer’s questioning.

“Meanwhile, an attempt was made to identify the one remaining unknown victim of the wreck. Mrs. Norman Hawkins, Evansville, went to Bloomington in an effort to determine whether the charred body was that of her brother, Richard Thrasher, 68, also of Evansville.” (Logansport Press, IN. “Driver Again Tells His Story.” 8-16-1949, p. 3.)

Aug 17, UP: “Bloomington, Ind., Aug. 17 – (UP) – Coroner Robert E. Lyons today was scheduled to file his official verdict on the Greyhound bus wreck which killed 16 persons last Wednesday.  The coroner yesterday gave newsmen what he called a “preview” of his verdict and said his investigation revealed sufficient evidence to warrant “prosecution of the driver for reckless operating of the bus.” Lyons did not say whether he would take steps to prosecute driver Wayne Cranmer, 25, Indianapolis….” (Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, IN. “Official Verdict.” 8-17-1949, p. 6.)

Aug 18, INS: “Bloomington, Ind. – (INS).  Monroe County Coroner Robert E. Lyons Wednesday recommended that the driver of the bus which carried 16 persons to a fiery death a week ago be charged with reckless driving.  Prosecutor Robert F. McCrea took the recommendation under consideration.  Wayne Cranmer, 25, was the driver of the bus. He distinguished himself after crash by saving the lives of several passengers. Coroner Lyons said: “Information gathered by investigators has revealed sufficient evidence to warrant charges of reckless operation against Cranmer. That places it in the hands of the prosecutor, and that is where it belongs.”  Cranmer admitted he had very little sleep before he took the bus on the death run.”  (The Independent, Long Beach, CA. “Reckless Driving Charges Recommended.” 8-18-1949, p. 26.)

Aug 23, AP: “Bloomington, Ind., Aug. 23 – (AP) — Fingerprints show a mistake in identification of one of the victims of a Greyhound bus crash that took 16 lives two weeks ago. Dr. Robert E. Lyons, Monroe county coroner, said the fingerprints of Maurice Adamson, a 24-year-old Bedford army veteran, matched those of one of the previously identified bodies. The coroner said fingerprints taken from a body claimed as Vernon Hay Trisler, a 32-year-old Bedford drug store manager, had been matched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the help of army authorities. Dr. Lyons said a dental chart of the victim also closely resembled that given him by army authorities from Adamson’s military records.  Relatives of Trisler claimed the charred body Aug. 12, two days after the crash on State Road 37 five miles north of here. It was buried at Bedford.

“The coroner said he went to Bedford yesterday to discuss the problem with the two families involved. He said Trisler’s survivors are convinced they made correct identification. Dr. Lyons said a key found in the burned rubble of the bus fitted Adamson’s apartment and that another key opened the lock on the front door of Trisler’s home. He repeated that only 15 bodies were taken from the bus. The 16th victim died later in a Bloomington hospital.

“The coroner said neither Adamson nor Trisler could possibly have been the lone unidentified victim. He said the unidentified man was elderly and had a complete let of false teeth. Both of the Bedford men had most of their teeth in good condition. 

“State police earlier yesterday ruled out the possibility that the unidentified victim could have been Lester Johnson, a 34-year-old salesman missing from his home at Akron, O. The dental plate of the unidentified victim did not match one made for the Ohio man.” (Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Fingerprints Show Mistake in Identity.” 8-23-1949, p. 3.)

Aug 26, UP: “Bedford, Ind. (UP) — A controversy over identification of a charred body was heightened yesterday as two families, certain in their own minds that it was their kin, contested for custody. The body was buried here as the remains of Vernon R. Trisler, 33, assistant manager of a Bedford drug store. But Mrs. Maurice Adamson was certain a mistake had been made and that the remains were those of her 21-year-old husband.

“Monroe county Coroner Dr. Robert E. Lyons said authorities were working continuously in an attempt to straighten out the tangle. Dental charts and fingerprints were available from the blackened corpse, he said, and army records of Adamson also were on hand. Authorities had sent to St. Louis for the same records of Trisler. Mrs. Adamson was not certain her husband was on the bus. However, a fire-blackened key taken from the wreckage where the bus crashed near Bloomington Aug. 10 fit the front door of their apartment. She fainted when it turned the lock.” 

(Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Two Families Claim Unidentified Body Found in Bus Wreck.” 8-23-1949, p. 3.)

Sep 3 [Elsewhere]: “Indianapolis, Sept. 3. – (AP) – Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, Inc., pleading guilty to a charge of requiring 14 bus drivers to work excessive hours, was fined $1,500 in federal court yesterday. The drivers, employed on the Chicago-Louisville run, still face charges of falsifying their logs to cover up long hours. The company was charged with permitting false log entries and requiring drivers to stay on the road for more than the legal maximum of 70 hours in any 192-hour period. The charge was brought under the safety provisions of the Interstate Commerce commission act.” (Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Greyhound Line Admits Over-Work of 14 Chauffeurs.” 9-3-1949, p. 2.)

Sep 13, UP: “Bloomington, Ind. – (UP) — The body of a man buried as Vernon Ray Trisler at Bedford, Ind., actually was Maurice Adamson, 24, also of Bedford, Monroe county coroner Robert E. Lyons said. Lyons said Saturday he had filed a supplementary report of identification of the body, which was that of one of 16 persons burned to death when a Greyhound bus struck a bridge abutment last Aug. 10 north of here. The body originally was identified as Trisler because he was known to have been on the bus and a key in the wreckage fitted his apartment in Bedford. But another key in the wreckage fitted the apartment of Adamson, and a check of the body’s finger prints with War department records indicated that the man actually was Adamson, Lyons said.

“But the coroner, who released the body to Trisler’s relatives, said he did not know what would be done about the mix-up now. “It’s all up to the people in Lawrence county,” Lyons sold. “I’m sorry it turned out this way, but there isn’t anything I can do because the body isn’t in my jurisdiction any more. Lyons said “only God knows” if some of the other corpses were identified incorrectly. One body, that of a man between 50 and 70 years old, never was identified and was buried in Rosehill cemetery a week after the wreck.

“The coroner said he doubted that there were 17 persons killed in the bus accident, and that Trisler’s body was consumed entirely by the flames.” (Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, IN. “Identity of Wreck Victim is Changed.”  9-13-1949, p. 10.)

Sep 15: “The final chapter in the tragic story of a Kokomo family that was wiped out in the Greyhound bus accident August 10 near Bloomington was written Thursday morning in the Howard circuit court. A judgment amounting to $2,200 was handed down by Judge Merton Stanley in favor of William Coulbern…as estate administrator for the four members of the Dale E. Aikman family.[1]  The judgment was against the Indiana Greyhound Line, Inc. Robert S. Smith of Indianapolis, attorney for the bus company said under the law $550 per each deceased person is the maximum amount of damages that can be paid to an estate in which all members of the family are deceased. Those for whom indemnities covering medical and burial expenses went were Sergt. Dale E. Aikman; his wife, Joanna Mae Aikman, and two children, Vicky Lynn, 4, and James W., 6.  Mrs. Aikman and the two children were killed outright, but Sgt. Aikman lived until the day after the accident. The entire family is buried in Crown Point cemetery here.

“The spokesman for the bus company said records show that 12 of the 16 persons who lost their lives left no dependents….” (Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Court Here Writes Final Chapter in Flaming Bus Deaths of Aikmans.” 9-15-1949, pp. 1 and 21.)

Oct 11:  “Bloomington, Ind., Oct. 11 – (UP) – A Monroe county grand jury will meet Nov. 28 to investigate a bus accident in which 16 persons were killed last Aug. 10, Prosecutor Robert F. McCrea said today. Bus driver Wayne Cranmer, Indianapolis, was accused of negligence in a report by Coroner Robert E. Lyons on the accident. The bus crashed into a bridge abutment on Ind. 37, five miles north of here near Dolan, and caught fire. Fifteen persons burned to death and another passenger died the next day in Bloomington General hospital.

“McCrae said Cranmer would be subpoenaed. Passengers on the bus testified during the coroner’s hearing that Cranmer appeared to be dozing just before the wreck. 

“The winding section of Ind. 37 where the accident occurred has been by-passed by a recently opened, straighter highway.” (Pharos Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Bloomington Jury Will Investigate Tragic Bus Crash.” 10-11-1949, p. 10.)

Oct 18, AP: “Indianapolis, Oct. 18 – (AP) – State officials will dedicate today a new $3,500,000 road to greater highway safety. The occasion will be the official opening of the new section of State road 37 between Martinsville and Bloomington. Its 15 sloping curves through the hills of Morgan and Monroe counties replace 90 sharp turns that were death traps to hundred who traveled the old road.  Gov. Henry F. Schricker and former Gov. Ralph F. Gates will lead a motor caravan from Indianapolis at 3 p. m….The work began in 1947 during the administration of Governor Gates and parts of the highway have been open for travel for about two weeks….

“The old section of the road…has been the scene of many fatal accidents. The most spectacular was early this August when a Great Lakes Greyhound bus enroute to Bloomington and Evansville struck a bridge abutment north of Bloomington and burned.  Sixteen passengers lost their lives….” (Kokomo Tribune, IN. “State Officials to Participate in Road Opening.” 10-18-1949, p. 3.)

Nov 9, INS: “Evansville, Ind., Nov. 9. – (INS) – The Greyhound: Bus Company was named defendant again today in three additional suits seeking a total of $35,000 as the outgrowth of a bus crash near Bloomington last August in which 16 persons we’re killed. Two of the new suits were brought against the Great Lakes Greyhound Lines, Inc., in the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ellerbrook, by Alvey Ellerbrook as administrator. Each asks $10,000. The third suit was filed by a son of the couple, William Ellerbrook, who also was a passenger in the bus. He seeks $15,000 for injuries.

“Two other suits, asking a total of $40,000 were filed previously in Vanderburgh county probate court in connection with the crash by Lucille Melton and her daughter, Judith Ann Melton, of Mt. Vernon.”  (Greensburg Daily News, IN. “Greyhound Co. Named in New Damage Suits.” 11-9-1949, p. 3.)

Nov 28, INS: “Bloomington, Ind., Nov. 28 – (INS) – The Monroe county grand jury convened today for a probe into a Greyhound bus crash and fire, August 10 near Bloomington which cost 16 lives. Prosecutor Robert F. McCrea said the jury will start work Tuesday after being sworn in today. Monroe county coroner Robert F. Lyons had recommended that. a grand jury probe be held to determine where the criminal blame, if any, might lie. Dr. Lyons, in his findings, indicated that he believed Wayne Cranmer, the bus driver, was negligent in his handling of the vehicle, but no charges were preferred against Cranmer.” (Tipton Daily Tribune, IN. “Indiana News.” 11-28-1949, p.1.)

Nov 30, UP:  “Bloomington, Ind., Nov. 30 – (UP) – Wayne Cranmer, driver of a Greyhound bus which was wrecked and burned with a loss of 16 lives, said today he would testify in a Monroe county grand jury investigation of the crash. Cranmer, now working at a Bloomington industrial plant, said he wanted to tell his story, despite his legal right to refuse appearance before the jurors.  Cranmer, however, was not among early witnesses. Coroner Robert E. Lyons, who blamed Cranmer for ‘negligence’ in his official verdict last August, spent nearly an hour with the jury.  Other witnesses were Wilfred Luttrull, Evansville truck driver, who charged that Cranmer appeared to have dozed shortly before the crash, and Elmer E. Coffman, Martinsville, a Greyhound driver who left the bus at Martinsville on its trip from Indianapolis toward Evansville.

“The jury, which organized with farmer Isaac Dunlap as foreman, launched an investigation of whether there was criminal negligence when the big bus plowed into a culvert and trapped the screaming passengers in the fiery wreckage. Prosecutor Robert McCrea subpoenaed driver Wayne Cranmer of Indianapolis and two passengers who survived, and invited other survivors to testify if they wished to do so….” (Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Driver Wants to Tell Story in Bus Crash.” 11-30-1949, p. 7.)

Identified Fatalities:

 Maurice Adamson, 24, Bedford, IN

  1. Dale E. Aikman, Kokomo, IN.
  2. Joanna Mae Aikman (wife of Sgt. Aikman), Kokomo, IN.
  3. Vicky Lynn Aikman, 4, daughter of Sgt. and Mrs. Aikman, Kokomo,
  4. James W. Aikman, 6, son of St. and Mrs. Aikman, Kokomo,
  5. Grace Cardwell, 29, Evansville
  6. Charles Ellerbrook
  7. Charles Ellerbrook
  8. Richard Kunkel, Jasper, IN
  9. Richard Thrasher, 68, Evensville, IN
  10. Vernon Ray Trisler
  11. Unidentified elderly man with complete set of false teeth.

Sources

City of Bloomington. Fire Department. “Historic Fires.” Accessed 5-21-2013 at: http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=2213

Greensburg Daily News, IN. “Greyhound Co. Named in New Damage Suits.” 11-9-1949, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=129513160&sterm

Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Court Here Writes Final Chapter in Flaming Bus Deaths of Aikmans.” 9-15-1949, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=113503487&sterm

Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Fingerprints Show Mistake in Identity.” 8-23-1949, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=113503176&sterm

Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Greyhound Line Admits Over-Work of 14 Chauffeurs.” 9-3-1949, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=113503336&sterm

Kokomo Tribune, IN. “State Officials to Participate in Road Opening.” 10-18-1949, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=113503974&sterm

Logansport Press, IN. “Driver Again Tells His Story.” 8-16-1949, p. 3. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=84060463&sterm

Long Beach Independent, CA. “Reckless Driving Charges Recommended.” 8-18-1949, p. 26. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=45632787&sterm=bloomington+bus+grey

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)

National Fire Protection Association.  “Fires Causing Large Loss of Life.” Handbook of Fire Protection (11th Ed.).  Boston, MA: NFPA, 1954, pp. 33-36.

Pharos Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Bloomington Jury Will Investigate Tragic Bus Crash.” 10-11-1949, p. 10. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=85816488&sterm

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Driver Wants to Tell Story in Bus Crash.” 11-30-1949, p. 7. http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=83793692&sterm=

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Fiery Bus Crash Kills 15. Passengers Trapped in Flaming Wreckage near Bloomington, Ind.”  8-10-1949, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=85815521&sterm=greyhound+bus

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Identified Dead and Survivors of Hoosier Bus Crash.” 8-10-1949, p. 1. http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=85815521&sterm=greyhound

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Identify all but One Man in Bus Crash.” 8-13-1949, 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=85815587&sterm=greyhound+bus

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Two Families Claim Unidentified Body Found in Bus Wreck.” 8-23-1949, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=85815785&sterm

Tipton Daily Tribune, IN. “Bus Driver has Careless Record.” 8-12-1949, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=142526544&sterm=greyhound+bus

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[1] Father of Joanna Mae Aikman.

Text content

1949 — July 30, Eastern Airlines flight 557 hit by USN Hellcat fighter ~Chesterfield, NJ– 16

–16 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Eastern Airlines Flight 557, 30 Jul 1949.
–16 Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (70188 to 80258). 8-24-2011 rev.
–16 CAB. AIR. Eastern Air Lines, Inc., and U.S. Navy – Chesterfield, N.J., July 30, 1949.
–15 NJ.com. “The 10 deadliest aviation accidents in New Jersey history.” 8-27-2017. [16 deaths]

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Grumman F6F-5N Hellcat….72887 collided with Eastern Airlines DC-3-201D N19963 c/n 2260 near Chesterfield, NJ Jul 30, 1949. 16 killed.” (Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (70188 to 80258). 8-24-2011 rev.)

Civil Aeronautics Board: “Eastern Air Lines Flight 557, a DC-3…and a U. S. Navy Grumman Hellcat single seat fighter Model F-6-F-5, No 72887, collided at an altitude of about 2,000 feet in the vicinity of Chesterfield, N J, at about 1030, 1 July 30, 1949. All 15 occupants of the DC-3 and the pilot of the F-6-F-5 were killed and both aircraft were destroyed….

“The DC-3 was on a regularly scheduled flight en route from LaGuardia Field, N Y., to Wilmington, Del., having originated at Boston, Mass., with Memphis, Tenn., as the destination. Takeoff from LaGuardia was at 1000, with 12 revenue passengers….

“The F-6-F-5 was en route from the Naval Air Station Anacostia, D. C., to the Naval Air Station, Quonset Point R. I., on a training, or proficiency flight. Takeoff from Anacostia was at 0937….

“At about 1030 the F-6-F-5 was observed to perform acrobatics and to “buzz” a small civil aircraft in the neighborhood of Chesterfield, N. J. These maneuvers terminated in collision between the F-6-F-5 and the DC-3.

“Upon collision the fighter plane lost its left wing and the DC-3 lost the outer portion of its left wing. Both aircraft then fell in erratic paths, losing various parts while falling. The DC-3 burned when it struck the ground. The fighter’s pilot was either seriously injured or killed at the time of the collision and was thrown clear of the aircraft during the descent. There was no indication that he attempted to use his parachute. The fighter did not burn on impact.

“Investigation disclosed that collision occurred at an approximate altitude of 2,000 feet (MSL) over a point about 1 1/6 miles distant…from the center of Chesterfield, N. J….

“The small civil aircraft that was “buzzed” by the Navy fighter in the vicinity of Chesterfield, N. J., was a Piper Super Cruiser, being flown in an easterly direction and at an altitude of about 1,000 feet by its owner, a private pilot. He reported that while he was in level flight, the fighter passed an estimated 100 feet directly in front of him and headed vertically upwards. His aircraft was momentarily put out of control by the fighter’s wash. He then lost sight of the fighter as it passed up and in back of him. A few seconds later he saw it again starting up from below and to his rear. It continued up again passing in front of the Piper, although not as close as previously. This maneuver, described by the Piper pilot as a chandelle, continued until he saw the fighter and a DC-3 collide at an estimated 700 or 1,000 feet above him. According to the testimony of the Piper pilot and ground witnesses, neither the DC-3 nor the F-6-F-5 made any evasive maneuver, and it may be concluded that neither pilot saw the other aircraft in time to avert a collision….

“…Civil Air Regulations forbid that any aircraft be flown in such proximity to other aircraft as to create a collision hazard. Also, the Civil Air Regulations forbid any acrobatic flight on any airway at any altitude. The Air Traffic Rules of the Civil Air Regulations apply to all aircraft, both civil and military….

The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the reckless conduct of the Navy pilot in performing acrobatic maneuvers on a Civil Airway and his failure to notice the presence of an air carrier aircraft with which he collided.” (Civil Aeronautics Board, Eastern Air Lines, Inc., and U.S. Navy – Chesterfield, N.J., July 30, 1949.)

NJ.com. “The 10 deadliest aviation accidents in New Jersey history.” 8-27-2017:
“No. 9. Eastern Air Lines
“Date: July 30, 1949
“Location: Chesterfield, NJ
“Fatalities: 15 [on the Eastern Air Lines plane]

“A small Navy plane conducting aerobatic exercises on a civil airway rammed into an Eastern Airlines commercial plane flying south out of La Guardia Airport. The Navy pilot was ultimately blamed for the crash that killed 15 passengers and crew members, including himself. Eastern Airlines dissolved in 1991….”

Sources

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. Eastern Airlines Flight 557, 30 Jul 1949. Accessed 2/9/2009 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19490730-0

Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (70188 to 80258). Aug 24, 2011 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries8.html

Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Board. Eastern Air Lines, Inc., and U.S. Navy – Chesterfield, N.J., July 30, 1949. Washington, DC: December 1, 1949, 5 pages. Accessed 8-20-2023 at: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/33372

NJ.com. “The 10 deadliest aviation accidents in New Jersey history.” 8-27-2017. Accessed 8-20-2023 at: https://www.nj.com/news/2017/08/the_10_deadliest_air_accidents_in_new_jersey_histo.html

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