1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash

Last updated

1950 Fairfield-Suisun
Boeing B-29 crash
B-29-509-walker.jpg
A similar B-29 Superfortress
Accident
Date5 August 1950
SummaryCrashed during emergency landing attempt, post-crash fire and explosion
Site Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base, California
38°16′15.84″N121°57′13.01″W / 38.2710667°N 121.9536139°W / 38.2710667; -121.9536139 (Fairfield-Suisun AFB)
Aircraft type Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Operator United States Air Force
Registration 44-87651
Flight originFairfield-Suisun AFB, California
Destination Guam
Passengers8
Crew12
Fatalities19 (including 7 on the ground)
Injuries49 admitted to hospital, 124 minor injuries
Survivors8

Northeast of San Francisco, California, on 5 August 1950, a United States Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber carrying a Mark 4 nuclear bomb crashed shortly after takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base with 20 men on board. Twelve men were killed in the crash, including the commander of the 9th Bombardment Wing, Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, [1] [2] [3] and another seven were killed on the ground when the aircraft exploded. The base was later renamed for Travis.

Contents

Accident

In July 1950, soon after the outbreak of the Korean War, the Joint Chiefs of Staff resolved to send ten Silverplate (nuclear-capable) Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers to Guam as a deterrent to a People's Republic of China (PRC) attack on Taiwan, (Republic of China), and for possible future use in Korea, [4] each loaded with a Mark 4 nuclear bomb without the fissile pit. [5] [6]

There were twenty passengers and crewmen on board B-29 44-87651 of the 99th Bombardment Squadron when it commenced takeoff from runway 21L at Fairfield-Suisun at 22:00 on Saturday, 5 August 1950, including the commander of the 9th Bombardment Wing, Brigadier General Robert F. Travis; ten men in the forward compartment and ten in the rear. The aircraft was piloted by Captain Eugene Q. Steffes, with First Lieutenant Carter W. Johnson as his co-pilot and Technical Sergeant Donald W. Moore as his flight engineer. [6]

As the aircraft reached a speed of 125 miles per hour (109 kn; 201 km/h) about three-quarters of the way down the 8,000-foot (2,400 m) runway with the propellers rotating at 2,800 rpm, the number two (port inboard) propeller suddenly went up to 3,500 rpm. Steffes ordered the propeller feathered and the aircraft lifted off at an airspeed of 155 mph (135 kn; 249 km/h), then number three (starboard inboard) propeller suddenly went to 3,500 rpm. Moore reduced its speed to 2,800 rpm by reducing the manifold pressure.

Steffes attempted to retract the landing gear by moving the gear switch to the "up" position but the gear did not respond; with the undercarriage still extended, drag reduced the aircraft's airspeed to 145 mph (126 kn; 233 km/h). Steffes checked the landing gear fuse; finding it satisfactory, he attempted to raise the gear again, but the gear motors did not operate.

Unable to accelerate, the aircraft would not be able to clear terrain ahead, so Steffes initiated a 180-degree turn to head back for an emergency landing. The tower cleared him to land on runway 21L, and crash crews were alerted. The aircraft turned around but lost altitude, Steffes asked Johnson to help him with the controls, and Moore reported more trouble with number three engine. Steffes allowed the aircraft to drift to the left to avoid a nearby trailer park, and the aircraft struck the ground at 120 mph (100 kn; 190 km/h). [6]

The aircraft broke apart in the crash, and burst into flames, the entire nose section breaking off. The escape hatches there were jammed and would not open, but passengers and crew were able to exit through a hole in the nose caused by the crash, and through a window from which the commander and co-pilot removed the plexiglas. Travis was thrown clear from the wreckage but died from his injuries on his way to hospital. One other man in the forward section, Staff Sergeant Joseph Prachniak, was also fatally injured. All ten people in the rear compartment died in the crash. [6] Only one of the twenty aircraft occupants, First Lieutenant C.E. Boyce, escaped uninjured. [7]

Four men were on duty in the base bake shop near where the forward section came to rest. They immediately ran to assist. They heard cries for help from the nose section, and helped to remove eight men from the wreckage. Firefighters arrived on the scene, as did military police and spectators.

When .50 caliber ammunition started to "cook off", Sergeant Lewis Siqueira, who was in charge of the bake shop detail, ordered his men out of the area. Sergeant Paul P. Ramoneda started to do so, but then turned back to help men still trapped in the burning aircraft. [8] Lieutenant Colonel Raymond E. Holsey, the highest-ranking officer on the scene, feared the 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of explosives in the Mark 4 would explode. He ordered the large crowd of rescuers and onlookers to get clear, and told the firefighters to let it burn. The firefighters and onlookers did not comply. [9]

About 20 minutes after the crash, the high explosives in the bomb detonated, spreading wreckage and burning fuel over a 2-square-mile (5.2 km2) area. [9] The explosion blew a crater in the ground 20 yards (18 m) across and 6 feet (1.8 m) deep. [7] An additional seven people who were not part of the crew died on the ground in the explosion, including Ramoneda and five firefighters. All of the base's fire trucks were destroyed, [9] along with dozens of private vehicles in the nearby trailer park, which was set on fire. [7] Some 49 people were admitted to the hospital, while another 124 were treated for minor injuries. [6] Two women had their right feet amputated. [7]

Aftermath

The crash investigators found that the number two propeller was indeed feathered. The cause of the problem was improper adjustment during maintenance on 22 July 1950, when all four propellers were changed. A problem was detected with number two during a test flight, and the ground crew was instructed to install new contactors. There was no paperwork indicating that this was done, and the entire maintenance crew was killed in the crash. The number three engine and propeller were not found. The generators were found to be working, so there was sufficient electrical power to retract the landing gear. No crew members recalled hearing the landing gear motors. The switches could not be checked due to the degree of destruction of the aircraft, but the fuse was intact. It was noted that there were only six seat belts for the ten men in the forward compartment. [6]

Their report made four recommendations:

  1. That procedures regarding propellers be reviewed and improved so as to identify malfunctions on the ground;
  2. That more emphasis be placed on training pilots and flight engineers in procedures for handling propeller problems;
  3. That there should be better follow-up of maintenance problems; and
  4. That escape exits and tunnels should be kept clear of baggage. [6]

USAF B-29 operating procedures were changed as a result of the investigation; aircraft with the same type of propellers as 44-87651 were required to be test-flown after corrective maintenance, and the number of persons permitted aboard an operational flight was reduced to 16, as it was felt that overloading and an inadequate number of safety belts in the accident aircraft contributed to the high loss of life. [10]

The 19 bodies were taken to the McCune Garden Chapel in Vacaville. [11] The Air Force announced that the aircraft was on a "training mission". [9] Ramoneda was posthumously awarded the Soldier's Medal, the Purple Heart and the Cheney Award. [8] Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base was officially renamed Travis Air Force Base in honor of the dead general on 20 October 1950. A formal renaming ceremony was held on 20 April 1951, presided over by the Governor of California, Earl Warren, which was attended by Travis's family. [12] Only in 1994 was it revealed that an atomic bomb was involved, when an interview with Holsey was published posthumously. [13] The Mark 4 nuclear bomb contained a depleted uranium tamper as well as radioactive material inside the electronics making up the arming and firing circuits. There was also some radium in the dials in the cockpit. A public health assessment found no detectable levels of uranium at the crash site. [14]

Notes

  1. ↑ "17 die, 60 hurt in B-29 crash". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. 7 August 1950. p. 1.
  2. ↑ "17 dead as B-29 explodes". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. 7 August 1950. p. 1.
  3. ↑ "Seconds spell great tragedy in B-29 crash". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. 7 August 1950. p. 2.
  4. ↑ Dingman 1988–1989, p. 62.
  5. ↑ Rhodes 1995, pp. 444–446.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Topics – Boeing Superfortress 44-87651, Fairfield, California – 5 August 1950". Korean War Educator. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Bomb-Laden B-29 Hits Trailer Camp – 17 Killed, 60 Hurt as B-29 Explodes" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 August 1950. p. 1. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  8. 1 2 Frisbee 1986, p. 138.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Schlosser 2014, pp. 168–170.
  10. ↑ Gero 2010, pp. 52–53.
  11. ↑ Thompson, Ian (31 January 2014). "Base namesake Gen. Travis was tough, beloved". Daily Republic. p. TRA25. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  12. ↑ "The Travis B-29 Crash". Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  13. ↑ Wells, Stacey (11 February 1994). "Air Force sheds light on 1950 crash". The Reporter. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  14. ↑ "Public Health Assessment – Crash of the B-29 on Travis AFB, CA". Check-Six.com. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

Related Research Articles

<i>Enola Gay</i> US Army Air Forces Boeing B-29 airplane that dropped the first atomic bomb

The Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in warfare. The bomb, code-named "Little Boy", was targeted at the city of Hiroshima, Japan, and caused the destruction of about three quarters of the city. Enola Gay participated in the second nuclear attack as the weather reconnaissance aircraft for the primary target of Kokura. Clouds and drifting smoke resulted in Nagasaki, a secondary target, being bombed instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing B-29 Superfortress</span> US heavy bomber aircraft, 1942

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing B-47 Stratojet</span> Cold War-era American jet bomber

The Boeing B-47 Stratojet is a retired American long-range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft. The primary mission of the B-47 was as a nuclear bomber capable of striking targets within the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convair B-36 Peacemaker</span> US Air Force strategic bomber (1949–1959)

The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" is a strategic bomber that was built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built. It has the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built, at 230 ft (70 m). The B-36 was the first bomber capable of delivering any of the nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal from an internal bomb bay without aircraft modifications. With a range of 10,000 mi (16,000 km) and a maximum payload of 87,200 lb (39,600 kg), the B-36 is capable of intercontinental flight without refueling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consolidated B-32 Dominator</span> American heavy bomber

The Consolidated B-32 Dominator was an American heavy strategic bomber built for United States Army Air Forces during World War II, which had the distinction of being the last Allied aircraft to be engaged in combat during World War II; that engagement also resulted in the last American to die in air combat in World War II. It was developed by Consolidated Aircraft in parallel with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress as a fallback design should the B-29 prove unsuccessful. The B-32 reached units in the Pacific only in mid-May 1945, and subsequently saw only limited combat operations against Japanese targets before the formal end of the war on 2 September 1945. Most of the extant orders of the B-32 were canceled shortly thereafter and only 118 B-32 airframes of all types were built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster</span> American experimental bomber aircraft, 1944

The Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster was an experimental American bomber aircraft, designed for a high top speed. The unconventional approach was to mount the two engines within the fuselage driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers mounted at the tail in a pusher configuration, leaving the wing and fuselage clean and free of drag-inducing protrusions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tupolev Tu-4</span> Soviet strategic bomber aircraft, copy of B-29

The Tupolev Tu-4 is a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid-1960s. The aircraft was a copy of the American Boeing B-29 Superfortress, having been reverse-engineered from seized aircraft that had made emergency landings in the USSR.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1950:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing B-50 Superfortress</span> Piston-engined strategic bomber aircraft family, 1947

The Boeing B-50 Superfortress is an American strategic bomber. A post–World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, it was fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller tail fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber built by Boeing for the United States Air Force, and was further refined into Boeing's final such design, the prototype B-54. Although not as well known as its direct predecessor, the B-50 was in USAF service for nearly 20 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing B-29 Superfortress variants</span> US heavy bomber aircraft with 4 piston engines, 1942

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a WWII era long range, strategic heavy bomber that was produced in many experimental and production models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic XF-12 Rainbow</span> Prototype reconnaissance aircraft

The Republic XF-12 Rainbow was an American four-engine, all-metal prototype reconnaissance aircraft designed by the Republic Aviation Company in the late 1940s. Like most large aircraft of the era, it used radial engines, specifically the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major. The XF-12 was referred to as "flying on all fours" meaning: four engines, 400 mph (640 km/h) cruise, 4,000 mi (6,400 km) range, at 40,000 ft (12,000 m). The aircraft was designed to maximize aerodynamic efficiency. Although innovative, the jet engine and the end of World War 2 made it obsolete, and it did not enter production. A proposed airliner variant, the RC-2, was deemed uneconomical and cancelled before being built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Bomb Wing</span> US Air Force unit

The 5th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The wing is also the host unit at Minot. The 5 BW is one of only two active duty Boeing B-52H Stratofortress wings in the United States Air Force, the other being the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Also, stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, and operating the B-52H is a third unit, the 307th Bomb Wing, which is part of the Air Force Reserve Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing B-54</span> Bomber aircraft project by Boeing

The Boeing B-54 was an American strategic bomber designed by Boeing for use by the United States Air Force. Derived from the YB-50C Superfortress, construction of the prototype was canceled before completion, and the aircraft was never flown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koolhoven F.K.52</span> Type of aircraft

Koolhoven F.K.52 was a Dutch-designed, two-seat reconnaissance-fighter biplane, which was developed in the 1930s by Koolhoven. The aircraft was equipped with an enclosed cockpit and single-strut landing gear. Only six aircraft were produced. The aircraft saw some service in the Finnish Air Force.

<i>Bockscar</i> US Army Air Forces Boeing B-29 airplane that dropped the second atomic bomb

Bockscar, sometimes called Bock's Car, is the name of the United States Army Air Forces B-29 bomber that dropped a Fat Man nuclear weapon over the Japanese city of Nagasaki during World War II in the second – and most recent – nuclear attack in history. One of 15 Silverplate B-29s used by the 509th, Bockscar was built at the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Plant at Bellevue, Nebraska, at what is now Offutt Air Force Base, and delivered to the United States Army Air Forces on 19 March 1945. It was assigned to the 393rd Bombardment Squadron, 509th Composite Group to Wendover Army Air Field, Utah, in April and was named after captain Frederick C. Bock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert F. Travis</span> U.S. Army Air Forces general

Brigadier General Robert Falligant Travis was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travis Air Force Base</span> US Air Force base near Fairfield, California, United States

Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleaklow Bomber</span> Aircraft crash in the Peak District

The Bleaklow Bomber was a US Air Force (USAF) Boeing RB-29A Superfortress that crashed near Higher Shelf Stones on Bleaklow in the Peak District in 1948. It was modified as a reconnaissance aircraft, rather than a bomber.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.