Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 11 August 1955 |
Summary | Mid-air collision |
Site | Near Altensteig, West Germany |
Total fatalities | 66 |
Total survivors | 0 |
First aircraft | |
Type | Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar |
Operator | United States Air Force |
Registration | 53-3222 |
Flight origin | Stuttgart Airport |
Destination | Stuttgart Airport |
Passengers | 14 |
Crew | 5 |
Fatalities | 19 |
Survivors | 0 |
Second aircraft | |
Type | Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar |
Operator | United States Air Force |
Registration | 53-7841 |
Flight origin | Stuttgart Airport |
Destination | Stuttgart Airport |
Passengers | 41 |
Crew | 6 |
Fatalities | 47 |
Survivors | 0 |
The Altensteig mid-air collision occurred on 11 August 1955 when two United States Air Force Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcars collided and crashed three miles from Altensteig in West Germany. [1] The aircraft were part of a formation of nine C-119s flying a training mission from Stuttgart-Echterdingen airfield, West Germany with troops from the United States Seventh Army. [1] With all 66 on board both aircraft killed, it was, at the time, the deadliest air crash in Germany. [1]
Just after 14:00 one of the aircraft on the right of a formation of three developed engine problems just after takeoff, when it was around 4,000 feet; it lost height, then climbed abruptly into the second aircraft, colliding in mid-air. [1] The first aircraft, serial number 53-7841, crashed and disintegrated with the loss of all 19 on board. [1] The second aircraft 53-3222 continued for a while before it also crashed about 30 miles from Stuttgart in a wooded area and burst into flames, killing all 47 on board. [1]
Helicopters were sent to the scene, supported by fire engines and people from local villages to help with the search for survivors, none were found and the fireman were still fighting the blaze into the evening. [1]
The two Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcars were twin-engined military transport aircraft from the 60th Troop-Carrier Wing based at Rhein-Main airfield in West Germany. [1]
Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1955.
The C-82 Packet is a twin-engine, twin-boom cargo aircraft designed and built by Fairchild Aircraft. It was used briefly by the United States Army Air Forces and the successor United States Air Force following World War II.
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute. The first C-119 made its initial flight in November 1947, and by the time production ceased in 1955, more than 1,100 had been built.
The 445th Airlift Wing is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. If mobilized, the wing is gained by the Air Mobility Command.
The 94th Airlift Wing is a reserve unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Twenty-Second Air Force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and is stationed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. When mobilized, most of the wing would be presented to US Transportation Command, while a smaller proportion would be retained by AFRC.
The 48th Airlift Squadron was part of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It operates Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, conducting pilot and loadmaster training for airlift and airdrop operations.
The 700th Airlift Squadron is part of the 94th Airlift Wing at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. It operates Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft providing global airlift.
The 313th Expeditionary Operations Group is a Provisional United States Air Force unit, assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. It was last active at Moron Air Base, Spain, supporting Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. It was inactivated on 31 October 2011.
The 47th Airlift Flight is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 375th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where it served as an operational support airlift flight, operating Learjet C-21s from 1997 until 2004.
The 332d Airlift Flight is an inactive United States Air Force unit. it was first organized in India in 1944 as the 11th Combat Cargo Squadron. As the 332d Troop Carrier Squadron it remained in China through 1947. The squadron was activated again for the Berlin Airlift from 1948 to 1949.
The 29th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It is assigned to the USAF Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base. The mission of the squadron is to provide advanced Lockheed C-130J Hercules instructional flying.
The 775th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 1st Air Commando Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida in July 1964.
The 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron was a provisional United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 385th Air Expeditionary Group, stationed at Al Udeid Air Base, Doha, Qatar. It was last engaged in combat operations in Southwest Asia.
The 11th Airlift Flight is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active as part of the 55th Operations Group at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, where it was inactivated in April 1997.
The 902d Troop Carrier Group is an inactive United States Air Force Reserve unit. It was last active with the 94th Troop Carrier Wing at Grenier Air Force Base, Massachusetts, where it was inactivated on 25 January 1966.
The 929th Troop Carrier Group is an inactive United States Air Force Reserve unit. It was last active with the 433d Troop Carrier Wing, based at Davis Field, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on 1 July 1966
The 317th Operations Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last stationed at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina as part of Air Mobility Command. It was activated in 1992 during the Air Force's Objective Wing reorganization, and inactivated the following year when all Air Force units at Pope were assigned to the 23d Wing.
The following events occurred in August 1955:
The 330th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last active briefly as the 330th Airlift Flight, a personnel airlift unit, in 1993. The squadron was first activated in 1944 as the 9th Combat Cargo Squadron. The squadron was activated in India and served in combat in India and Burma. In October 1945, the squadron was redesignated the 330th Troop Carrier Squadron and moved to Shanghai, China, where it inactivated in April 1946.