mhansen2
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- #161
12 December
1957 – B-52 / Fairchild AFB, near Spokane, Washington
At 4:02 PM PST, a B-52D crashed shortly after takeoff during a training mission from Fairchild AFB near Spokane, Washington. The takeoff roll and climb appeared normal; however, soon after the landing gear was retracted and the aircraft was approximately 100 to 200 feet above the ground, the plane's nose pitched up steeply.
After climbing nose-high to about 1,500 feet, flames were seen coming from all eight engines. The aircraft's nose then dropped and the plane banked to the right and descended rapidly. At a height of about 400 to 500 feet above ground, the electronic countermeasures operator ejected; the radar navigator ejected at about 300 feet. The pilot and navigator ejected upon impact. Only one of nine crewmembers, the tail gunner, survived the crash; he had initiated bailout at an altitude of 450 to 500 feet, but was still aboard the aircraft when it crashed and was destroyed by impact and fire. Among the dead crewmen was the commanding officer of the SAC bomb wing to which the aircraft was assigned. Wreckage was strewn over a radius of more than 1,000 feet in a stubble field about a mile west of the airbase.
Although the Air Force has never indicated whether or not nuclear weapons were aboard the aircraft, this crash was cited in a February 1991 EPA report as having involved nuclear materials.
Chuck Hansen, “The Swords of Armageddon,” Vol. VII, p.245.
1957 – B-52 / Fairchild AFB, near Spokane, Washington
At 4:02 PM PST, a B-52D crashed shortly after takeoff during a training mission from Fairchild AFB near Spokane, Washington. The takeoff roll and climb appeared normal; however, soon after the landing gear was retracted and the aircraft was approximately 100 to 200 feet above the ground, the plane's nose pitched up steeply.
After climbing nose-high to about 1,500 feet, flames were seen coming from all eight engines. The aircraft's nose then dropped and the plane banked to the right and descended rapidly. At a height of about 400 to 500 feet above ground, the electronic countermeasures operator ejected; the radar navigator ejected at about 300 feet. The pilot and navigator ejected upon impact. Only one of nine crewmembers, the tail gunner, survived the crash; he had initiated bailout at an altitude of 450 to 500 feet, but was still aboard the aircraft when it crashed and was destroyed by impact and fire. Among the dead crewmen was the commanding officer of the SAC bomb wing to which the aircraft was assigned. Wreckage was strewn over a radius of more than 1,000 feet in a stubble field about a mile west of the airbase.
Although the Air Force has never indicated whether or not nuclear weapons were aboard the aircraft, this crash was cited in a February 1991 EPA report as having involved nuclear materials.
Chuck Hansen, “The Swords of Armageddon,” Vol. VII, p.245.
