ASN Aircraft accident Boeing RC-135E Rivet Amber 62-4137 Shemya, AK, USA [Bering Sea]
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Status:
Date:Thursday 5 June 1969
Time:10:22
Type:Silhouette image of generic R135 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Boeing RC-135E Rivet Amber
Operator:United States Air Force - USAF
Registration: 62-4137
MSN: 18477/C43
First flight: 1962-07-18 (6 years 11 months)
Total airframe hrs:3350
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-5
Crew:Fatalities: 19 / Occupants: 19
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 19 / Occupants: 19
Aircraft damage: Missing
Aircraft fate: Presumed damaged beyond repair
Location:ca 400 km E off Shemya, AK, USA [Bering Sea] (   Pacific Ocean)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Shemya AFB, AK (SYA/PASY), United States of America
Destination airport:Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK (EIL/PAEI), United States of America
Narrative:
RC-135E "Rivet Amber" was at that time the most sophisticated reconnaissance plane of the US Air Force. It was converted to this configuration in 1963 to fly reconnaissance missions against the Soviet re-entry range off the Kamchatka Peninsula. On June 5, 1969, Rivet Amber departed Shemya for a flight to Fairbanks for routine maintenance. About thirty minutes after departing Shemya, Rivet Amber (callsign Irene 92) transmitted the following message to Elmendorf AFB: "Elmendorf Airways, Irene 92 experiencing vibration in flight. Not certain of the emergency. We have the aircraft under control, Irene 92." This was the last radio contact with the flight. Unidentified microphone keying clicks continued until 10:22. The aircraft crashed at sea.
After more than three weeks of intensive search and rescue operations, the efforts were called off. Neither a single piece of wreckage nor any personnel were ever found.

Classification:

Loss of control

Sources:
» A Tale of Two Airplanes by King Hawes


Photos

photo of Boeing-RC-135E-Rivet-Amber-62-4137
accident date: 05-06-1969
type: Boeing RC-135E Rivet Amber
registration: 62-4137
 

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Shemya AFB, AK to Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK as the crow flies is 2528 km (1580 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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