ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 47788
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| Date: | Wednesday 30 November 1955 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Boeing RB-52B-20-BO Stratofortress |
| Owner/operator: | United States Air Force (USAF) |
| Registration: | 52-8716 |
| MSN: | 16844 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 4 mi N of Merced-Castle AFB, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Merced-Castle AFB, CA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Crashed less than 3 minutes after takeoff on a night training mission instructing former B-36 pilots. Newspaper reports indicate the Stratofortress was wracked by two explosions prior to the crash. The bomber crashed at 2205, four miles north of the base into a grain field in Merced County and disintegrated as it skidded at least a mile. The aircraft was unarmed except for 25 live photo bombs, used to illuminate the night for aerial photos. Air Force demolition experts deactivated them before any of the magnesium filled devices exploded. This was the worst single aircraft loss of life accident in the B-52s operating history with the entire crew of 10 killed. This was also the third B-52 crash at Castle in an 8 month period.
Sources:
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1952.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20171101061754/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/b52_stratofortress.htm
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:B-52B,_52-8716._Flight_(USAF)_copy_(7257066084).jpg
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25437963/b52_crash_castle_afb_113056/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Nov-2008 10:15 | ASN archive | Added |
| 25-Oct-2009 23:00 | JINX | Updated |
| 26-Oct-2009 10:52 | JINX | Updated |
| 14-Feb-2013 21:09 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 15-Feb-2013 09:10 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 29-Aug-2013 09:02 | TB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Phase, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 31-Jan-2019 15:08 | wf | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport] |
| 12-Apr-2019 19:22 | joanied51 | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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