Incident Overview
Date: Monday 14 December 1959
Aircraft Type: Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter
Owner/operator: United States Air Force – USAF
Registration Number: 53-0231
Location: near Dow AFB, ME –
ÿ United States of America
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Component Affected: Left horizontal stabilizer, elevator, rudder, upper fourth of the vertical stabilizerLeft horizontal stabilizer, elevator, rudder, upper fourth of the vertical stabilizer
Category: Accident
A KC-97 aircraft collided with a B-52 during refueling at an altitude of approximately 15,000 feet. The aircraft sustained significant damage, including loss of the left horizontal stabilizer, elevator, rudder, and upper fourth of the vertical stabilizer. The aircraft landed at night at Dow AFB, with two crew members parachuting to safety. The remaining crew members continued to Springfield-Westover AFB, MA (CEF) where a safe landing was achieved.A KC-97 aircraft collided with a B-52 during refueling at an altitude of approximately 15,000 feet. The aircraft sustained significant damage, including loss of the left horizontal stabilizer, elevator, rudder, and upper fourth of the vertical stabilizer. The aircraft landed at night at Dow AFB, with two crew members parachuting to safety. The remaining crew members continued to Springfield-Westover AFB, MA (CEF) where a safe landing was achieved.
Description
The aircraft, assigned to the 384th AREFS, departed from Westover AFB on a refueling mission. The KC-97 collided with a B-52 during refueling at an altitude of about 15,000 feet. The aircraft lost the whole left horizontal stabilizer and elevator, the rudder was missing and the upper fourth of the vertical stabilizer. They made a no-flap, electrical power off landing at night at Dow AFB. Two crew members on the B-52 parachuted to safety. The plane remaining crew members continued to Springfield-Westover AFB, MA (CEF) where a safe landing was made.
Primary Cause
Collision with a B-52 aircraft during refueling at a high altitude.Collision with a B-52 aircraft during refueling at a high altitude.Share on:
