1965 USAF KC-135 Wichita crash

Crash of US Air Force tanker aircraft in Kansas

37°43′13″N 97°18′47″W / 37.7202°N 97.3131°W / 37.7202; -97.3131AircraftAircraft typeBoeing KC-135A-BN StratotankerOperatorUnited States Air Force
Strategic Air CommandRegistration57-1442Flight originMcConnell Air Force BaseDestinationMcConnell Air Force BasePassengers0Crew7Fatalities30 (23 on the ground)Injuriesat least 27 (on the ground)Survivors0

On 16 January 1965, a U.S. Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in the central United States, in a neighborhood in north-eastern Wichita, Kansas, after taking off from McConnell Air Force Base.^[1] This resulted in the deaths of all seven crew members on board the aircraft and an additional twenty-three people on the ground.^[2]^[3]

This accident is the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Kansas.^[4] It is also the second-deadliest aircraft accident in the United States involving victims on the ground, after the Green Ramp disaster in 1994, which killed 24 people on the ground.^[5]

Accident details

At 9:28 a.m. CST (3:28 p.m. UTC)^[6] on Saturday, 16 January 1965, a Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker, serial number 57-1442, took off from the McConnell Air Force Base and gained very little altitude. During this time, the aircraft began to experience a large amount of yaw, and attempted to return to the airport.^[7] The crew then began to dump large quantities of fuel from the aircraft's refueling tanks. Shortly after this, the aircraft made a hard bank to the left, and began to enter a roll. Unable to recover, the aircraft crashed into a suburban neighborhood at the intersection of Piatt and 20th Street, just three minutes after take-off.^[6] The site is several blocks northwest of Wichita State University.^[8]

The aerial refueling aircraft was loaded with 31,000 US gallons (120,000 L) of jet fuel,^[9] and the crash resulted in a large explosion and subsequent fire, which engulfed dozens of homes. The accident killed all seven crew members on the aircraft and an additional twenty-three people on the ground.^[7] In addition, at least twenty-seven people on the ground sustained injuries, three of which were serious.^[6]

It was reported that the crew entry door was jettisoned and a B-52 Stratofortress bomber, which took off prior to the KC-135, may have blown a detached drag chute from an F-105 Thunderchief against the departing aircraft. These factors may have contributed to the crash.^[7] Recently un-redacted portions of the accident report indicate that the parachute ingested into the Number 1 engine was that of the crew member who attempted to bail out through the crew entry door. His body was found about 200 feet from the impact crater.^{[citation needed]}

The aircraft and crew were based at Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base in west central Oklahoma,^[2]^[8] about 200 miles (320 km) to the southwest.

Aftermath

Ten months after the accident, the U.S. Air Force issued an official accident report that stated that the crash was caused by "a rudder control system malfunction," which was impossible for the crew to overcome.^[4]

In 1971, the Piatt Memorial Park was opened to serve as a local recreational facility and a reminder of the tragedy. The park features several amenities, including a playground, a drinking fountain, and a basketball court.^[10] On July 14, 2007, more than forty-two years after the accident, an airplane-shaped twelve by twenty-two foot Imperial Black Granite monument with the names of all thirty victims of the crash inscribed on it was unveiled at a ceremony.^[11]

References

^ Catt, George (16 January 1965). "Jet hits Wichita homes". Lawrence Journal-World. Vol. 107, no. 14 (Saturday Evening ed.). Kansas. Associated Press. p. 1.
^ ^a ^b "Air crash tragedy mounts in Wichita". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 17, 1965. p. 1.
^ Rosenthal, Harry; McKnight, Joe (January 18, 1965). "Cleanup starts for Wichita in plane tragedy". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 1.
^ ^a ^b Grawe, Jim. "Wichita Airplane Crash 1965". Kansapedia. Kansapedia. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
^ Brooks, Drew (May 23, 2014). "Survivors mark 20-year anniversary of Pope Air Force Base Green Ramp crash". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved January 6, 2017.^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b ^c "Jet Rams Homes; 29 Die". Chicago Tribune. No. 17. UPI. January 17, 1965. p. 1, sec. 1. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Accident Description (US Air Force 57-1442)". Aviation Safety Network. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Jet Tanker crashes in Wichita". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 16, 1965. p. 1.
^ Tanner, Beccy. "Hellish day recalled 50 years after Piatt Street plane crash". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
^ "Piatt Memorial Park". Wichita.gov. City of Wichita Park & Recreation. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
^ "Piatt Plane Crash Memorial - Wichita, Kansas". SI Memorials. SI Memorials. Retrieved 6 January 2017.

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1965 (1965)

Jan 4

Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20

Jan 16

USAF KC-135 Wichita crash

Feb 6

LAN-Chile Flight 107

Feb 8

Eastern Air Lines Flight 663

Mar 7

Aeroflot Flight 542

Mar 8

Aeroflot Flight 513

Apr 14

British United Airways Flight 1030X

May 5

Iberia Flight 401

May 20

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705

Jun 28

Pan Am Flight 843

Jul 1

Continental Airlines Flight 12

Jul 6

Little Baldon Hastings crash

Jul 8

Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21

Jul 10

Skyways Coach-Air Avro 748

Jul 20

Cambrian Airways Liverpool crash

Jul 23

Allegheny Airlines Flight 604

Aug 16

United Air Lines Flight 389

Aug 24

Hong Kong US Marines KC-130F Crash

Sep 17

Pan Am Flight 292

Sep 19

Gujarat Beechcraft incident

Oct 20

Philippine Air Lines Flight 741

Nov 2

1965 Argentine Air Force C-54 disappearance

Nov 8

American Airlines Flight 383

Nov 11

United Air Lines Flight 227

Nov 11

Aeroflot Flight 99

Dec 4

Carmel mid-air collision

Dec 5

Philippine Sea A-4 incident

1964 ◄ ► 1966

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1960s
1960	National Airlines Flight 2511 Capital Airlines Flight 20 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698 World Airways Flight 830 Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 Cal Poly football team New York mid-air collision
1961	Goldsboro B-52 American Airlines Flight 1502 Yuba City B-52 United Air Lines Flight 859 Alaska Airlines Flight 779 TWA Flight 529 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4
1962	American Airlines Flight 1 Continental Airlines Flight 11 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 United Air Lines Flight 297 Eastern Air Lines Flight 512
1963	Elephant Mountain B-52 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 Camden PA-24 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 Pan Am Flight 214
1964	Savage Mountain B-52 Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 Paradise Airlines Flight 901A Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 United Air Lines Flight 823 Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 Flying Tiger Line Flight 282
1965	USAF KC-135 Wichita Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 Pan Am Flight 843 Continental Airlines Flight 12 Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 United Air Lines Flight 389 American Airlines Flight 383 United Air Lines Flight 227 Carmel mid-air (Eastern 853, TWA 42)
1966	NASA T-38 American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D Braniff International Airways Flight 250 West Coast Airlines Flight 956
1967	Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 TWA Flight 553 West Coast Airlines Flight 720 Delta Air Lines Flight 9877 Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 Lake Erie skydiving disaster TWA Flight 159 X-15 Flight 3-65-97 TWA Flight 128
1968	Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 Braniff International Airways Flight 352 Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 Northeast Airlines Flight 946 Japan Air Lines Flight 2 Pan Am Flight 281 Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 Pan Am Flight 799 North Central Airlines Flight 458 Ozark Air Lines Flight 982
1969	Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 United Air Lines Flight 266 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 Prinair Flight 277 Delta Air Lines Flight 821 TWA Flight 5787 Newton Cessna 172 crash Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411
This list is incomplete.