Tag Archives: Aircraft Accident

6 September 1952

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
de Havilland DH.110 WG236
de Havilland DH.110 WG236. (U.S. Naval Aviation News)

6 September 1952: At the Farnborough Air Show, an annual event held at the Royal Aircraft Establishment Farnborough, Hampshire, England, de Havilland test pilot John Douglas Derry, D.F.C., with flight test observer Anthony Max (“Tony”) Richards, put the prototype DH.110, WG236, into a supersonic dive from 40,000 feet (12,182 meters), pulling out just short of the airfield and the estimated 120,000 spectators.

John Douglas Derry, D.F.C. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
Anthony Max Richards (Flight)

Derry then made a high-speed, low-level circuit of the airfield, and as he straightened out, the airplane broke apart and crashed onto Observation Hill.

Both Derry and Richards were killed, as were 29 spectators. Another 63 were injured.

Flight reported:

      This melancholy affair has, inevitably, received wide publicity, and several inaccurate reports have been printed. A member of the staff of Flight who witnessed the accident describes it as follows: “Two small white puffs of cloud appeared in a clear patch of sky north of the airfield, presumably showing where the D.H.110 had exceeded Mach 1 in its dive. After about a minute there were two loud reports in split-second succession. The lower part of the dive must have been near-sonic, for the aircraft appeared overhead—at about 1,000–1,500ft—at almost the same instant; the supersonic ‘bangs’ had scarcely overtaken the 110, although they had evidently been produced at least 12 miles away. The aircraft flew out of sight to turn and line-up for a low flight above the main runway, which it made from the south-west at a speed estimated as 600–650 m.p.h. It then turned left into the circuit and flew back over the northern boundary at about 400ft. The break-up appeared to begin just before a steep 90-degree turn towards the enclosures. Small fragments came away from the 110, which gained height as the two Avons and the nose became detached from the airframe. One engine fell on a crowded slope behind the caravan parks, causing most of the casualties; the other landed harmlessly farther south. The nose, following the same path as the power-units, hit the grass just in front of the packed enclosure parallel with the runway and broke up. A number of small pieces landed on the runway itself while the airframe, minus tail-unit, nose and engines, dropped comparatively gently into the north-west corner of the airfield.”

—FLIGHT and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER, No. 2277, Vol. LXII. Friday, 12 September 1952, at Page 344, Column 1

This image shows the de Havilland DH-110 breaking up in flight. One of the engines has fallen free and is trailing smoke. (Unattributed)
This image shows the de Havilland DH.110 breaking up in flight. One of the engines has fallen free and is trailing smoke. (Unattributed)

Film taken from the ground showed that as the airplane came level, the starboard outboard wing separated, followed by the port outboard wing. The aircraft pitched violently upward with an acceleration of more than 12 Gs, and the cockpit, engines and tail then disintegrated.

The DH-110’s swept wings placed the ailerons well aft of the airplane’s center of gravity. When the pilot began his bank to the right, away from the crowd, he also began to climb. This caused the wing outer panels to twist, resulting in unexpected stresses. The right wing failed in torsion. The resulting roll then caused the left wing to fail.

The flight crew was not faulted.

Changes were made in the location of the spectators and maneuvering aircraft at the airshow from that time forward.

John Derry's crash, as his D,H,plane hits the ground after breaking the sound barrier in flight, Farnborough air display, 1952 (Photo by Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
The de Havilland DH.110 prototype impact at RAE Farnborough, 6 September 1952. This photograph was taken by a spectator, Herbert Orr. (Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
de Havilland DH.110 crash site. (Unattributed)
de Havilland DH.110 crash site. (Unattributed)
The scene of the 1952 Farnborough Air Show disaster. (Coventry Telegraph)
The scene of the 1952 Farnborough Air Show disaster. (Coventry Telegraph)

The de Havilland DH.110 was a prototype all-weather interceptor intended for operation by the Fleet Air Arm from the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers. It was a two-place, twin-engine swept-wing fighter capable of supersonic speed. WG236 was the first prototype, which made its first flight the previous year, 26 September 1951. At the time of the accident WG236 had flown approximately 125 hours. The second prototype, WG240, had been scheduled to fly the demonstration for the air show, but had to be replaced for maintenance reasons.

The DH.110 used the twin-tailboom configuration of de Havilland’s DH.100 Vampire and DH.112 Venom fighters, but the wings were swept to 45°.

WG236 was 51 feet, 8 inches (15.748 meters) long with a wingspan of 51 feet, 0 inches (15.545 meters) and height of approximately 11 feet (3.35 meters). Its maximum takeoff weight was 35,000 pounds (15,876 kilograms).

WG236 was powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon RA.3 engines The RA.3 was a single-spool axial-flow turbojet with a 12-stage compressor section and single-stage turbine. It was rated at 6,500-pounds-thrust (28.91 kilonewtons). The second prototype used the more powerful RA.7.

The DH.110 had a maximum speed of 610 knots (0.924 Mach) at Sea Level, and 536 knots (0.936 Mach) at 40,000 feet (12,182 meters).

Planned armament for the production fighter was four 30 millimeter ADEN cannon.

De Havilland DH.110 WG236. (BAE Systems)

Both airmen were posthumously awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air.

CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD

St. James’s Palace. S.W. 1

12th September, 1952

     The QUEEN has been graciously pleased to give orders for the publication of the names of the persons shown below as having received an expression of Commendation for valuable service in the air:—

QUEEN’S COMMENDATIONS FOR VALUABLE SERVICE IN THE AIR.

John Douglas Derry, D.F.C. (deceased), Test Pilot, de Havilland Aircraft Company, Ltd.

Anthony Max Richards (deceased), Flight Test Observer, de Havilland Aircraft Company, Ltd.

For services when testing an experimental aircraft.

John Douglas Derry was born 5 December 1921 at Cairo, Egypt. He was one of four children of Douglas Erith Derry, M.C., M.B., Ch.B., Professor of Anatomy at the Government Medical School there, and Margaret G. Ramsay Derry.

Derry was educated at the Dragon School, a preparatory school for boys in Oxford, England, and at Charterhouse, in Surrey. In 1939, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force as an aerial gunner and radio operator. He was assigned as a crewman on Lockheed Hudson bombers with Coastal Command, before being sent to Canada for pilot training in 1943. On his return to England he was “seconded” to the Air Transport Auxiliary.

Hawker Typhoon

Derry returned to combat operations in October 1944, flying Hawker Typhoons on close air support missions with No. 182 Squadron. Shortly after, he was transferred to No. 181 Squadron as a flight commander. In March 1945, Derry returned to No. 182 as the squadron’s commanding officer.

Distinguished Flying Cross (RAF Museum)

On 29 June 1945, Acting Squadron Leader Derry was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His citation, published in The London Gazette, reads:

This officer has participated in a large number of sorties as air gunner and later pilot. He has at all times displayed great determination and skill and his courage has been of the highest order. In April 1945, he led his squadron in an attack against enemy gun positions. Despite intense opposition the attack was pressed home with great accuracy. The success of this operation was due in no small measure to Squadron Leader Derry’s gallant and skillful leadership. This officer has set a fine example to all.

—Fourth Supplement to The London Gazette of Tuesday, the 26th of JUNE, 1945, Numb. 37154, at Page 3405, Column 1.

Bronzen Leeuw

Her Majesty, Wilhelmina, The Queen of The Netherlands, awarded Acting Squadron Leader Derry the Bronzen Leeuw (Bronze Lion).

After No. 182 Squadron was disbanded 30 September 1945, Squadron Leader Derry was appointed commanding officer of the Day Fighter Leader School at the Central Flying School, flying the Hawker Tempest.

After being released from service, Derry became an experimental and production test pilot for Vickers Supermarine. In October 1947, he moved to de Havilland.

On 12 April 1948, Derry flew a de Havilland DH.108 to set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed over a Closed Circuit of 100 Kilometers without Payload, averaging 974.026 kilometers per hour (605.232 miles per hour).¹ On 6 September 1948, Derry exceeded the speed of sound in the de Havilland DH.108. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Club. The Royal Automobile Society awarded Derry The Segrave Trophy, “for the most outstanding demonstration of transportation by land, air or water: The Spirit of Adventure.”

The Segrave Trophy of the Royal Automobile Society. (RAS)

     More than one member of Flight‘s staff was proud to know John Derry—a fine-looking young man and an inspiring personality—and on occasions to talk of flying and testing with him. We recall his cheerful unassuming manner, his completely straightforward and natural approach to any topic, and his firm opinion upon matters which he himself had studied and investigated. He was undoubtedly one of what we now call the new generation of test pilots, men who must be able to back their flying experience and skill as pilots with a full technical understanding.

—FLIGHT and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER, No. 2277, Vol. LXII. Friday, 12 September 1952, at Page 344, Column 2

John Derry was married with two children.

“I am never happier than when I am in the air.”

—Squadron Leader John Douglas Derry, D.F.C.

John Douglas Derry, D.F.C.

¹ FAI Record File Number 8877

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

31 August 1986

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Piper PA-28-181 Archer II, D-EHLY, serial number 28-7790224. This is the same type as the airplane involved in the 1986 Cerritos Mid-Air Collision. (Huhu Uet/Wikimedia Commons)

31 August 1986: At approximately 11:41 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time, William Kenneth Kramer departed Zamperini Field (TOA) at Torrance, California, flying a Piper PA-28-181 Archer II, FAA registration N4891F.

The PA-28-181 was a single-engine, four-place, light airplane with fixed tricycle landing gear, built by the Piper Aircraft Corporation in 1976. It carried the manufacturer’s serial number 77-90070. The airplane was owned by William Kramer.

In addition to the pilot, there were two passengers on board, Kathleen O’Connell Kramer, Kramer’s wife of 30 years, and their 26-year-old daughter, Caroline. The family’s destination was Big Bear City Airport (L35), high in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California.

Photocopied image of a Los Angeles Terminal Control Area (TCA) chart, circa 1986, from NTSB report.
Image of a recent Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) airspace chart. (Los Angeles ARTCC)
Satellite image of the area illustrated on the TCA charts, above. (Imagery © 2018 Landsat)

Three major airports in the immediate area reported that the sky was clear and visibility was 14–15 miles (22.5–24.1 kilometers).

As Kramer climbed toward his cruise altitude, he deviated from the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) Flight Plan which he had filed with the nearby Hawthorne Flight Service Station prior to takeoff. Without authorization from Air Traffic Control, the pilot entered a segment of the Los Angeles Terminal Control Area.

Aeromexico’s Douglas DC-9-32 XA-JED, Hermosillo. (Photograph © Bob Garrard, used with permission.)

Aeroméxico Flight 498 was a regularly-scheduled flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles, with intermediate stops at Guadalajara, Loreto and Tijuana. The airliner was a 1969 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, serial number 47356, owned by Aeronaves de México S.A., and registered in Estados Unidos Mexicanos (Mexico) as XA-JED. Aeroméxico had named it Hermosillo.

The pilot in command of the airliner was Captain Antonio Valdez-Prom, with First Officer Jose Hector Valencia. There were four flight attendants and 58 passengers. The DC-9 was descending from 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) for an instrument approach and landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Flight 498 was descending in northwesterly direction, while the Archer was climbing, eastbound.

At 11:52:09 a.m., as the DC-9 descended through an altitude of approximately 6,660 feet (2,030 meters),¹ the Piper collided with the left side of the DC-9’s vertical fin, just below the horizontal stabilizer. The angle of collision was approximately 90°. The airliner’s entire horizontal stabilizer and rudder were torn from the aircraft.

All three persons aboard the light airplane were decapitated.² The Archer was heavily damaged, and with no one left alive to fly it, crashed on the playground of Cerritos Elementary School.

Crash site of Piper Archer II N4891F, photographed 1 September 1986. (Mike Sergieff/Herald-Examiner Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library)
Piper Archer PA-28-121 N4891F wreckage, 31 August 1981. (Thomas Kelsey, Los Angeles Times)
Piper Archer PA-28-181 N4891F wreckage at Cerritos Elementary School, 31 August 1986. (Thomas Kelsey, Los Angeles Times)

The DC-9’s cockpit voice recorder picked up Captain Valdez-Prom’s exclamation, “Oh [deleted], this can’t be!”

The Aeroméxico pilots had no way to control their damaged DC-9. It rolled inverted and crashed into a residential neighborhood in Cerritos, California.

Aeroméxico Flight 498 inverted after mid-air collision over Cerritos, California, 31 August 1986. (NTSB)

All 64 persons on the DC-9, and another 15 on the ground, were killed. Eight persons on the ground were injured. Five homes were destroyed and another seven were damaged.

Scene of the crash of the Aeromexico Flight 498, 31 August 1968. (Joe Kennedy, Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters at scene of Aeroméxico Flight 498 crash, 31 August 1986. (Paul Chinn/Herald-Examiner Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library)

William Kenneth Kramer held a Federal Aviation Administration Airman’s Certificate with Private Pilot privileges and an Airplane–Single Engine Land rating. His medical certificate required that he wear corrective lenses while flying. Kramer had been licensed by the FAA for six years, and at the time of the accident, he had flown a total of 231 hours.

Kramer had moved to the Los Angeles area from Spokane, Washington, less than a year earlier. He had made just seven flights, totaling 5.5 hours, in one of the most complex and congested Terminal Control Areas in the United States.

Captain Antonio Valdez-Prom had been employed by Aeroméxico for fourteen years. He held Airline Transport Pilot certificates in both Mexico and the United States, and was type-rated in the DC-9. He had flown a total of 10,641 hours, with 4,632 hours in the McDonnell Douglas DC-9.

First Officer Jose Hector Valencia had been employed by Aeroméxico for just over two years. He was a licensed Commercial Pilot in both Mexico and the United States. He had flown a total of 1,463 hours, with 1,245 hours in the DC-9. Like Kramer, Valencia was required to wear corrective lenses.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) placed the blame for the accident on the air traffic control system:

3.2 Probable cause

    The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the limitations of the air traffic control system to provide collision protection, through both air traffic control procedures and automated redundancy. Factors contributing to the accident were (1) the inadvertent and unauthorized entry of the PA-28 into the Los Angeles Terminal Control Area and (2) the limitations of the “see and avoid” concept to insure traffic separation under the conditions of the conflict.

—NTSB/AAR-87/07 Aircraft Accident Report—Midair Collision of Aeronaves de México, S.A., McDonnell Douglas DC-8-32, XA-JED and Piper PA-28-181, N4891F, Cerritos, California   August 31, 1986 Chapter 3 at Page 52

The devastated neighborhood in Cerritos where Aeroméxico Flight 498 crashed, 31 August 1986. (Paul Chinn/Herald-Examiner Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library)

♦♦♦ OPINION ♦♦♦

It is the opinion of This Day in Aviation that the Probable Cause of this accident as determined by the National Transportation Safety Board was a political statement. As far back as 1956, with the mid-air collision of a United Air Lines Douglas DC-7 and a Trans World Airlines Lockheed Super Constellation over the Grand Canyon of Arizona, the Civil Aeronautics Board and its successor, the NTSB, had repeatedly placed emphasis on the role of air traffic control (or, the lack thereof) in a number of mid-air collisions, and had been recommending numerous improvements.

TDiA believes that these recommendations were valid.

However, coming to a political conclusion hides the actual cause of the accident. When investigators look for a cause, they evaluate each individual factor. That single factor, which, if it had not occurred, results in no accident taking place—all other factors being the same—is the cause.

In this case, the pilot of the light airplane had filed a Visual Flight Rules flight plan that would have taken him initially to the southwest from Torrance Airport toward Long Beach Airport, and around the controlled airspace of Los Angeles International Airport. If he had followed his planned route no collision would have occurred. However, he flew directly east and as he climbed, he entered the Los Angeles TCA without ATC clearance. This was a significant violation of FAA regulations.

If the crew of Aeroméxico Flight 498 had performed in exactly the same way, flew the same path and descent, but the Piper Archer had remained clear of the TCA as required, there would have been no collision.

If air traffic controllers involved with the airliner and the private airplane had performed in exactly the same way as they had, but the Archer had not violated the TCA, there would have been no collision.

The inescapable conclusion is that William Kramer, by flying into the Los Angeles Terminal Control Area, caused the mid-air collision between his airplane and the Aeroméxico DC-9.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The National Transportation Safety Board reassembled the wreckage of the Piper Archer at Long Beach Airport to compare to damage of the DC-9’s horizontal stabilizer. The relative position of the aircraft in this 3 September 1986 photograph is not representative of the actual collision. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac via Kathryn’s Report)

¹ The Piper Archer’s altimeter was recovered and examined. Although the three pointers were missing, traces of paint from the pointers, called “slap marks,” were found on the dial face at positions corresponding to an altitude of 6,560 feet (1,999 meters).

² On 1 September 1986, The New York Times reported, “Bill Gold, a spokesman for the coroner’s office, said an autopsy showed that the pilot suffered the heart attack ‘within minutes before the fatal injuries.’ Mr. Gold said that the cause of death was ‘multiple traumatic injuries received in the crash.’ He said in an interview tonight that it had not been determined whether the heart attack led to the collision. ‘We can’t say whether it caused the collision,’ he said, ‘How severe it was we can’t say because he lived long enough to get the fatal injuries.’ “

In its 2 September 1986 edition, the Los Angeles Times reported, “An autopsy late Monday on the body of the man believed to be the pilot of the archer showed that he had suffered a heart attack just before the collision, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.”

In its accident report, the NTSB quotes from the autopsy report, ” ‘. . . complete proximal occlusion of the right coronary artery.’ ” The NTSB further stated, “The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) also reviewed the autopsy protocol and the heart of the pilot of the Piper. With regard to their examination of the pilot’s heart, the AFIP pathologists found severe coronary atheriosclerosis but ‘no necrosis or other evidence of acute myocardial infarction identified.’ “

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

31 August 1955

Aviation, , , , , , , , ,
Lockheed NF-94B (All The World’s Aircraft)

31 August 1955: At 7:42 a.m., Lockheed engineering test pilot Stanley Alexander Beltz departed Air Force Plant 42, at Palmdale, in the high desert of southern California, to perform a series of stall tests of a highly-modified NF-94B interceptor. The test program required three stalls in a “clean” configuration, and three “dirty”: with the landing gear extended and flaps lowered.

The clean stall tests went well. Then, at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), Beltz lowered the landing gear and flaps. Pushing the right rudder pedal put the airplane into a stall. Beltz made a radio call, “Here she goes!”

The Los Angeles Times reported:

Lockheed Test Pilot Dies in Crash of Jet

     Stanley A. Beltz, 44, Lockheed engineering test pilot, was killed yesterday when his F-94B jet crashed into open desert northeast of Lancaster after the plane narrowly missed homes in the area.

     Beltz was acclaimed a hero by residents who said he might have jumped, but apparently elected to stay with his disabled plane until he had safely cleared houses in the sparsely settled mile-long district between the Lancaster Fairgrounds and the scene of the crash.

     The veteran flier died in the flaming wreckage of his two-place interceptor which had been modified for special Air Force test work, probably launching studies on air-to-air missiles.

     Beltz took off from Palmdale at 7:42 a.m. and the jet smashed to earth just 15 minutes later. The pilot rode the ship to his death without triggering his ejection seat for an emergency parachute jump.

Cause Not Determined

“Stanley A. Beltz, 44, test pilot, died yesterday in jet crash.” (Los Angeles Times)

     Cause of the crash could not be determined immediately, although it is believed the Lockheed pilot was being followed by a chase plane at the time.

     There was no disclosure as to the altitude of the F-94B when the emergency occurred nor any of the radio transmissions Beltz may have made before the crash.

     A Lockheed pilot since 1943, Beltz had flown almost every type of ship produced by the company since that time with the exception of the F-90, the F-104 and the vertical riser.

     He was known particularly for his testing of multiengine aircraft built by Lockheed, including the double-deck Constitution, the P2V Navy patrol bomber and the C-130 military turbo-prop transport.

Former Instructor

     Before he joined the Burbank company he was a wartime flight instructor at War Eagle Field, Lancaster, and instrument flight instructor with Western Air Lines and a test pilot for the Glenn L. Martin Co. at Omaha.

     He leaves a sister, Mrs. Victor Sabo of North Hollywood, and a brother, Dr. Daniel Beltz, of Inglewood. His former wife, Mrs. Josephine Beltz, lives in Hollywood.

     The test pilot made his home at 1603 Ave. Q6, Palmdale.

—Los Angeles Times, Vol. LXXIV, Thursday, 1 September 1955, Part 2, Page 1 at  Column 5

Bomarc A

Beltz’s aircraft was a modified Lockheed F-94B interceptor, serial number 51-5502. It carried the nose cone,  radar and guidance systems of the F-99 BOMARC, ¹ a nuclear-armed surface-to-air antiaircraft guided missile. The test airplane  was redesignated NF-94B.

Stanley Alexander Beltz was born at LaCrosse, Kansas, 7 May 1911. He was the tenth child of Alexander Beltz, a farmer and immigrant from Russia, and Eva Katherine Simon Beltz, a German immigrant. He had blond hair and blue eyes, was 5 feet, 7 inches (170 centimeters) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79.4 kilograms). In 1935, he worked as a truck driver for Rocky Mountain Lines, Inc. He married Josephine Charlotte Whitney in Kansas, 8 June 1935. They would later divorce.

Josephine and Stanley A. Beltz (sonyachinn/ancestry.com)

In 1936, Beltz went to work at the Lockheed Aircraft Company as a sheet metal fabricator on the company’s twin engine Model 10 Electra. He then learned to fly. Early in World War II, he flew as a civilian flight flight instructor, training military pilots. He was hired as a test pilot for the Glenn L. Martin Co., flying the B-26 Marauder medium bomber. He later returned to Lockheed as a production test pilot. He flew the twin-engine P-38 Lightning.

Stanley A. Beltz with Lockheed P-38L Lightning. (Lockheed Martin)

In 1945, Beltz was promoted to engineering test pilot. He flew the four-engine Constellation airliner, the RV-2 Constitution transport,  and all variants of the PV-2 Neptune patrol bomber. He had flown every Lockheed aircraft except the XF-90, the XFV-1 experimental VTOL, and the F-104 Starfighter. On 23 August 1954, he made the first flight of the turboprop-powered YC-130 Hercules transport. He said, “She’s a real flying machine. I could land it crossways on the runway if I had to.”

The first prototype Lockheed YC-130 Hercules takes of from the Lockheed Air terminal, Burbank, California, 23 August 1954. (Lockheed Martin)

Bletz was a member of The Anciente and Secret Order of Quiet Birdmen, a fraternal organization of pilots.

Funeral services for Stanley Alexander Beltz were held at Steen’s Chapel, North Hollywood, Tuesday, 6 September 1955, at 10:30 a.m. His remains are interred Glen Haven Memorial Park, Sylmar, California.

(Find a Grave)

Beltz’s girlfriend, Mrs. Phyllis Ann Fratt, a ranching heiress, committed suicide ten days after his death. She had written:

Phyllis Ann Fratt (Arizona Republic)

. . . I was never anything until I fell in love with him. He was a great man. I loved and respected him with all my being and soul. There are one million things locked in my heart that tell how wonderful he was. We had so many beautiful things together. I can’t go on without him.

. . . and. . .

There’s nothing left of me—just an empty shell. My life, love, soul and being went with Stan.

—Phyllis Ann Fratt, 10 September 1955

¹ Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center

© 2022, Bryan R. Swopes

30 August 1952

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The left wing attachment points of this Northrop F-89C-30-NO Scorpion, 51-5781, failded during a fly-by at the Inaternational Aviation Exposition, Detroit, Michigan, 30 August 1952. (U.S. Air Force)
The left wing of this Northrop F-89C-30-NO Scorpion, 51-5781, failed during a fly-by at the International Aviation Exposition, Detroit, Michigan, 30 August 1952. (Wikipedia)

30 August 1952: At 4:40 p.m., a tragic accident occurred during a fly-by of two new United States Air Force Northrop F-89C Scorpion all weather interceptors at the International Aviation Exposition at Detroit, Michigan.

Two F-89Cs of the 27th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4711th Defense Wing, based at Griffis Air Force Base, Rome, New York, made a low-altitude, high speed pass in full view of 51,000 spectators, including General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, then serving his second term as Chief of Staff, United States Air Force. Suddenly, the left wing of the lead interceptor separated. The tail also broke away and the fighter crashed and exploded. In the resulting fire, the Scorpion’s 20 millimeter cannon shells detonated.

Photograph by B.J. Mullof from The Detroit Free Press, Sunday, 31 August 1952, Vol.122, No. 118, Page 1, Columns 1–3.

A local newspaper reported:

The crash occurred 4:40 p.m., toward the end of the day’s show.

     Adams and Richter were swooping down over the field in a “fly-by,” or speed run, Adams flying to one side and slightly to the rear of Recher.

     Suddenly, Adams’ plane swerved to the right. A piece was seen to break off, then an instant later the right wing tore off.

     As the pilot struggled to gain altitude, the left wing and tail section ripped off, and the hurtling fuselage continued across the field. It crashed between the railroad tracks and the Willow Run Expressway.

     It ripped up tracks, fences and telephone lines. Heat from the burning wreck turned the rails cherry red.

     Two passenger trains, eastbound and westbound, screeched to a halt to avoid piling into the wreckage. Railroad service was delayed an hour until tracks were repaired. . .

     AIR FORCE OFFICIALS theorized that the crash was probably caused by turbulent air near the ground added to the stress put on the plane by the maneuver, plus the added thrust of the afterburners, devices which give added “push” to the jet.

Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Air Force chief of staff, said, “This is one of the strongest airplanes that has ever been built, but there are some things you just can’t build against.”

—The Detroit Free Press, Sunday, 31 August 1952, Vol.122, No. 118, Page 4, Columns 2–3

Major Donald E. Adams, a fighter ace who had won the Silver Star in Korea just months earlier, was killed, along with Captain Edward F. Kelly, Jr., the radar intercept officer. Five people on the ground were injured by falling wreckage.

The second F-89 was flown by Major John Recher and Captain Thomas Myslicki. They landed immediately at Selfridge Air Force Base.

Northrop F-89 Scorpion. (Military Factory)

This was not the first wing failure in an F-89C, nor the last. The Air Force grounded the Scorpions and ordered Northrop to return the airplanes to the factory or to modification centers using the company’s pilots. Northrop engineers began an intensive investigation to discover the cause of these catastrophic failures.

Northrop F-89C-1-NO and F-89C-5-NO Scorpions at the Northrop Field, Hawthorne, California, circa 1952. (Jet Pilot Overseas)

When designing the airplane, engineers tried to use materials that provided the greatest strength at the lightest weight. A new aluminum alloy had been used for the wing attachment fittings. This material had properties that weren’t understood at the time, but when subjected to certain types of dynamic loads, it could fatigue and become brittle rapidly. It was also very sensitive to surface imperfections, such as scratches or machining marks, that could rapidly propagate fatigue fractures.

Northrop YF-89 Scorpion 46-679, circa 1949. (Military Factory)

A second problem was that, under certain conditions, the Scorpion’s wings could enter a sequence of rapidly increasing oscillations, actually twisting the wing. This occurred so quickly that a pilot was not likely to see it happening. The twisting motion focused on the wing attachment points, and resulted in a catastrophic failure.

Northrop redesigned the wing to reduce the oscillation, and replaced the aluminum attachment fittings with new ones made of forged steel.

The F-89 was returned to service and became a very reliable airplane.

Flight crew (pilot, radar intercept officer) of a Northrop F-89C Scorpion. Their helmets are decorated with an image of a scorpion and the Northrop corporate logo. (Jet Pilot Overseas)

Major Adams’ Scorpion, Northrop F-89C-30-NO 51-5781, was a two-place, twin-engine, all weather interceptor, designed as a replacement for the World War II-era Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter. It was operated by a pilot and a radar intercept operator. The F-89C was 53 feet, 5 inches (16.281 meters) long with a wingspan of 56 feet, 0 inches (17.069 meters) and overall height of 17 feet, 6 inches (5.334 meters). The wings’ leading edges were swept aft 5° 8′. There was 1° dihedral, and the angle of incidence was 1° 30′. There was no twist. The total wing area was 638.0 square feet (59.27 square meters). The F-89C had an empty weight was 24,958 pounds (11,321 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 37,619 pounds (17,064 kilograms).

Northrop F-89C-30-NO Scorpion 51-5785, sister ship of Major Adams’ interceptor.

The F-89C was powered by two Allison J35-A-21B or J35-A-33A afterburning turbojet engines. The J35 was a single-spool, axial-flow turbojet with an 11-stage compressor section, 8 combustion chambers, and single-stage turbine. The J35-A-33 had a maximum continuous power rating of 4,800 pounds of thrust (21.35 kilonewtons) at 7,650 rpm. Its military power rating was 5,400 pounds of thrust (24.02 kilonewtons) at 8,000 r.p.m. (30-minute limit), and it produced a maximum 6,950 pounds (30.92 kilonewtons) at 8,000 r.p.m. with afterburner (5-minute limit). The J35-A-33A was 3 feet, 1 inch (0.940 meters) in diameter, 16 feet, 3.5 inches (4.953 meters) long, and weighed 2,725 pounds (1,236 kilograms).

It had a maximum speed of 547 knots (629 miles per hour/1,013 kilometers per hour) at 10,550 feet (3,216 meters). It could climb to 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) in 8.4 minutes, and 50,000 feet (15,240) in 17.5 minutes. The service ceiling was 51,550 feet (15,712 meters) and combat radius 297 nautical miles (342 statute miles/550 kilometers). The maximum ferry range was 768 nautical miles (884 statute miles (1,422 kilometers).

An Air Force master sergeant loading 20mm cannon shells for an F-89’s six M24A-1 20 mm guns. (LIFE Magazine/Jet Pilot Overseas)

The interceptor was armed with six  M24A-1 20 mm autocannon in the nose, with 200 rounds of ammunition per gun.

Northrop Corporation built 1,050 F-89 Scorpions. 164 of these were F-89Cs. Variants produced after the F-89C deleted the six cannon in the nose and used aerial rockets instead. Scorpions served the Air Force and Air National Guard in the air defense role until 1969.

Northrop F-89C-30-NO Scorpion 51-5795. (Military Factory)
Major Donald E. Adams, United States Air Force. (Imperial War Museum)

Donald Earl Adams was born 23 February 1921 at Canton, New York. He was the first of two sons of Alonzo Deys Adams, a wallpaper and paint salesman, and Mae C. Hurd Adams.

Adams attended Western State Teachers College, Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was a member of the baseball, boxing and wrestling teams.

After graduating from college, Adams enlisted as a private, Enlisted Reserve Corps, at Rochester, New York, 10 October 1942. He was 6 feet, 0 inches (1.83 meters) tall and weighed 155 pounds (70 kilograms). Private Adams was appointed an Aviation Cadet, 18 November 1942.

Miss Mary Ann Lewark, 1942

On 13 February 1943, at Montgomery, Alabama, Adams married Miss Mary Ann Lewark, the 21-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn W. Lewark, and a graduate of Western Michigan College at Kalamazoo. They would have three children, Donald, Nancy and Steven.

On completion of flight training, Cadet Adams was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, Army of the United States (A.U.S.), 30 August 1943.

Lieutenant Adams was assigned as a flight instructor until July 1944, when he underwent operational training as a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot.

Second Lieutenant Adams joined the 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, at RAF Wormingford (Air Force Station 131), Hertfordshire, in February 1945. He was assigned a North American Aviation P-51D-15-NA Mustang, 44-15372, with squadron markings CY R. He named his fighter Sweet Mary, after his wife. Adams is credited with destroying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Me 410 and damaging a second Bf 109, in strafing attacks on the afternoon of 9 April 1945, and a second Bf 109 damaged, 17 April 1945. He was promoted to First Lieutenant, A.U.S., 2 May 1945.

1st Lieutenant Donald Earl Adams, 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, 1945. (Imperial War Museum)

On 24 August 1946, Lieutenant Adams was appointed a second lieutenant, Field Artillery, with date of rank to 30 August 1943, his original commissioning date. In November 1946, Lieutenant Adams was assigned to the 307th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, on occupation duty at Kitzigen Army Airfield in Bavaria. The 307th was one of the first units to be equipped with the Lockheed P-80A Shooting Star jet fighter. On 1 May 1947, Lieutenant Adams was transferred to the Air Corps.

Returning to the United States in June 1947, Lieutenant Adams was assigned to the 62nd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, at Selfridge Air Force Base, near Mount Clemens, Michigan. The squadron flew P-80s and F-86 Sabres.

In October 1951, Major Adams joined the 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Group, at Suwon Air Base (K-13), Republic of South Korea, flying the North American Aviation F-86 Sabre.

Silver Star

On 3 May 1952, Adams was leading a flight of six Sabres. He and his flight attacked a group of twenty Chinese MiG 15s. During the battle, he shot down the enemy flight leader and then the deputy flight leader and damaged three more enemy fighters, completely breaking up the enemy flight. He was awarded the Silver Star.

While flying the the 16th, Major Adams was credited with destroying 6½ enemy aircraft in aerial combat, and damaging another 3½. On his twentieth mission, he had just shot down a MiG 15 when he was attacked by four more. The enemy fighters chased Adams out over the Yellow Sea before he could break away. By this time, he was 250 miles (402 kilometers) from base with fuel remaining for just 100 miles (161 kilometers). He said, “I climbed to 45,000 feet [13,716 meters], shut of the engine and glided 150 miles [241 kilometers] before starting up again.”

Adams flew 100 combat missions during the Korean War. He returned to the United States 16 June 1952, and in July, was assigned to the 27th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4711th Defense Wing, Air Defense Command, at Griffis Air Force Base.

In addition to the Silver Star, Major Adams had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters (seven awards), the Presidential Unit Citation with one oak leaf cluster (two awards), the American Campaign Medal, European African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three service stars, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with three service stars (three campaigns), the Air Force Longevity Service Award with one oak leaf cluster (ten years service), the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, the United Nations Service Medal for Korea, and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

Major Donald Earl Adams, United States Air Force, is buried at the Clinton Grove Cemetery, Mount Clemens, Michigan.

Edward F. Kelly, Jr., was born in New York, 5 May 1918. He was the first of four children of Edward F. Kelly, a pawn broker, and Agatha M. Tynan Kelly. Captain Kelly flew 69 combat missions in the Pacific during World War II. He was a resident of New York City.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

27 August 1990

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Bell 206B JetRanger N16933, destroyed on impact, 27 August 1990. All five aboard, including famed guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, were killed. (NTSB)

27 August 1990: Four Bell JetRanger helicopters operated by Omniflight Helicopters Inc., arrived at a golf course near Elkhorn, Wisconsin, to pick up various musical artists after a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater and to return them to Chicago. They departed at 0040 hours, CDT.

The number three helicopter, Bell JetRanger III (Model 206B-3) serial number 2338, civil registration N16933, was piloted by Jeffrey William Brown of East Chicago, Indiana.

A last minute addition to the passenger complement was electric blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Another passenger, Vaughan’s brother, Jimmie Vaughan, switched places with him and boarded a different aircraft.

A third-quarter Moon rose at 12:12 a.m. CST. It was very dark, with thick, patchy fog. The temperature/dew point spread was such that the pilots had to continually wipe heavy condensation from the windshields. Another of the Omniflight pilots later said that the stars were visible when looking up, but that horizontal visibility was variable, with a maximum of about one mile.

Brown, who was not familiar with the area, took off and after about 300 yards, his helicopter banked sharply to the southeast and disappeared into the fog.

The JetRanger impacted a 150-foot hill (45 meters), 0.6 miles away (1 kilometer). It was completely destroyed. All on board were killed. In addition to Brown and Vaughan, the others were Bobby Brooks, Nigel Browne and Colin Smythe, members of Eric Clapton’s tour.

Although the weather was such that the pilot could have reasonably expected to encounter instrument meteorological conditions, Brown did not have an Instrument-Helicopter rating and the Bell 206-series helicopters were not certified for instrument flight.

Below is the accident summary from the National Transportation Safety Board:

NTSB Identification: CHI90MA244 .

The docket is stored on NTSB microfiche number 43569.
Nonscheduled 14 CFR
Accident occurred Monday, August 27, 1990 in ELKHORN, WI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/11/1992
Aircraft: BELL 206B, registration: N16933
Injuries: 5 Fatal.

NTSB investigators traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

FOUR HELICOPTERS WERE BEING USED AT NIGHT TO TRANSPORT A CONCERT GROUP FROM A GOLF COURSE AREA NEAR ELKHORN, WI, TO CHICAGO, IL. AS THE THIRD HELICOPTER (N16933) WAS DEPARTING, IT REMAINED AT A LOWER ALTITUDE THAN THE OTHERS, AND THE PILOT TURNED SOUTHEASTERLY TOWARD RISING TERRAIN. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE HELICOPTER CRASHED ON HILLY TERRAIN ABOUT 3/5 MI FROM THE TAKEOFF POINT. ELEVATION OF THE CRASH SITE WAS ABOUT 100 FT ABOVE THE GOLF COURSE AND 50 FT BELOW THE SUMMIT OF THE HILL. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION. PILOTS OF THE OTHER HELICOPTERS REPORTED VFR FLIGHT CONDITIONS WITH SOME FOG. A GROUND WITNESS NEAR THE CRASH SITE REPORTED HAZE AND GROUND FOG OF VARYING INTENSITY WITH PATCHES OF LOW CLOUDS, BUT SAID STARS COULD BE SEEN THROUGH THE FOG.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT, AND HIS FAILURE TO ATTAIN ADEQUATE ALTITUDE BEFORE FLYING OVER RISING TERRAIN AT NIGHT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS, FOG, HAZE, RISING TERRAIN, AND THE LACK OF VISUAL CUES THAT WERE AVAILABLE TO THE PILOT.

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes