Accident description
Last updated: 24 May 2013
| Status: | |
| Date: | 03 JUN 1971 |
| Type: | Boeing KC-135Q Stratotanker |
| Operator: | United States Air Force - USAF |
| Registration: | 58-0039 |
| C/n / msn: | 17784/254 |
| First flight: | 1959-04-07 (12 years 2 months) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5406 |
| Engines: | 4 Pratt & Whitney J57-P/F-59W |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Centenera (Spain)
 |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Madrid-Torrejón AFB (TOJ/LETO), Spain |
| Madrid-Torrejón AFB (TOJ/LETO), Spain |
Crashed following in-flight explosion of the nr. 1 main fuel tank. Chafing of boost pump wires in conduits was determined to be as a possible ignition source.
The tanker plane was on its way back from a routine refuelling mission over the Mediterranean and crashed at the village of Centenera, 35 km NE of Madrid-Torrejón AFB (TOJ).
Events:
Sources:
» NTSB/AAR-00/03
» Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker (Aerofax Series) / Robert S Hopkins, III
» The Telegraph - Jun 4, 1971
Photos
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 Madrid-Torrejón AFB to Madrid-Torrejón AFB as the crow flies is NAN km (NAN miles).
Distance from Madrid-Torrejón AFB to Madrid-Torrejón AFB as the crow flies is NAN km (NAN miles).
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.
