ASN Aircraft accident Boeing RC-135T Rivet Dandy 55-3121 Valdez Municipal Airport, AK (VDZ)
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Status:
Date:Monday 25 February 1985
Type:Silhouette image of generic R135 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Boeing RC-135T Rivet Dandy
Operator:United States Air Force - USAF
Registration: 55-3121
MSN: 17237/4
First flight: 1957-03-07 (28 years)
Total airframe hrs:15072
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-102
Crew:Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location:near Valdez Municipal Airport, AK (VDZ) (   United States of America)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK (EIL/PAEI), United States of America
Destination airport:Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK (EIL/PAEI), United States of America
Narrative:
Weather at Valdez Municipal Airport, AK (VDZ) was very poor. Boeing RC-135T, call sign Mary 24, approached the airport for some practice MLS approaches. The first two approaches were uneventful. The third approach was commenced some four miles (6,4 km) north of the prescribed MLS inbound course. The crew descended until the airplane flew into the side of a mountain. The wreckage was not located until August 2, 1985.
The crew had used an approach procedure certified for de Havilland Canada DHC-7, a STOL airplane. The glide slope and missed approach for this airplane are significantly steeper than those for an RC-135 jet.

Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain

Sources:
» ExploreNorth
» Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker (Aerofax Series) / Robert S Hopkins, III


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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.
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