ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 48380
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| Date: | Monday 11 April 1983 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Boeing B-52G-95-BW Stratofortress |
| Owner/operator: | 19th BWg USAF |
| Registration: | 58-0161 |
| MSN: | 464229 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 20 miles north of St.George, Utah -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Robins AFB, Georgia |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
While en-route to Red Flag mission, aircraft deveated from course & was re-oriented by AWACS aircraft but again needed reorientating. Some time later one hilltop was mistaken for another close by (mis-identified by the back-up Nav, who was flying for the original Nav & more expericened Nav) impacted at what was identified as a nose up attitude by investigators. On board was the assistant DCM who was taking flight to his new assignment in California. Aircrew error was the findings , primarally the new navigator. I was present at the debriefing, 19th maintance Sq. Robins AFB GA April 1983.
Crew:
Pilot/Commander:Capt Donald W Hiebert USAF killed.
Co-pilot:1st/Lt Thomas C Lennep Jr USAF killed.
Rad/Nav:Capt Jonathan M Bishop USAF killed.
Nav:1st/Lt Matthew W Cervenak USAF killed.
EWO:1st/Lt Bernard S Russell USAF killed.
Pilot/Safety Obs:Col Caroll D Gunther USAF killed.
AG:S/Sgt Major Carter USAF killed.
On a Red Flag training mission that included cell departure and join up, enroute cell formation, high altitude contingency training, low-level navigation/terrain avoidance and simulated weapons delivery/threat avoidance. Lure 75 had a maintenance delay and met with Lure 76 over Oklahoma City, where the crew reported additional problems with various navigation and flight control avionics. The problems were not considered serious and the mission continued with Lure 75 taking the lead. At 1220 and traveling about 375 mph, Lure 75 impacted the south face of 7,050 foot Square Top Mountain in Utah at Approximately the 6,800 foot level. It appears that twice during the flight the bomber deviated from its course and had to be reoriented by AWACS aircraft. The final conclusion was that the terrain avoidance (TA) radar became so degraded that it was unusable. It is unknown why the crew did not abort TA and climb to IFR altitude. The aircraft was not found for three days because of weather.
Sources:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24424255/b52_crash_utah_robins_afb_ga_41183/
https://www.lostflights.com/Military-Aviation-Archaeology/41183-USAF-Boeing-B-52G-58/i-r2D7dxF
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Nov-2008 10:15 | ASN archive | Added |
| 14-Feb-2009 23:00 | sparkyOO | Updated |
| 06-Nov-2009 01:57 | JINX | Updated |
| 12-Aug-2012 10:57 | dreamlandexpress | Updated [Narrative] |
| 10-Oct-2018 19:33 | joanied451 | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 03-Feb-2019 07:12 | wf | Updated [Location] |
| 11-Mar-2020 15:51 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Operator] |
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