ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 108864
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| Date: | Monday 6 August 1945 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Lockheed P-80A Shooting Star |
| Owner/operator: | United States Army Air Force (USAAF) |
| Registration: | 44-85048 |
| MSN: | 080-1069 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Oxnard Street and Satsuma Avenue, North Hollywood, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Burbank, Los Angeles, CA |
After serving three combat tours in the Southwest Pacific as a fighter pilot flying the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Major Richard I. Bong, USAAF, was assigned as an Air Force acceptance test pilot for new Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jet fighters at the Lockheed Air Terminal, Burbank, California.
The P-80A was a brand new jet fighter, and Major Bong had flown just 4 hours and15 minutes in the type during 12 flights.
Shortly after takeoff in P-80A-1-LO 44-85048, the primary fuel pump for the turbojet engine failed. A back-up fuel pump was not turned on. Richard Bong rolled the Shooting Star upside down and bailed out but he was too low for his parachute to open and he was killed. The jet crashed at the intersection of Oxnard Street and Satsuma Avenue, North Hollywood, California, and exploded.
His death was front-page news across the country, sharing space with the first news of the bombing of Hiroshima
Sources:
1. http://www.thisdayinaviation.com/6-august-1945/
2. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_6.htm]l
3. http://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/burbank/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bong#Death
5. http://www.planecrashinfo.com/famous1940s.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 16-Nov-2014 03:03 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Registration, Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 11-Jan-2018 08:18 | angels one five | Updated [Nature, Narrative] |
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