Date:	Monday 2 April 1951
Time:
Type:	Boeing B-29A Superfortress
Owner/operator:	19th BSqn /22nd BWg USAF
Registration:	44-61529
MSN:	11006
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 14
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	20 miles ENE of Desert Center, Riverside County, California -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	March AFB, Riverside County, CA
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Boeing B-29A-35-BN Superfortress 44-61529: Assigned to Combat Crew Training Squadron, 233rd Army Air Force Base Unit, Davis-Monthan AAF, Arizona. Departed Davis-Monthan AAF, Arizona 5 May 1945 to Topeka AAF, Kansas. Departed Topeka AAF, Kansas 23 May 1945 to Mather AAF, California.

Departed Mather AAF, California 25 May 1945 to Oahu, Hawaii, Kwajalein and Tinian, arriving 31 May 1945. Assigned to 45th Bomb Squadron, 40th Bomb Group, Tinian. Named ‘Virginia Tech' as it was paid for by $750,000-worth of War Bonds purchased by Virginia Tech alumni. First combat mission 7 June 1945. Returned to CONUS (Continental US) 8 October 1945. Re-Assigned to 19th Bomb Squadron, 22nd Bomb Wing, March AFB, California.

Written off (destroyed) 2 April 1951: While performing a routine training flight from March AFB, California, the crew encountered an unexpected situation, and all 14 occupants were forced to abandon the aircraft, which then dove into the ground and crashed in a desert area located 20 miles east-northeast of Desert Center, Riverside County, California. (One contemporary press report - see link #3 - states the the B-29 cashed into high ground in the Chuckwalla Mountains - the mountain Range coordinates are 33°35′30.084″N 115°22′32.937″W). There were no injuries, but the aircraft was destroyed.

1. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.h]tml .
2. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1951/archives/crash-of-a-boeing-b-29a-35-bn-superfortress-near-desert-center/]
3. https://vtspecialcollections.wordpress.com/2015/05/15/not-every-university-has-one-of-these/
4. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbaloc.asp?Loc=mi&offset=3050
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuckwalla_Mountains

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
18-Jun-2017 20:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
18-Jun-2017 20:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
08-Feb-2021 08:41	E.Robot	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Operator]
16-Feb-2024 14:58	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]