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| Date: | Tuesday 12 November 1974 |
| Time: | 18:04 |
| Type: |  General Dynamics F-111A |
| Owner/operator: | 428th TFSqn /474th TFWg USAF |
| Registration: | 67-0055 |
| MSN: | A1-100 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 8 nmiles north-west of Kingston, Utah -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Nellis AFB, Nevada |
| Nellis AFB, Nevada | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Crashed after mid-air collision with an Aero Commander 690A (N40MP) on November 12, 1974 at 18:04 MST 180 NM Northeast of Nellis AFB. Wreckage pattern approx. 2 NM long, impacted 8 NM NW of Kingston Utah.
Sigma flight (2 x F-111A of 428th TFS) were joining KC-135A (tail number 58-110 callsign Toft 51 from Grand Forks 319th BW). 67-055's call sign was "Sigma 71". The other F-111A involved, 66-058 call sign "Sigma 72", returned to Nellis AFB unscathed.
Both crew of 67-0055 - Captain Peter Granger (33) of Fargo, ND and Captain Paul B. Sperry (27) of Palo Alto, Calif. - ejected safely
The Aero Commander N40MP (from Butte, Montana), belonging to Montana Power Company, also crashed, killing the pilot [later named as Rocco B. Fiori, 34, of Butte, Montana].
The KC-135 observed the collision and fireball from 22 nm away. According to the NTSB report, the F-111A, being the faster aircraft, collided with the Aero Commander 690A at a very shallow angle (approx 0-10 degrees) when it misidentified the Aero Commander 690A as being the KC-135 tanker they were to rendezvous with. The F-111A overtook N40MP from the rear.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the F-111A pilot's misidentification of the Turbo Commander as a refueling tanker with which he intended to rendezvous.
Contributing to the misidentification was his failure to use prescribed procedures and techniques during rendezvous with a tanker aircraft for refueling.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://web.archive.org/web/20170921070650/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/Aircraft_by_Type/F_111/F-111.htm
http://www.f-111.net/t_no_A.htm
http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR75-12.pdf
www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1967.html
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=14047
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Jan-2013 16:09 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 30-Jan-2013 16:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 24-Feb-2020 18:04 | Xindel XL | Updated [Operator, Location, Operator, ] |
| 10-Mar-2020 19:58 | harro | Updated [Destination airport, Narrative, ] |
| 10-Mar-2020 20:00 | harro | Updated [Source, Accident report, ] |
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