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| Date: | Monday 27 August 1956 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Grumman F11F-1 Tiger |
| Owner/operator: | Grumman Aircraft |
| Registration: | 138616 |
| MSN: | 13 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Rogers Dry Lake, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Edwards AFB, CA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Crashed in desert on test flight. Civil test pilot William M. Drake (34) killed.
Sources:
San Bernardino Sun 28 August 1956, p13
Scramble (SOC 4 SEP 56)
I'm David A. Drake, son of William Martin and Doris Drake. We lived in Lancaster and at the time of the accident, I was 4. The problem occured when the aft fuel tank wouldn't drain, leaving the CG too far back. My dad tried to land the plane to help identify the cause,but the aircraft flipped in soft sand. He was a founder of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and they paid my way trough Caltech.
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Jan-2022 14:09 | TB | Added |
| 02-Jan-2022 14:21 | TB | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, ] |
| 03-Jan-2022 14:49 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 21-Dec-2024 08:24 | daviddrake@cox.net | Updated [Phase, Source, ] |
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