ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98059
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| Date: | Thursday 17 August 1944 |
| Time: | 22:30 |
| Type: |  Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress |
| Owner/operator: | United States Army Air Force (USAAF) |
| Registration: | 42-37863 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 9 mi NE of Pierre AAB, Pierre, SD -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
Crashed.
Pierre, Aug. 18-(AP)-Six crew members of a B-17 army bomber from the Rapid City army air base were killed at 10:30 PM last night when the plane crashed about six miles north of the Pierre army air field. Three others of the crew bailed out, it was reported, and were hospitalized here. Witnesses said the bomber was burning before it crashed and that wreckage was strewn over an area of approximately four city blocks. W. R. McGibney, famer living near the scene, said the ship "looked like a ball of fire coming straight for the house. I thought it was going to hit the house but it turned and crashed a few seconds later. The flames were so intense it lighted up our whole house like daylight." A weed fire ignited by the plane was extinguished after burning over a small area, McGibney said. Bodies of the six men who died in the crash were thrown clear of the plane, it was reported. The public relations officer at the RCAAB [Rapid City Airforce Base] said late today that all the dead had been identified and that next of kin had been notified. A board of qualified officers has been appointed to investigate the crash. The dead, and the next of kin, are: 2nd Lt. Arnold P. Sparmann, [pilot,] whose wife, Marguerite lives at 130 Kansas City St., here, and whose mother lives at Secaucus, N.J. 2nd Lt. Bob M. Biggers, Jr. whose wife, Clarice, lives at the Rushmore Hotel, and whose father's address is Hampton, Ark. 2nd Lt. John F. Hanzes, mother, Mrs. Anna Hanzes, Uniontown Pa. 2nd Lt. Arthur M. Lippman, [bombardier,] wife, Mrs. Fay Lippman, Brookline, Mass. Sgt. Samuel J. Lomazzo, father Patsy Lomazzo, Norwalk, Conn. Cpl Frederick ["Fritz"] J. Bruening, father John W. Bruening, Peru, Ill. The three who parachuted to safety are: Cpl. Harry F. Mrock, Detroit; Cpl. Sidney Nylaan, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Cpl. George D. Honey, Sonoma, Calif.
Sources:
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134523427/samuel-joseph-lomazzo#view-photo=194040598
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134523427/samuel-joseph-lomazzo#view-photo=194040602
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Dec-2020 07:31 | caralippman | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
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