ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98586
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| Date: | Saturday 5 August 1950 |
| Time: | c. 22:05 |
| Type: |  Boeing B-29-85-BW Superfortress |
| Owner/operator: | 99th BSqn /9th BGp USAF |
| Registration: | 44-87651 |
| MSN: | 12554 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 20 |
| Other fatalities: | 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Fairchild-Suisun AFB, Fairfield, Solano County, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Fairchild-Suisun AFB, California (SUU/KSUU) |
| Andersen AFB, Guam (UAN/PGUA) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Boeing B-29MR-85-BW Superfortress 44-87651: Delivered to the USAAF 8 June 1945. Assigned to 499th Bomb Group. Modified to B-29MR. Re-assigned to 99th Bomb Squadron, 9th Bomb Group
Written off (destroyed) on 5 August 1950: B-29, 44-87651, crashed, burned, and exploded 5 minutes after takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun AFB, California, causing fatal injuries to 12 crewmen and passengers. Eight crewmen and passengers received minor injures. Extensive damage to private and government property and injuries to both civilian and military personnel were caused by a subsequent explosion of the bomb on the aircraft.
The pilot, Captain Eugene Q. Steffes, was at the controls, with Brigadier General Robert F. Travis acting in command pilot capacity. At 22:00 PST, the aircraft was cleared for takeoff on runway 21 left, which is 8,000 feet long. The wind was 17 knots from the southwest. A full power check (2,800 ROM and 48 inches) was made, and the brakes were released for takeoff. Just prior to liftoff, the number two engine propeller malfunctioned, and the aircraft commander ordered the number two propeller be feathered.
After liftoff, the pilot actuated the gear switch to the up position, and the gear did not retract. Due to the increased drag (feathered number two engine and the lowered gear), the rising terrain ahead and to the left, and the inability of the aircraft to climb, the aircraft commander elected to make a 180-degree turn to the right back toward the base.
Upon completion of the turn, the left wing became difficult to hold up. The aircraft commander allowed the aircraft to slide to the left to avoid a trailer court. A crash landing was imminent as the altitude of the aircraft was only a few feet above the ground. The aircraft struck the ground with the left wing down at approximately 120 mph. All ten people in the rear compartment were fatally injured. General Travis and one passenger in the forward compartment received fatal injuries; all other crew members and passengers escaped with only minor injuries. The crew included:
Braz, 1st Lt. William G.- bombardier - survivor
Brotherton, 1st Lt. Robert G. - survivor
Cox, Captain Jack R.- survivor
Gould, Pfc. Jack Lloyd - fatality
Johnson, 1st Lt. Carter W. - survivor
Judd, Pfc. Merritt Donald - fatality
Knapp, S/Sgt. Lloyd Francis - fatality
Maconi, S/Sgt. Joseph - fatality
Mclelland, M/Sgt. James Land - fatality
Midura, 1st Lt. Matthew A. - survivor
Moore, T/Sgt. Donald W. - survivor
Prachinack, S/Sgt. Joseph - fatality
Reeve, Pfc. Leonard Andrew - fatality
Sellers, Pfc. Roy - fatality
Steffes, Capt. Eugene Q. - pilot - crawled out of the window and was rescued
Stubblebine, 1st Lt. James Arthur - fatality
Travis, General Robert Falligant - rescued alive from the cockpit area but died of wounds August 5, 1950, en route to the hospital - fatality
Tucker, Corporal, John L. - fatality
Vanderpool, Sgt. Richard D. - fatality
Voyce, 1st Lt. Charles J. - ADC to General Travis (1921-2003)
About twenty minutes after the crash occurred, the high explosives in the bomb casing ignited. (It should be noted that the weapons on board were Mk.IV Atomic Bombs, albeit without the fissile nuclear material inside them). The blast, felt and heard over 30 miles away, caused severe damage to the nearby trailer park on base.
In addition to those killed or injured in the initial crash, as a result in large part to the explosion that occurred shortly after the crash, 180 military, civilian and dependants were killed or injured. (Seven people were killed, 49 were admitted to the hospital and 124 others received superficial injuries.)
Among those killed in the accident was Brigadier General Robert E. Travis. Fairfield AFB later renamed Travis AFB in his honor the following year (1951).
Sources:
1. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_6.htm]l
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Travis#Post-war_career
3. http://www.koreanwar-educator.org/topics/airplane_crashes/b29_fairfield_19500805/b29_fairfield.htm#NewsArticles
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_Fairfield-Suisun_Boeing_B-29_crash
5. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C05E3D8113BE13BBC4F53DFBE66838B649EDE
6. https://www.travisheritagecenter.org/html/crash.html
7. http://fromthereporter.com/specials/century/1990/news08.html
8. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbaloc.asp?Loc=af&offset=1550
9. http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Travis_B-29_crash_site.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Jan-2014 10:25 | TB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source] |
| 15-Jan-2014 10:28 | TB | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
| 19-Mar-2017 15:27 | gerard57 | Updated [Destination airport] |
| 21-Jun-2017 18:02 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Jun-2020 06:35 | Reno Raines | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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