1951 Green Valley Air Disaster5th of June / 1951, a United States Air Force North American B-25 Mitchell is flying above Green Valley in fog and rainy weather conditions with 10 people on board the plane. The plane starts to descent as its approaching an air base not far from Green Valley mountains, but suddenly the plane was seen spinning to the ground then crashing into a mountain killing all on board. ____________________________________________________________ Plane , crew and flight : 10558 is a North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber owned by the USAF, Its one of the oldest B-25 and it was used on the WW2. The plane today is flown by 2 experienced USAF captains and is carrying 8 other crew and military soldiers. The plane was used on a training flight above Green Valley on the 5th of June as the weather conditions at that day where good to train those soldiers. Accident : While flying above the Green Valley lake, the crew reported thick fog and wanted to return to the base as it was hard to spot terrain. The crew starts descending from 2000 feet to approach a military airbase not far from the Green Valley mountain terrains. Suddenly while descending, the crew noticed terrain which caused panic in the cockpit. The panic led to the crew's fast reaction by pulling the plane hard, that caused the right wing structure to get damaged and even a part from the wing separated. The separation of the part led to loss of control and impact with terrain. The impact killed all on board. _________________________________________________________________________ (A Photo showing the plane just half a second after the wing part separated) Date : 5th of June / 1951 Site : Green Valley Mountains / Arizona - United States of America Summary : Uncontrolled Flight Into Terrain caused by structure failure and adverse weather conditions Aircraft Type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Operator : United State Air Force (USAF) Registration : 10558 Crew : 10 Fatalities : 10 (all) Phase : En Route Departure airport : Unknown Destination airport : Unknown Narrative : The right wing broke up when the crew noticed they were descending right into a mountain, the separation led to loss of control and impact with the mountain. The cause was later determined as the crew's late recovery caused by low visibility which made it kind impossible to see the mountain in time to correct the fatal descend. The crew late recovery happened when they were on a high speed, combined with the hard pull, the right wing part broke. __________________________________________________________________ Photo Gallery : Seconds after disaster : Wreckage : Fact : The accident happened 4 days after another USAF plane ditched into the Green Valley lake. Accident report can be found here : USAF Flight 199
1970-2010 Pines Peak Plane Crashes. (14 in total) 1. Pines Peak Festival Disaster. Wreckage: Not found. A B25 was flying over pines peak at about 12:21 AM before the pilot took a heavy turn which in return caused the plane to rip to shreds. Crew members: 3 Fatalities: 1 Damage costs: 21.5 Billion $US 2. Pines Peak Nodesia-Beamacia War. Wreckage: A Nodesian plane was flying over Pines Peak, when it was shot down by a Beamacian MLRS. Fatalities: 0 (Pilot ejected) Damage in costs: ???
TU Air Flight 73529th of April / 1959. TU Air Flight 735 was a flight from the United Kingdom To Russia. The plane used in flight 735 was a rare Tu-46, the TU-46 Is a Russian built aircraft that can handle up to 120 passengers. The flight that day had 73 passengers and crew and it was heading to Moscow / Russia , but while flying above the North sea the plane crashed killing all 73 on board the plane. This was the first fatal accident of the TU-46 And TU Air. _____________________________________________________________________ Plane / Flight and people on board : The plane was a brand new TU-46 Built in 1958. It had 1577 flying hours at the time of the accident. Flight 735 was a flight from London's Heathrow Airport / UK To Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport / Russia. Flight 735 had 73 passengers and crew that day. The cockpit crew were made out of 4 experienced old TU Air pilots and the cabin crew consisted of 5 flight attendants. Meanwhile the number of passengers was 64. _____________________________________________________________________ (A TU Air Tu-46 seen flying during rainy weather conditions) Date : 29 / April / 1959 Site : North Sea / Near England - United Kindom Summary : Stalled due to sudden engine failure during descent combined with bad weather Aircraft type : TU-46 Operator : TU Air Registration : TX-108 Crew : 9 Passengers : 64 Survivors : 0 (4 initially) Fatalities : 73 (All) Phase : En route Nature : Passenger Flight Departure Airport : London's Heathrow / United Kindom Destination Airport : Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport / Russia Narrative : The crew started a descent to 2000 feet when suddenly, both engines failed. The engine failure caused a deep altitude (Like Air France 477 for example), the crew tried their best to get out of the stall , but when they almost managed to recover the plane crashed into the sea. ________________________________________________________________________ Emergency Response : The ATC Called Emergency services just seconds after the plane disappeared from the radar, the ATC Was worried about the plane as the pilot reported bad weather conditions before the call cut. Emergency services found the wreckage in the middle of the North Sea, they managed to pull the cockpit crew alive out of the wreckage , but they later died because of their injures. Captain's last words before passing away : "We were flying normally , but suddenly the plane engines stopped working, we managed to restart them and almost recovered from the stall , but we didn't have enough altitude to do so." ________________________________ Effect on TU Air and their pilots : This was the first fatal accident involving the TU-46 And the first fatal accident involving TU Air. The death of the 9 experienced crew and 64 company workers led to the stoppage of TU Air flights for 2 weeks as some pilots couldn't believe what happened and were sad about the sad loss of many lives. Even after some years, some pilots were sad in flights, that led to some minor accidents like hard landing accidents or wrong flap set during landing. Major accidents caused by the sad effect on pilots happened in 1961 when a TU Air flight from Russia To The United States crashed into the ocean due to pilot distraction and instruments failure leading to the deaths of 106 passenger and crew making it the worst accident involving TU Air and the TU 46. Investigation : The crash was investigated by a team of experienced British Investigators, the team was made out of 41 investigator and aviation expert. The investigation team found that number 1 and 3 engine failed due to bad maintenance and the weather conditions at the time of the accident. They also discovered that number 3 engine had fatigue cracks. The stall happened due to the wind and loss of power. (An Investigation Work showing how the stall happened (1960) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The accident is still one of the most tragic accidents in history, the way it effected TU Air and the TU-46 Aircraft was insane.
1979 Green Valley Air DisasterOn the 15th of June / 1979, a USAF Titan (C-130) Crashed into a road in Green Valley killing all 15 crew on board the plane. __________________________________________ (The plane involved in the accident seen 2 days before the accident - Source : Green Valley Airplane photos of the 1970s) Date : 15 / June / 1979 Site : A Road near Green Valley Mountains - Arizona - United States of America Cause : Controlled Flight Into Terrain for undermined reasons. Aircraft Type : Titan (Upgraded C-130) Operator : USAF Registration : 94812 Crew : 15 Fatalities : 15 Phase : En Route Nature : Training Narrative : The Aircraft flew into a hill in low-fog conditions for reasons that were never determined , but its possible that the crew were distracted by an instrument that stopped working. __________________________________________________________________
1998 Hirochi Raceway Plane Crash (The same aircraft doing a flyby of the seat rows) Plane Model: Cessna Plane registration: 4HYJ2I Departure Airport: Royal Bassett Airfield, Wootton Bassett (fictional airport) Arrival Airport: London Greenbridge Airport (also fictional) Crash summary: Bird struck engine causing engine failure resulting in stall and crashing into an RV. RV Model: Gavril H Camp Photo of RV just before destruction, 50 metres from crash site. Wreckage: Fatalities: 1 Cost in damage: 1.5 million UK Pound Sterling. (1998 Currency)
1950 So Cal Nevada Interstate B-25 Crash On the 25th of October / 1950, a United States Air Force B-25 toke off from an unnamed airbase near the Grand Canyon / Arizona - United States of America To the So Cal Nevada Interstate US Air Force Airbase. The flight was made to transport some cargo. The crew consisted of 2 pilots / 1 flight engineer / 1 navigator and 4 US Soldiers, all of them had a lot of experience. Due to the bad weather that day, the captain decided to make a hard rudder approach (Pilot approaches runway , but he is not lined with it so he uses his rudder to line with the runway in a little amount of time). During the approach, the B-25 Stalled and the pilots couldn't recover from the stall. The plane crashed just short from the runway. 2 of the 8 people on board the plane were killed (2 from the 4 soldiers), they were ejected from the bomber when it broke apart just when it impacted the runway. Multiple reasons including some pilot mistakes / bad weather and even plane damages caused this accident. ________________________________________________ (A USAF B-25 making a similar approach to what the captain did -This landing happened on the same runway where 156-2314 Crashed) Date : 25 / October / 1950 Site : Nevada Interstate US Air Base / Nevada - United States Of America Summary : Rudder separation causing elevator structure failure, stalled on final approach. Bad Weather, pilot error and metal fatigue. Aircraft Type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Operator : USAF Registration : 156-2314 Departure Airport : Unnamed Airbase near The Grand Canyon / Arizona - Destination Airport : Nevada Interstate US Air Base / Nevada - Crew : 8 Survivors : 6 Injures (non-fatal) : 6 Fatalities : 2 Phase : Landing Nature : Cargo Transportation Narrative : The B-25 captain was using all rudder power to line up with the runway when suddenly the left rudder separated from the aircraft which caused the left elevator to get damaged heavily, the left rudder and elevator damage combined with bad weather conditions at the time led to unrecoverable stall. The B-25 Impacted the runway and broke up into many parts killing 2 US Soldiers. The Investigation team found out that the left rudder had fatigued nails and parts, the team also blamed the pilot's decision to make a hard approach during bad weather conditions instead of Going-around. _______________________________________________________________________________ Photo gallery :
Top 10 Deadliest Air Crashes Of The So Cal Nevada Interstate (Depending on the stories I made) 10th : 2017 Nevada Interstate Strato HMX 920 Crash (The plane involved) Date : 3rd of May / 2017 Site : Nevada Interstate Summary : Over-weighted banner combined with Spatial Disorientation and ATC confusion Aircraft type : Strato HMX 920 Race type Crew : 1 Fatalities : 1 Survivors : 0 Registration : BM-NGD 19 Name : Flying Wife 9th : USAF Flight 12435 (The ill-fated X-18) Date : 8th of December / 1978 Site : Nevada Interstate Summary : Foreign Object Damage that led to Front-gear explosion and fire Aircraft Type : X-18 Crew : 2 Survivors : 0 fatalities : 2 Registration : 12435 8th : 1976 Nevada Interstate Plane Crash (The Socata flying above the crash sight 2 years before the accident) Date : 7th of June / 1976 Site : Nevada interstate Summary : In flight- Tail structure failure caused by banner malfunction Crew : 2 Passengers : 4 Survivors : 4 (2 crew / 2 passengers) fatalities : 2 (2 children) Registration : N60012 7th : USAF Flight 807 (The B-25 Diving to the ground after the structure failure) Date : 17th of May / 1951 Summary : Rudder hardover Causing a high speed stall Site : Nevada Interstate Total crew : 6 Total fatalities : 6 Aircraft type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Registration : NG 807 Plane Name : Bomber Of The Desert Total Survivors : 0 6th : USAF Flight 632 (The destroyed bomber seen flying above the Nevada Interstate) Date : 23th of January/ 1950 Summary : Disputed : - CFIT BNSB - Foggy weather causing a crash SBON - Stall BNMSB - Pilot Error TASB - Microburst -Some investigators of the BNSB- - Engine Failure OAPF Site : Nevada Interstate Total crew : 7 Total fatalities : 7 Aircraft type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Registration : US A213 Plane Name : Old Glory Total Survivors : 0 5th : Petwork Air Disaster (The Titan 4 minutes before it crashed) Date : 3rd Of January / 1966 Site : Nevada Interstate Summary : In-flight cargo door failure due to maintenance error a design flaw Crew : 7 Fatalities : 7 (all on board) Operator : USAF Registered As : T021 Route : Unknown To Unknown Aircraft Type : C-Titan 4th : 1972 Nevada Private Plane Crash (Wreckage of the plane falling from the sky after it broke up) Date : 24th of August / 1972 Site : Nevada Interstate Summary : Mid-air break up caused by Pilot error. Details of the Summary : Failure in communications let the plane to enter a cloudy area with wake turbulence. Combined with bad maintenance, the plane broke up after a sudden steep drop by the pilot. Aircraft type : Socata ST-10 Crew : 1 Passengers : 5 (2 children) Fatalities : 10 (All on bored including 4 on the ground) Survivors : 0 Injures (non-fatal) : 4 on the ground (Due to shock) Registration : N60012 Operator : Private plane. 3rd : 1989 USAF Titan crash (Sister aircraft to the one involved) Date : 2nd of June / 1989 Site : 2 miles away from The Old Nevada Abandoned Airbase Summary : explosive decompression due to design flaw Aircraft type : Titan Operator : USAF Crew : 12 Fatalities : 12 (All) Registration : US 150 2nd : 2017 Nevada Interstate B-25 Disaster (The B-25 Several years before the accident) Date : 13 / August / 2017 Site : Mountains / The Nevada Interstate - United States of America Summary : Possible Controlled Flight into terrain / Under investigation Aircraft type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Operator : Royal Air Force Museum Registration : NG 139 Crew : 7 Passengers : 7 Survivors : 4 (On the ground) Fatalities : 22 (all 14 on board + 8 on the ground) Injures (non-fatal) : 3 (On the ground) 1st : Nevada Air Flight 601 (A Nevada Air Super Constellation similar to the one involved in the disaster) Date : 21th of August / 1958 Site : So Cal Nevada Interstate / Nevada - United States Of America Summary : Engine failure and fire leading to loss of control Owner/Operator : Nevada Air Aircraft Type : Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation Passengers : 60 Crew : 4 Fatalities : 58 (1 crew and 57 passengers) Survivors : 6 (both cockpit crew and one cabin crew / 3 passengers) Registration : N96017 (Still writing about this story, maybe I will finish it tomorrow)
1994 Birmingham Airport A340 Emergency Crash Landing (This is not a real accident, its just a story)On the 24th of June / 1994, an Airbus A340-300 Made an emergency crash landing on Birmingham Airport after losing the left landing gear and due to the brake failure that happened minutes before the landing. No one on board the Rortos plane were injured and the plane was repaired and returned to service 2 months later. ______________________________________________________________________ (A Demonstration of the crash landing used by a video game called 'Extreme Landings' Date : 24 / June / 1994 Site : Birmingham Airport - England ~ United Kingdom Summary : Lost landing gear short of runway due to pilot error- Brake failure Aircraft Type : Airbus A340-300 Owner : Rortos Crew : 7 Passengers : 12 Registration : RO-344 Survivors : 19 (all) Injures (non-fatal) : 14 (all passengers and 2 cabin crew) Phase : Landing Nature : Test and Training flight Damage : Heavy- Repaired and returned to service 2 months later Departure Airport : Unknown- Destination Airport : Birmingham Airport- Narrative : The A340 Was on a test flight (And training for the new Rortos Crew) when rain drops and dark clouds started to appear near Birmingham Airport while on final approach to land. - While descending, the brake failure warning stormed the cockpit with loud noise, the new crew were not sure about if all the brakes failed (Ground and air) So they decided to descent very low and touch down as fast as possible to not overrun the runway. - The A340 left landing gear hit the ground while the low level fly above terrain near the airport, it broke and the plane almost crashed , but the crew managed to level up. - The captain didn't make a go around and managed to come for a complete stop just a little before the ending of the runway. ________________________________________ Probable Cause : The cause of the brake failure was not determined by the investigators , but they discovered these factors that caused the accident to be worse : The pilots lack of training on the A340. The crew approached the runway during a low level flight with the speed of 150 which caused the plane to stall , the flight engineer reacted quickly and put throttles on max. The left landing gear impacted the terrain and separated from the plane , but the crew still managed to level up the plane. _______________________________________
TU Air Flight 564On the 17th of January / 1959, a Convair CV-240 operated by TU Air with 5 crew and 10 passengers on board crashed in the So Cal Nevada Interstate after suffering an in-flight loss of control and break up which led to the death of all occupants. __________________________________________________ (A Convair CV-240 design) Date : 17th of January / 1959 Site : 3 to 4 miles away from The Nevada Interstate Military Airbase / Nevada - United States of America Summary : Tail Structure failure and separation due to maintenance errors. In-flight break up and loss of control Aircraft type : Convair CV-240 Operator : TU Air Registration : TC-253 Crew : 5 Passengers : 5 Survivors : 0 Fatalities : 15 (all) Phase : En route Nature : Passenger flight Route : Utah to Nevada -Narrative : A TU Air Flight 564 from Utah to Nevada was flying at around 1100 feet above some hills in Nevada when suddenly, the Convair's tail section separated and the plane nose dived into the hills with no chance for the crew to do anything. During the nose dive, the remaining body of the plane broke up due to the high speed. The separated plane parts impacted hilly terrain and all 15 people on board suffered fatal injures. (And some died before the impact even happened) -Probable Cause : The investigation board determines the cause of the crash as the following : "The tail section of the plane separated as a result of a structure failure that happened because of TU's Air poor repairing and maintenance of the plane. And here are all the factors : TU Air engineers replaced good parts of the tail with damaged and old ones TU Air failed to take the plane on a test flight after the repairing and maintenance work, this factor is the most important one because if the test flight happened, the crew of the flight would feel the vibration and hard controlling of the tail parts (Rudder/elevators...etc) The pilot's failure to return to the airport shortly after taking off as he reported problems with climbing The tail section of the plane separated while flying at 1124 feet The separation of the tail section led to a complete loss of control The Plane broke up while nose diving into the ground ______________________________________________________________________ Photo Gallery :
The 2 Black Days Of October In Utah / 1951Its a beautiful new month in Utah - United States of America, everyone is excited for October and what it brings, like Halloween for example. -First Accident : During the 4th day of the new month, people around Utah were shocked by a loud explosion noise above their homes. 'We thought it was a meteorite when we first saw it' local people said. 'When the giant fireball hit the ground emergency services were already preparing themselves' a shopper said. After 1 hour of the explosion, police confirmed that the fireball was a plane. 'The fireball that hit the ground at around 6 am this morning was a North American B-25 Mitchell owned by the United State Air Force' A Police officer reported to the news. Later that day (3 hours later), police said : '7 crew members on board the bomber plane were killed when the plane impacted high terrain for reasons that are currently under investigation'. Just some minutes after the police statement, the head investigator said the following on live news broadcast : 'At 5:43 AM this morning, a North American B-25 Mitchell owned by the United States Air Force with 7 crew members on board toke off from an unnamed military base in Utah. 14 minutes to the flight at 5:57 AM, the bomber lost the left part of its tail causing a sudden lose of control which caused the captain to panic and pull the nose up , but the nose refused and the bomber nose dived into the ground.' 'It is unknown why the tail section was lost , but we have reports that another small plane hit the tail of the B-25, but that is highly unlikely because we couldn't find any evidence of a mid air collision, and yes we found the lost tail section of the bomber not far from the wreckage.' 'The only good evidence we have is a photo of the plane seconds before it impacted the ground, fire was seen coming from the tail section and that confused us.' 'It is possible that the engine exploded or the propeller of the engine separated and hit the tail , but due to the complete destruction of the wreckage its hard to tell.' The following day after this accident toke place, another B-25 exploded in Utah , but that was a mid air collision accident with a Me262, which caused the death of all on board both planes. -Second Accident : 5th of October / 1951, everyone in Utah is shocked from a horrible fatal accident involving a military bomber plane which crashed due to structure failure for reasons that are under investigating. At exactly 5:35 AM that day, people in Utah were horrified by another explosion sound , but this time people reported 'small burning parts falling from the sky!'. Emergency services were sent to where the explosion toke place and they discovered that those small parts looked like that they belonged to a small military fighter jet and a medium sized cargo plane. After 31 minutes, the emergency services managed to put out all the fire and investigators were on the scene to determine the cause. -First Accident Description : (The aircraft involved in the accident) Date : 4 / 10 / 1951 Site : High Terrain / Utah - United States of America Summary : Tail structure separation, cause of separation in dispute. Aircraft type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Owner : United States Air Force Registration : 19-1318 Crew : 7 Fatalities : 7 (all) Phase : En route Nature : Training Route : Unknown To Unknown ________________________________________________________________________ -Second Accident Description : Mid Air Collision : (Photo of the collision area taken by a plane just some minutes after the collision) Date : 5 / 10 / 1951 Site : Over Utah - United States of America Summary : Mid Air Collision and Explosion in The B-25 bomb cargo Total occupants on both planes : 9 Total Fatalities : 9 (all) -First Aircraft : Type : B-25 Mitchell Bomber Owner : USAF Crew : 8 Registration : 19-1320 Phase : En Route Nature : Military Route : Unknown -Second Aircraft : (A Me262 identical to the one involved in the collision) Type : Me262 Owner : Nevada Air Museum Crew : 1 Registration : NI-2194 Phase : En Route Nature : Delivery _______________________________________________________
1950 Nevada Interstate B-25 AccidentOn the 26th of June / 1950, a North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber owned by the USAF (Registration 44-15389) impacted hill terrain not far from the runway of The Nevada Airbase. The bomber was destroyed by impact and post crash fire and all 10 crew members on board suffered fatal injures. The cause of the accident was determined as 'The bomber's unusual sharp turn and the crew's failure to correct the turn". However, the investigators couldn't determined why the plane made that sharp turn in the first place and why the crew didn't notice at an earlier time. ____________________________________________________________________________ (An USAF North American B-25 Mitchell identical to the one involved in the accident) Date : 26 - June - 1950 Site : 1 km away from The Nevada Interstate Airbase / Nevada - United States of America Summary : Controlled Flight Into Terrain due to pilot error and possible mechanical failure Aircraft type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Registration : 44-15389 Operator : USAF (United State Air Force) Crew : 10 Survivors : 0 Injures (non fatal) : 1 (on the ground) Fatalities : 10 (all on board) Nature : Military Phase : Approach ____________________________________________________________________________ Take off and unusual flight : 44-15389 toke off from the small runway located in a small town in The Cal Nevada Interstate, on board the bomber were 4 experienced cockpit crew and 6 military soldiers. Just 1 minute after take off, people reported seeing the bomber climbing a little bit then making a sharp turn, the plane stayed in the sharp turn position for like 8 to 9 seconds before it started to descend (The position that was reported by eye witnesses) People then reportedly saw the plane climbing before hearing an explosion sound coming from the hill that is not far from the runway of the airbase. Crash and respond : The Bomber impacted road terrain located at the top of a hill 1 km away from the runway of the airbase, a firetruck and a small pickup truck were driving on that road when the plane impacted the hill, the pickup truck was hit by debris. Fortunately, the pickup driver suffered minor injures only, and the firetruck responded to the post impact fire that was so intense that it needed 3 firetrucks and 1 tanker (plane) to turn it off. 1 of the 4 cockpit crew was thrown out of the pilots window and was killed instantly, the 6 soldiers who were at the mid - tail section were thrown out of the bomber from the violent impact as well. Meanwhile, the remaining 3 cockpit crew survived the initial impact , but suffered fatal burn injures from the post impact fire. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Investigation : A Team of investigators were sent to the crash site, the first thing they pointed out that the wreckage clearly shows that the plane flew into the hill (CFIT) , but the real question is why that happened. The investigators managed to re-create the flight path by using eye witnesses accounts and info gathered from the plane's wreckage. Another thing they managed to do is to recover a small recorder that was put on the bomber for tests (Tests for the recorder). The investigators managed to recover all the data from the small recorder that somehow wasn't damaged by the violent impact. Here are the last words from the cockpit : [Reminder : CAP : Captain, F/O : First Officer / Other : Other crew members] "CAP : 44-153 approaching runway, heading 001" "ATC : 44-153 Roger that." "F/O : Hey, watch out ! Don't turn it like this" "CAP : Don't worry, I know what I'm doin" "Other : You are turning it so sharp Rogers !" "CAP : I'm not, its doing that by its self!" "F/O : Put engine on max now!" "Other : Engines on max power" "ATC : 44-153, do you have any problems?" "CAP : ****, pull it up!" "F/O : I'm trying" "Other : That's it guys we are doomed!" "Sounds of screams" "Sound of impact, end of recording" The Investigators determined that the captain of the bomber started doing an unusual sharp and dangerous turn, and when he tried to correct it the bomber refused to do so for a possible mechanical failure. The bomber kept descending until the crew started to pull up hard to avoid hitting the hill , but it was too late for them and the bomber impacted the hill killing all on board. __________________________________________________________________
44-6778344-67783 Was the registration of a North American B-25 Mitchell that made an emergency landing on the twenty first of April / 1951 after suffering from an in-flight fire. All 4 crew members survived,the bomber was repaired and it returned to service 3 months later. _________________________________________________ (Photo of the bomber when it approached The So Cal Nevada Interstate Airbase with a very steep and dangerous sharp right turn) -Date : 21 / April / 1951 -Site : So Cal Nevada Interstate Airbase -Summary : In-flight fire, lose of 90% of controls, emergency crash landing -Type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber -Operator / Owner : United State Air Force -Crew : 4 -Passengers : 0 -Survivors : 4 (all) -Injures (non-fatal) : 1 (flight engineer) -Registration : 44-67783 -Route : Nevada Airfield To Unknown -Phase : En route -Nature : Training / Test -Narrative : The B-25 Bomber was flying at 3000 when the crew heard weird sounds coming from the plane, 1 and a half minute later a fire erupted on the right side of the wing and tail. The crew declared emergency and the navigator was heard saying (ATC Recording) "Your right side is fully on fire, descent now!". The crew approached the So Cal Nevada Interstate Airbase at an insane speed, the plane touched down hard, bounced then the crew forced the nose to stay down, the left landing gear collapsed as a result. -Source of fire : 'The fire was caused by a leaking valve in the right wing during flight' _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Photo Gallery : An aerial photo of the bomber 30 minutes after the landing.
1953 Roane County B-25 Crash (Roane Cargo Flight 467)On the morning of the 25th of January / 1953, a retired B-25 that was sold to Roane Cargo Airlines was on flight from Roane County Airport to an unnamed airfield in South Carolina. The plane had 3 experienced members. At around 5 AM, the plane disappeared from ATC's radar, about 15 miles east from the airport. A Fighter jet was flying near by the B-25 airspace when the pilot of jet fighter noticed that the B-25 started to dive into the ground, "I looked back to see what's the type of the plane , but I was shocked when I saw the plane diving into the ground" the fighter jet pilot said. The burning wreckage of the bomber was found about 16 miles east from Roane County Airport, all 3 members perished in the accident that was caused by structure failure during flight due to improper maintenance. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Plane and Crew : The plane involved in the accident was a retired North American B-25 Mitchell that was used in WW2, it was 11 years old at the time of the crash. The crew consisted of 2 experienced Roane Cargo pilots, the captain logged more than 5000 hours and the Co-pilot had 2000 flying hours. The third occupant of the cockpit crew was a flight engineer for the airliner. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Take off and reported damage : The B-25 Toke off from Roane County Airport at 4:54 AM, the plane was heading to an unnamed airfield in South Carolina, the plane had full cargo load at the time of take off. During take off, eye witnesses at the airport reported seeing the B-25 Left landing gear suffering damage due to winds that made the plane swung, the B-25 crew reported that their gear suffered minor damage and they might return to the airport at any minute. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Weird sounds and break up : The B-25 reported hearing weird sounds 2 minutes after take off (At around 1500 feet), the crew reported these sounds to the ATC who said that they are probably happening as a result from the left landing gear damage. At exactly 5:00 AM, the plane reached 2000 feet where it suddenly started a steep descent to the ground, radar contact was lost 1 and a half second after the descent started, a nearby fighter jet saw the ill-fated bomber diving into the ground and toke these photos. The fighter jet reported the crash to the ATC who called emergency services. They arrived 15 minutes after the accident due to rough and steep terrain near the crash site. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (The bomber involved in the accident seen 2 days after its delivery to Roane Cargo Airlines) Date : 25 / January / 1953 Site : 16 miles East of Roane County Airport, RC, TN - United States of America Summary : Improper maintenance led to tail structure damage, In-flight break up and loss of control Type : North American B-25 Mitchell Operator : Roane Cargo Airlines Registration : NR4198 Crew : 3 Survivors : 0 Fatalities : 3 (all) Phase : En route Nature : Cargo Departure Airport : Roane County Airport Destination Airport : unnamed airfield in SC Flight Number : 467 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cause : The board determined the probable cause of the accident as the following : "The airliner's failure to properly fix a fatigue crack near the rear section of the plane which caused the plane's tail section to separate and caused a total loss of control and a nose dive with no chance of recovery, as well as the ground crew failure to notice the damaged structure of the plane before it toke off." (Computer generated image of Flight 467 break up) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Photo gallery :
Follow Ups Of Roane Cargo Flight 467 : After the fatal accident of a new B-25 to the fleet of Roane Cargo Airlines which toke the lives of 3 experienced pilots, the airliner suffered a lot of criticisms, and a lot of people wanted the Airliner to get closed, but the airliner made a lot of changes to the fleet and pilot training and started to double check their planes before flights. Here are the the most important follow ups : 25th of May / 1953 : The investigation board releases its final report on the accident. 26th of May /1953 : A Memorial is built at the crash sight. 27th of May - Late June : Funeral is made for the 3 dead pilots in Roane County. Mid June : Roane County changes most of its old fleet with new planes, and the airliner replaced most of its old engineers and pilots with new trained ones, and training got improved as well. Late June : The airliner restored its trust from people. July : More flights and planes added to the airliner. 14th of October / 1953 : - Roane Cargo Airlines Flight 485 : On the morning of a foggy day in the 14th of October / 1953, a B-25 Operated by Sky Cargo Airlines in behalf of Roane Cargo Airlines is reported missing 14 miles west from Roane County Airport, the plane was later found destroyed 15 miles west from the airport. All 4 on board were killed. __________________________________________ (A North American B-25 Mitchell owned by Roane Cargo Airlines, sister ship to the one involved in the accident) Date : 14th / October / 1953 Site : 15 miles West from Roane County Airport, TN - United States of America Summary : Landing gear separation during take off. Stall and loss of control caused by Pilot Error Type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Operator : Sky Cargo Airlines in behalf of Roane Cargo Airlines Registration : NR4200 Crew : 4 Survivors : 0 Fatalities : 4 (all) Phase : En Route Nature : Cargo Rote : Roane County Airport to Unknown Narrative : The B-25 suffered a left landing gear separation due to strong winds during take off, the crew climbed and reached 1500 feet so they can discuss returning to the airport. The plane was badly damaged , but the pilot in command refused to return for some reason. Suddenly, 6 minutes after take off, the pilot decided to return while flying at 1100 feet, he then pulled the nose of the plane sharply so the plane stalled. While trying to recover, the co-pilot almost got the plane out of the dive , but the captain made it worst by improperly using the rudder and pulling the nose down. The plane slammed into the face of a mountain 15 miles west from the airport. It was destroyed and all 4 on board perished. _________________ Photo gallery : Its easy to say the plane was completely destroyed by the impact. Remains of the left landing gear in the runway.
1950 Mountain Nazor B-25 CrashOn the 26th of July / 1950, a USAF North American B-25 Bomber plane flew into the Nazor mountain (That's not its actual name, but I gave it this name for the story) which is located right next to the runway of the So Cal Nevada Interstate Airbase, all 9 on board were fatally injured. The cause of the crash is still in dispute for this day. _______________________________________________________________________________________ (A Photo of the plane taken 5-6 seconds before it crashed to the mountain) Date : 26 / July / 1950 Site : Nazor Mountain, So Cal Nevada Interstate Airport, Nevada - United States Summary : High speed approach, crashed into a mountain during go-around due to disputed reasons Pilot fatigue, controlled flight into terrain during go-around Right engine failure which led to loss of control A Steep right bank for undetermined reasons Type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Owner : United States Air Force (USAF) Registration : 46-15338 (unconfirmed) Crew : 9 Survivors : 0 Fatalities : 9 (all) Route : Unknown to So Cal Nevada Interstate Airbase Phase : Landing Nature : Military Narrative : The B-25 Was approaching the runway at a very high speed, the pilot decided to make a go-around and everything seemed fine until the bomber was seen descending towards a mountain that is located next to the runway. All on board were killed. _____________________________________________________ Probable Cause : "The Investigation team determines the possible cause of the accident as the pilots lack of sleep at the time of the accident which resulted in them being unaware of what they were doing and during the go-around, the plane started to roll to the right , but the crew didn't react because they were fatigued." _____________________________________________________
1970 Yellav Valley Air DisasterOn the 15th of March, 1970, a civilian North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber owned by Yellav Airlines crashed into a road and exploded causing the deaths of all on board and fatally injuring 6 people on the ground, some people on the ground suffered serious and minor injures as well. The cause of the disaster was determined as loss of control and stall while trying to make an emergency landing due to in-flight fire for many reasons. The crash is one of the deadliest involving the B-25 and one of the most deadliest to happen in Yellav Valley. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Flight information : Yallev Airlines Flight 814 was a charter flight that would take passengers in a sightseeing trip above Yellav Valley and other surrounding beautiful areas, the flight used many planes during the years, but this time a special old B-25 was used for the flight. The North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber, registration YV-91375, was 27 years old at the time of the crash, it was used during the WW2 by the United State Air Force. In 1944, the plane was returning from a bombing mission when the crew reported seeing smoke at the rear and mid sections of the plane, the bomber then caught fire and the crew managed to land the plane safely without damaging any of the landing gears or fuselage. The plane was repaired and returned to service until it retired in 1955, the plane was up for sell after its retirement and was bought by Yellav Airlines in 1956. The crew of the plane were 2 Russian experienced pilots and a Ukrainian Flight engineer, the captain logged more than 14000 hours meanwhile his co-pilot logged 7000 hours and the flight engineer had 5000 hours. There was 1 flight attendant from The United States and 10 passengers. The B-25 Toke off from an unmanned airbase near the high Yellav Valley Mountains, the flight plan was to fly around Yellav Valley for 30 minutes so the crew had full fuel on both tanks. Emergency : The B-25 toke off after sunrise by some minutes with 10 passengers, 4 crew and full fuel tanks. Everything was going alright with the flight until the crew sent an emergency massage to the ATC, the massage read as the following 'Mayday mayday we are having control difficulties'. The ATC heard the distress call and tried to guide the B-25 back to the airbase, but the crew were distracted due to smoke in the cockpit. The ATC didn't give up and kept helping both pilots with headings. People on the ground saw the B-25 descending approximately two minutes after the emergency call. One man managed to take this photo which clearly shows the plane on fire and flying at a very low altitude. This photo was taken 3 minutes before the crash. Meanwhile, the crew were preparing passengers for the emergency crash landing. The B-25 kept descending until it was seen banking to the left, climbing a little, then sharply nose-diving to the left again. It impacted road terrain and exploded, the explosion was so intense that some eyewitnesses suffered from burns and eye injures. The explosion killed all 14 people on board the plane and 6 people on the ground who were looking at the plane before it started it's fatal unexplained bank. Photo showing the B-25 when it impacted the ground. The photographer survived with serious injures. A Photo from a little town that was located some Kilometers away from the impact site. Emergency response : Emergency services were waiting for the plane, but they weren't expecting this to happen, they rushed to the sight to find survivors as soon as possible, but it was soon discovered that no one could have survived that fatal explosion. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ (YV-91375 Seen some years before the disaster) Date : 15th of March, 1970 Site : Vellav Valley Summary : In-flight fire due to oil pump failure which was resulted from overweight to the structure of the plane. Loss of control during emergency due to weight disparity between passengers and Co-pilot error. Aircraft type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber (civilian) Owner : Vellav Airlines Registration : YV-91375 Crew : 4 Passengers : 10 Fatalities : 20 (all on board including 6 on the ground) Injures : 30-40 serious and minor injures Route : Unknown Airbase To Unknown Airbase Nature : Sightseeing Phase : En route ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Investigation : A Team investigators arrived at the crash sight 5 hours after the crash. They were shocked from the scene because the B-25 parts was shattered everywhere, and it was hard to examine most of the parts due to fire and explosion damages. The cause of the crash was determined after 2 years of investigation. It was discovered that the B-25 Oil pipes were damaged during the 1944 emergency and they weren't fixed properly, the overweight of the plane at the day of the crash also contributed to the failure of the pumping system because the system was located right under the package storage area. Shortly after take off, when the engines started to burn fuel, the electric wires located near the damaged oil pipes touched each other which resulted in an intense fire, the fire started to spread to both wings and smoke started to rise everywhere (Especially in the cockpit and mid section). The started to descent and told the passengers to prepare for the emergency. Most passengers sat in the left tail section of the plane, this caused the plane to bank a little to the left. After that happened, the Co-pilot rose the nose in an attempt to stop the left bank, but that made matters worst. The captain toke control of the plane seconds before impact, he managed to pull out of the dive, but the plane lost a lot of speed and altitude so it was not enough to avoid terrain. The plane impacted a downhill wing first and exploded. The crash wasn't survivable. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Photo gallery :
USAF Flight MC1850United States Air Force Flight MC1850 was a military training flight that toke place above The So Cal Nevada Interstate using an old World War 2 North American B-25 Mitchell. On the 19th of March, 1965, the B-25 suffered an in-flight break up and loss of control which killed all 6 crew members on board. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (The ill-fated bomber seen some minutes before the break up) Date : 19 / March / 1965 Site : So Cal Nevada Interstate, Nevada, United States of America Summary : Cockpit separation during flight due to propeller over-speeding Owner : USAF Registration : 1850-1955 Crew : 6 Fatalities : 6 (all) Survivors : 0 (3 initially) Route : Nevada Interstate Airbase To Nevada Interstate Airbase Nature : Training Phase : En-route __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Details : Flight 1850 departed The Nevada Interstate Airbase with 6 crew members on board 4 of whom were training pilots and military officers. During the take off role, the ATC told the B-25 that there was nothing to worry about after the captain was concerned about the sounds coming from his engine. The bomber continued the take off and climbed to 3000 feet. Six minutes after take off, a Cessna pilot reported "Ahhh ATC, I think I'm seeing a plane falling from the sky". The ATC Replied to him "Oh really! Can you tell whats its type?". The pilot replied "I think its a WW2 Bomber". The ATC was confused because he mistaken flight 1850 for a Nevada Air Flight 1855. The ATC requested from flight 1855 to make an emergency landing and it did so after 10 minutes. After the ATC requested from the other flight to make an emergency landing, the same Cessna pilot reported "Hey ATC, I can see a big cloud of smoke coming from a road, I think its that plane!". This was the last ATC transcript. Emergency services arrived at the scene and turned off the fire, but confusion raised because the emergency crew couldn't find the cockpit of the B-25. The cockpit was later found with all 3 pilots alive, but they later died from their injures. One of the propellers was found away from the wreckage as well. Investigation : The investigators determined the cause of the crash some weeks after it happened because of some photos that helped solving this mystery. The lead investigator said "It is easy to tell that the propeller that we found far from the wreckage struck the cockpit which caused it to separate". He added "We found that weather at the time of the crash was windy and cloudy, and the reason why the propeller oversped during flight was because the engines had no maintenance from years and windy conditions at the time of the crash caused the damaged and not repaired propeller to hit the cockpit which caused it to separate from the body". _________________________________________________________________________________- Photo gallery :
Mammoth Airlines Flight 4387On the 24th of February, 1956, a North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber operating a passenger flight for Mammoth Airlines crashed shortly after take off in Mammoth Valley, Southern Utah, USA, for undetermined reasons. All on board were killed. ________________________________ Aircraft and Flight : The plane involved in the accident was a North American B-25 Mitchell that was used as a bomber in the late World War 2, it had no incidents and damages during the war and it was sold to Mammoth Airlines in 1952. The B-25 was involved in a ground collision in Nevada when a DC-3 Struck the tail section of the plane causing severe damages to the rudder and elevators. Mammoth Airlines wanted to scrap the aircraft, but pilots of the airliner refused because it was the last B-25 to be owned by Mammoth Airlines. The flight crew that day were 2 American pilots and one flight attendant. Captain Bob Browns was a very experienced pilot with over 10.000 hours and he spent most of them flying the B-25 during war time. His Co-pilot that day was first officer Frank Charles who had over 4000 hours of flying experience. Their flight attendant was a young woman in her 20s and it was her 2nd flight for Mammoth Airlines. Captain Bob had to take off from an empty field because there were no airports in Mammoth Valley back in the 1950s, he picked a big field full of snow near a small town. The B-25 toke off from the field at around 7 AM with 3 crew members, 7 passengers and full fuel on both tanks because this flight was a long one (From Mammoth Valley To Northern Utah). Climb out : Flight 4387 toke off from the field with no problems, people in the town said 'It was a pretty routine take off and we heard nothing unusual from the engines'. Suddenly, the plane was seen turning right and descending a little bit, this was followed by a steep climb then the plane returned normal, but some people said 'It looked like that plane was stalling, but the pilots are keeping it flying somehow'. The plane then vanished when it entered fog above a forest where people heard the engines sounding a little bit higher then an explosion. Rescue : The Emergency services arrived almost 3 hours after the crash due to the bad weather and hard terrain in the day of the crash. The emergency team managed to find 2 survivors, the flight attendant and a passenger who was sitting near the tail section of the plane. Unfortunately, both died because of their injures. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ (N3149 seen at the day of the crash) Date : 24th of February, 1956 Site : Mammoth Valley, Southern Utah, USA Summary : Undetermined Aircraft type : North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber Registration : N3149 Operator : Mammoth Airlines Flight Number : 4387 Crew : 3 Passengers : 7 Survivors : 0 (1 initially) Fatalities : 10 (all) Route : Mammoth Valley To Northern Utah Nature : Passenger Flight Phase : Initial climb Narrative : The B-25 Crashed shortly after take off for undetermined reasons killing all on board. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Investigation : A Very experienced team of investigators were sent to determine what caused the plane to lose altitude while climbing then crashing wing-first into the forest. The first thing they suggested that the B-25 crashed into the forest because the crew lost control while flying in foggy weather conditions, but this theory didn't fit because it couldn't explain the unusual maneuvers and 'stall'. (a later investigation done in 2000 created this photo to show how vision was at the time of the crash) (Flight path) The second theory suggested that icing was the cause of the accident. This theory was debunked because no one from the ground crew or eye witnesses saw ice on the wings or any parts of the plane. Engine and mechanical failures were ruled out as well after a pretty long examination. After 2 years of investigation, the final report was established, but it didn't contain a probable cause. Here is the final report : "The cause of the crash of Flight 4387 could not be determined, but there were some contributing factors to the accident: Bad Weather, fog and snow at the time of the accident. There was a one extra passenger on board the plane, but its not possible that this caused overloading to the plane. Last maintenance check to the plane was done 8 months before the crash. " __________________________________________________________________________________________ Photo Gallery : (Apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes.)
