1965 USAF KC-135 Wichita crash

Crash of US Air Force tanker aircraft in Kansas 1965 USAF KC-135 Wichita crash Accident Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker (717-148), USA - Air Force AN1418420.jpg 1.15 A US Air Force Boeing KC–135A Stratotanker, similar to the accident aircraft January 16, 1965 Loss of control due to malfunction of rudder control system Near McConnell AFBWichita, Kansas, U.S. 37.7202 N 97.3131 W type:event inline, title 30 27 Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker United States Air ForceStrategic Air Command 57-1442 McConnell Air Force Base McConnell Air Force Base 7 7 0 7 0 23 27 On 16 January 1965, a U.S. Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in the central United States, in a neighborhood in north-eastern Wichita, Kansas, after taking off from McConnell Air Force Base.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TQNUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DTkNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5731%2C1241245 Catt George Lawrence Journal-World Kansas Associated Press Jet hits Wichita homes 1965-01-16 1 107 14 Saturday Evening dmy-all This resulted in the deaths of all seven crew members on board the aircraft and an additional twenty-three people on the ground.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pa1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3OgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5525%2C401750 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Air crash tragedy mounts in Wichita January 17, 1965 1https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TgNUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DTkNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2958%2C1312592 Lawrence Journal-World Kansas Associated Press Rosenthal Harry McKnight Joe Cleanup starts for Wichita in plane tragedy January 18, 1965 1 This accident is the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Kansas.Grawe Jim Wichita Airplane Crash 1965 https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/wichita-airplane-crash-1965/19104 Kansapedia 6 January 2017 It is also the second-deadliest aircraft accident in the United States involving victims on the ground, after the Green Ramp disaster in 1994, which killed 24 people on the ground.http://www.fayobserver.com/news/local/article_cf473fdc-5300-57ef-bcee-253bfa6ed707.html https://archive.today/20140616190728/http://www.fayobserver.com/news/local/article_cf473fdc-5300-57ef-bcee-253bfa6ed707.html dead June 16, 2014 Fayetteville Observer Brooks Drew Survivors mark 20-year anniversary of Pope Air Force Base Green Ramp crash May 23, 2014 January 6, 2017 Accident details thumb|240px|Aftermath of the crash in a neighborhood outside of McConnell Air Force Base At 9:28 a.m. CST (3:28 p.m. UTC)Jet Rams Homes; 29 Die http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1965/01/17/page/1/article/jet-rams-homes-29-die/ 6 January 2017 17 Chicago Tribune UPI January 17, 1965 1, sec. 1 on Saturday, 16 January 1965, a Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker, serial number 57-1442, took off from the McConnell Air Force Base and gained very little altitude. During this time, the aircraft began to experience a large amount of yaw, and attempted to return to the airport.Accident Description (US Air Force 57-1442) https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19650116-0 Aviation Safety Network 6 January 2017 The crew then began to dump large quantities of fuel from the aircraft's refueling tanks. Shortly after this, the aircraft made a hard bank to the left, and began to enter a roll. Unable to recover, the aircraft crashed into a suburban neighborhood at the intersection of Piatt and 20th Street, just three minutes after take-off. The site is several blocks west of Wichita State University.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=duBYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k_cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6598%2C3655439 Spokane Daily Chronicle Washington Associated Press Jet Tanker crashes in Wichita January 16, 1965 1 The aerial refueling aircraft was loaded with 31000 gal L of jet fuel,Tanner Beccy Hellish day recalled 50 years after Piatt Street plane crash http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article6574809.html The Wichita Eagle 6 January 2017 and the crash resulted in a large explosion and subsequent fire, which engulfed dozens of homes. The accident killed all seven crew members on the aircraft and an additional twenty-three people on the ground. In addition, at least twenty-seven people on the ground sustained injuries, three of which were serious. It was reported that the crew entry door was jettisoned and a B-52 Stratofortress bomber, which took off prior to the KC-135, may have blown a detached drag chute from an F-105 Thunderchief against the departing aircraft. These factors may have contributed to the crash. Recently un-redacted portions of the accident report indicate that the parachute ingested into the Number 1 engine was that of the crew member who attempted to bail out through the crew entry door. His body was found about 200 feet from the impact crater.June 2021 The aircraft and crew were based at Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base in west central Oklahoma, about 200 mi -1 to the southwest. Aftermath Ten months after the accident, the U.S. Air Force issued an official accident report that stated that the crash was caused by "a rudder control system malfunction," which was impossible for the crew to overcome. In 1971, the Piatt Memorial Park was opened to serve as a local recreational facility and a reminder of the tragedy. The park features several amenities, including a playground, a drinking fountain, and a basketball court.Piatt Memorial Park https://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/Piatt.aspx Wichita.gov City of Wichita Park & Recreation 4 March 2020 12 December 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20191212191331/https://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/Piatt.aspx dead On July 14, 2007, more than forty-two years after the accident, an airplane-shaped twelve by twenty-two foot Imperial Black Granite monument with the names of all thirty victims of the crash inscribed on it was unveiled at a ceremony.Piatt Plane Crash Memorial - Wichita, Kansas http://www.simemorials.com/projects/wichita.aspx SI Memorials 6 January 2017 See also 1972 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident – another U.S. aircraft accident with a high number of ground fatalities List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1960–74) USAir Flight 427 – a much deadlier aircraft accident also caused by a malfunction of the rudder control system References 2 Category:1965 in Kansas Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Kansas Category:Accidents and incidents involving United States Air Force aircraft Category:January 1965 in the United States Category:History of Wichita, Kansas Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1965