Tag Archives: crash

The Crash Of Sky Chief

During World War II, my dad, Staff Sergeant Allen L Spencer, was stationed at Great Ashfield, Suffolk, England with the 385th Bomb Group as the Flight Engineer and top turret gunner. While his B-17G Bomber was never given a name, … Continue reading

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Overheated Brakes

Fog delayed the departure of on September 4, 1963, but the delay was not able to save the plane or its passengers. Swissair Flight 306, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III, named Schaffhausen, was scheduled to fly internationally from Zürich to Rome, Continue reading

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Superfortress Down

The mission began on July 29, 1953. The B-50 Superfortress piloted by Captain Stanley K O’Kelley had a total of seventeen crewmembers aboard. Its mission was a reconnaissance flight over North Korea. It took off from Honshu, Japan. Continue reading

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No, That Was A Crash

Flight has always been an obsession with humans. In the early 11th century, an English Benedictine monk named Eilmer of Malmesbury, attempted a gliding flight using wings he had made. The “flight” went pretty well. It is said that he “flew” about 220 yards, before crashing and Continue reading

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Fuel Exhaustion

Vnukovo Airport was experiencing heavy fog on November 5, 1946. Due to the resulting low visibility conditions and a high number of aircraft bound for Moscow, including an Aeroflot LI-2 (registration CCCP-L4181) that was being ferried from Voronezh to Moscow. The LI-2, along with a Continue reading

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Hidden For Two Long Years

High up in the Big Horn Mountains, about 23 miles from Buffalo, Wyoming, rest the remains of a B-17F-55-DL Flying Fortress, serial number 42-3399, nicknamed “Scharazad.” The highest peak in the Big Horn Range is Cloud Peak, at an elevation of 12,840 feet. After the crash of the bomber Continue reading

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Blind Spot

Just like cars, planes have blind spots too. It makes sense, and in reality, the blind spots on planes make the blind spots in cars seem so much less significant. It makes no difference really, because during a crash Continue reading

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All Hydraulics Lost

On July 19, 1989, in the skies over Alta, Iowa, United Airlines Flight 232, on which my great aunt, Gladys Cooper was a passenger, began the fateful journey to a catastrophic end. At 3:16pm, the rear engine’s fan disk broke … Continue reading

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Witness To A Plane Crash

Years ago, my mom, Collene Spencer told me about witnessing a plane crash as a little girl. I wish I had thought to get more information Continue reading

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It Was Too Late

Most airplane malfunctions leave the captain and flight crew able to at least attempt a somewhat controlled crash landing, but that was not the case with USAir Flight 427. One minute, everything was going perfectly, and the next, the plane … Continue reading

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