1955 — Aug 23, engine fire after takeoff, USAF C-119 crash into homes, Charleston, SC– 9

–10 AP. “C119 Crashes into Houses, Ten Killed.” North Adams Transcript, MA. 8-23-1955, p1.
— 9 Aviation Safety Network. Database 1955. Flight Safety Foundation.
— 9 Baugher. 1951 USAF Serial Numbers. 11-7-2011 revision.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Kaiser-Frazer C-119F-KM Flying Boxcar….8165 (c/n 168) converted to C-119J standard in 1955 but lost before new designation could be officially applied. With 4356th TCW, crashed into a home in densely populated area of Charleston, SC Aug 23, 1955. 5 crew killed, 6 crew survived, 4 civilians on ground killed.” (Baugher. 1951 USAF Serial Numbers. 11-7-2011 revision)

Dept. of the Air Force: “On August 23, 1955, a United States Air Force aircraft, type C-119, while on an authorized mission from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebr., crashed near Taylor Street, Liberty Park, Charleston, S.C., destroying 2 railroad-type tenant houses and 1 detached toilet house…” (Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Lyle S. Garlock letter of 5-17-1956 to Hon. Percival F. Brundage, Director, Bureau of the Budget, p. 9 in U.S. House of Representatives Document 426. Communication from the President of the United States. 1956.)

Newspaper

Aug 23: “Charleston, Aug. 23 (AP) – A huge Air Force transport plane, crippled by engine trouble, crashed in flames into three small frame houses near the Charleston Air Force Base before dawn today, exploded and killed at least nine airmen and civilians. Fire spread in every direction and lit the sky for miles. Heat held back would-be rescuers.

“Five of the 11-member crew were trapped and died in the C119 Flying Boxcar which first hit a tree and broke into chunks of flaming wreckage.

“Bodies of four of the 10 persons who lived in the three houses were identified. Rescue workers probed the charred remains of the building on the chance others had died.

“The six surviving airmen and four civilians were hospitalized. None was believed hurt critically.

“The plane burst into flame shortly after it and a sister ship took off on a routine night flight. A North Charleston fireman said he saw two flashes from the stricken C119 before it fell into the Liberty Park community some 10 miles from the center of Charleston about 2 a.m.

“‘I heard the plane coming,’ said David Nelson, who was in his home a short distance away. ‘Everybody in my house jumped up. We didn’t try to help. It was too hot. We just ran.’

“Only 25 feet from one of the demolished houses, Roger Nix and his wife and baby were sleeping. ‘The crash woke me up,’ Nix said. ‘Everything was lit up and there was an explosion, then another one. We ran from the house and there was fire everywhere. I saw a man crawling from the fire.’

“Dobbins Peyton, 31, who operates a restaurant in the area, said he fought the flames with a garden hose for 10 minutes before the first firemen arrived. He helped his parents and his 6-year-old sister to safety as the flames threatened to spread.

“Estelle Robinson, who works for Peyton, ran to the door of the restaurant as thee plane sheared off treetops in its descent. ‘My God,’ she cried, ‘it’s my house.’ Her husband, Charlie, was found dead inside.

“The civilians injured included a man and wife who were asleep when one of the plane’s propellers was flung 100 yards through their window.

“The Air Force said the crew members killed were: Capt. Robert L. McNeal, Windber, Pa., the pilot; 1st Lt. Francis L. McShane, North Charleston, S.C.; 2nd Lt. James John Maher, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Airman 3.C. Keith Halls, Smoot, Wyo.; and Airman 2.C. John W. Glahn, Cincinnati, Ohio….

“The civilian dead included, in addition to Charlie Robinson, Sam Gibbs and his wife, Ella, and Elizabeth McCall….

“All of the six surviving crew members were in the plane’s cargo area. From their beds in the Naval Hospital here they told a tale of fire and confusion, and of miraculous escapes. One of the crewmen said the plane was carrying 2,400 gallons of gasoline.” (Associated Press. “Plane Falls Near Charleston Base.” Florence Morning News, SC, 8-24-1955, p. 1.)

Aug 25: “Charleston, S.C. (UP) – The Air Force began an investigation today into the crash of a C119 Flying Boxcar which, with one engine afire, clipped the top off a hickory tree and plunged into a densely populated residential area early Tuesday. Nine persons were killed and 11 injured….

“The crash occurred a mile southeast of the Charleston Air Force Base, 10 miles north of here at 3:05 a.m. EDT. The plane, from the 456th Troop Carrier Wing at the Charleston base, had just taken off on a routine night training flight.

“Moments after takeoff, flames spouted from the plane’s left wing and the pilot, Capt. Robert L. McNeal of Windber, Pa., radioed the tower ‘I’m coming around.’ But before McNeal could maneuver the big plane back over the runway, the right wing clipped the top of a hickory tree and the plane plunged into the Liberty Park housing development. McNeal was one of the nine killed
(United Press. “Air Force Opens Probe of Crash.” Dubois Courier-Express, IA, 8-25-1955, p. 14.)

Sources

Associated Press. “C119 Crashes into Houses, Ten Killed.” North Adams Transcript, MA. 8-23-1955, p. 1. Accessed 3-20-2020 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/north-adams-transcript-aug-23-1955-p-1/

Associated Press. “Plane Falls Near Charleston Base.” Florence Morning News, SC, 8-24-1955, p. 1. Accessed 3-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/florence-morning-news-aug-24-1955-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network. Database 1955. Flight Safety Foundation. Accessed 3-20-2020 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19550823-0

Garlock, Lyle S., Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, letter of 5-17-1956 to Hon. Percival F. Brundage, Director, Bureau of the Budget, p. 9 in U.S. House of Representatives Document 426. Communication from the President of the United States. 1956. Accessed 3-20-2020 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=S7cjAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

United Press. “Air Force Opens Probe of Crash.” Dubois Courier-Express, IA, 8-25-1955, p. 14. Accessed 3-20-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/dubois-courier-express-aug-25-1955-p-14/