1971 — June 13, USAF C-135B, monitoring French nuclear test, crash, North Pacific–all 24

— 24 Aviation Safety Network. USAF, Boeing C-135B, 13 Jun 1971, Pacific Ocean.
— 24 Baugher, Joseph F. 1961 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 revision.
— 24 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 107.

Narrative Information

ASN: Registration # 61-0331. All 24 occupants lost. On flight from Honolulu-Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, to Pago-Pago International Airport, American Samoa. (ASN. USAF 13 Jun 1971)

Baugher: “Boeing C-135B-BN Stratolifter….0331 (c/n 18238) lost Jun 13, 1971 North Pacific on flight from Hickam AFB, HI to Pago Pago IAP, American Samoa. 24 on board, no survivors. Only minor debris found. The plane was used to monitor French atmospheric nuclear tests in the Pacific.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1961 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 revision.)

Gero:
“Date: 13 June 1971 (c.13:30)
“Location: North Pacific Ocean
“Operator: US Air Force
“Aircraft type: Boeing C-135B (61-0331)

“Assigned to the classified Project III, with the intention of monitoring French above-ground nuclear testing in the South Pacific, the modified jet transport had, the previous day, successfully completed a test mission from Hickam Air Force Base, in Hawaii, US, to Pago Pago, American Samoa. On the return flight, however, it met with what was described as a ‘catastrophic event’, leading to an uncontrolled plunge into the sea about 700 miles (1,1ookm) south-south-west of its destination. By the time search operations were terminated four days later, only pieces of secondary aircraft structure and the undamaged crash position indicator had been recovered; no trace of the 24 crewmen, who comprised both military personnel and civilians, was found. Last reported at an altitude of 33,000ft (10,050m), while on a probable true heading of 20 degrees and flying at an estimated air speed of around 540mph (870kph), 61-331 had apparently begun a radio transmission that could not be deciphered and which ended abruptly at approximately 13:25 local time. The C-135 was believed to have subsequently struck the surface of the ocean at a high speed and a steep angle of descent, and the absence in the water of helmets, clothing and other personal effects indicated that it had been intact until the moment of impact, whereupon it must have disintegrated. There was no evidence of either in-flight or post-crash fire or explosion. The weather in the area at the time was generally clear, with scattered cumulus clouds well below the flight level of the aircraft and a south-south-westerly wind of 25 knots. There was no evidence that the modifications in 61-331, which included 11 additional windows and, significantly, a canoe-shaped fairing with radome atop its fuselage, had in any way affected the structural integrity of the aircraft. Nevertheless, nine years later a US federal court ruled that the 12 civilian victims of the tragedy were entitled to wrongful death damages from LTV, which had attached the radome.” (Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, pp. 107-108).

Sources

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United States Air Force, Boeing C-135B, 13 Jun 1971, Pacific Ocean. At: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19710613-1

Baugher, Joseph F. 1961 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 revision. Accessed 2-23-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1961.html

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.