[Source of information on this page of the KWE provided by the United States Coast Guard
website.] 1952
Date of incident: 27 May 1952
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG R. J. Tomozer
AL1 B. Moore
AL2 B. E. Woodard
TSGT H. P. Colbeck, USAF
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Port Angeles Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Martin PBM-5G Mariner, 84740 Location of the incident:
Port Angeles, WA Description of the incident:
The crew of this PBM-5G was taking off into the Straights of Juan de Fuca to return the body of an Air Force
airman to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The airplane climbed to an altitude of 250 feet, stalled, and
crashed. Date of incident: 11 November 1952
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR R. S. McClendon
LT M. L. McGregor
SK3 H. J. Belt
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Guam Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina, 46640 Location of the incident: Guam Description of the incident:
During takeoff for a night training flight, the aircraft lost an engine. While attempting to return to the
runway for landing, the aircraft crashed. Date of incident: 13 November 1952
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
CDR J. F. McCue
AD1 H. J. White
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Salem Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Bell HTL-1, 2460 Location of the incident:
Beverly, MA Description of the incident:
En route to a practice landing site in Beverly, the helicopter developed engine and control problems and
crashed out of control in a residential area. The pilot and crewman were killed, becoming the first Coast
Guard helicopter aircrew fatalities.
1953
Date of incident: 18 January 1953
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG. G. W. Stuart
ALC W. J. Hammond
AL1 C. R. Tornell
AO1 J. R. Bridge
AD3 T. W. Miller
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRDET Sangley Point Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Martin PBM-5G Mariner, 84738 Location of the incident:
Formosa Strait Description of the incident:
The crew of this PBM-5G, based at Sangley Point, Philippine Islands, had just rescued the survivors of a US
Navy P2V that had been shot down by Communist Chinese forces. The airplane crashed while attempting to take
off in heavy seas near the coast of China. Four Navy and five Coast Guard personnel perished in the crash.
Date of incident: 6 July 1953
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR L. N. Felts
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Wright Patterson AFB, OH Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Beechcraft C45-B Expeditor, USAF 433565A Location of the incident: Wisconsin Description of the
incident:
The aircraft was on a cross-country flight. Following an overnight stop in LaCrosse, Wisconsin due to poor
weather, the aircraft departed the next morning for nearby Camp McCoy, to take on fuel. After fueling, the
aircraft departed Camp McCoy and experienced a loss of power in the left engine. While turning to the left
to return to the field, the aircraft stalled and crashed. The pilot, co-pilot, and two passengers did not
survive. Date of incident: 7 July 1953
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
ENS V. C. Fleck
AD2 J. C. Netherland
AIC M. L. Sweet, USAF
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Biloxi Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina, 46617 Location of the incident: Louisiana Description of the incident:
Responding to a request for emergency medical evacuation from a vessel on the Mississippi River, the PBY
struck a submerged obstacle that caused the aircraft to water loop, separating the wing from the fuselage.
The aircraft quickly sank. The pilot, one crewman, and one Air Force airman perished in the crash. Three
other crewmen survived with injuries.
1954
Date of incident: 20 January 1954
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT J. W. Day
AD3 R. A. Chauvin
AD3 D. R. Littleford
AD3 P. A. Palombini
AD3 W. J. Goodman
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Port Angeles Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HO4S-3G [HH-19G], 1303 Location of the incident: Port Angeles, WA Description of the incident:
This crew was practicing auto rotations from an altitude of 1,500 feet. Upon reaching 500 feet the
helicopter appeared to go out of control. Upon partial recovery at 100 feet, the main rotor departed the
aircraft, followed by the tail rotor, tail boom and drive assembly. The helicopter plunged into the water
near CGAS Port Angeles. Date of incident: 6 May 1954
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG D. G. Teifer
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Corpus Christi Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Martin PBM-5 Mariner, 59106 Location of the incident: Mexico Description of the incident:
The aircraft was on an over-water navigation training mission in the Gulf of Mexico. The pilot radioed a
position report southeast of Brownville, enroute to Corpus Christi. No further contact was made. The
aircraft impacted a ridge at the 3000-foot level near Caricitas, Mexico. After a massive search the wreckage
was located. There were no survivors. Nine US Navy personnel also perished in the crash.
Date of incident: 26 June 1954
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
CDR P. A. Ortman
LT G. E. Eiswald, USN
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
USCGC Westwind Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Bell HTL-4, 128906 Location of the incident: Melville Bay, Greenland Description of the incident:
CDR Ortman was the executive officer of the CGC Westwind and LT Eiswald was the pilot for the cutter's
helicopter. Both officers perished when the helicopter crash-landed on ice floes near Melville Bay,
Greenland. Date of incident: 14 December 1954
Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AL1 Clifford E. Habecker
AD1 Andrew P. Tournier
AL3 Doyle E. Jahn
Fred Harrington (passenger--medical patient)
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Annette Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman UF-1G [HU-16E] Albatross, 2121 Location of the incident: Haines, Alaska Description of the
incident:
UF-1G 2121 was flown from Annette, Alaska to Haines, Alaska on 14 December 1954 to perform a medical
evacuation. The aircraft crashed during a water take-off, possibly due to a layer of ice that had built up
on its wing during the wait for the patient to be delivered. |