Topics - Coast Guard Aircraft Accidents

 
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[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.

 
 
 
 

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