September 15, 1951
On this date there was a Fall Festival Day air show in Flagler,
Colorado. Twenty people, including the pilot of a Timm N2T
Tutor training plane and thirteen children were killed when the
plane crashed into the audience.
A low winged monoplane piloted by 1st Lt. Norman L. Jones of Lowry
Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, passed over the field from south
to north and went into a slow roll at low altitude. The low-wing
monoplane hooked a wing on the ground and crashed into a line of
cars at the east end of the field killing twenty people, including
several children. An estimated 50 people were injured in the incident.
Most of the victims were killed outright in the crash. Seven of the
victims died before their injuries could be treated at the hospital.
The plane was owned by Bill Madsen, a Denver civil air patrol
Lieutenant Colonel who was running the air show for the local Lions
Club. Lieutenant Jones was flying the plane in his off-duty time and was not
flying on behalf of the Air Force.
- Asher, Halford Milton -
- Brandenburg, Donald James - born May 06, 1947
- Brandenburg, James Jefferson - born June 04, 1918,
son of Conrad Erich Brandenburg (1892-1987) and Cora Myrtle
Huntzinger Brandenburg (1899-1980). Spouse - Velma E.
Eslinger Brandenburg Sweet (1923-2009)
- Hall, John Walter - born February 20, 1871 in Brock,
Nebraska, son of Lewis Green Hall (1835-1909) and Joann R. Hall
(1839-1923). Spouse - Berta Mae Young Hall (1873-1956).
The couple was married in 1893.
- Harwood, Illa Mae - born April 29, 1938 in Kit Carson
County, Colorado, daughter of Leighton Dewey Harwood (1902-1966)
and Luciele Riddle Harwood (1911-1986)
- Heid, Ella Elizabeth Luebken - born September 1895,
Washington County, Kansas. She married Ceveland G. Heid
(1892-1964) in 1914. Their children were Charles Martin
Heid (1914-2004), Leola Sophia Heid Love (1916-2000), Vera L.
Heid Butler (1922-1990) and Howard Cleveland Heid (1925-1943).
- Hughes, William Leroy - born 1946
- Jones, Lt. Norman LaRoy (pilot) - born 1922, son of
Norman McIntosh Jones (1895-1958) and Charlotte B. Sponseller
Jones (1895-1978). A student at Lowry Air Force Base's
photo school, he was hurled out of the plane and his body was
found among parked cars.
- Keller, John Alexander - born July 06, 1945, son of
Charles Alexander Keller (1905-1995) and Katherine Ann Selenke
Heller (1909-1951)
- Keller, Kathryn Ann Selenke - born December 23, 1909
in Russia. She married Charles Alexander in 1927.
- Keller, Zenelda Barbara - born October 13, 1937 in
Colorado, daughter of Charles and Katherine Ann Selenke Keller
- McEathron, Bebe Lee - born July 28, 1939 in Holcombe,
Wisconsin, daughter of Elmer McEathron (1916-1983)
- McEathron, Gordon A. - born December 01, 1941
- Moss, Virginia Irene - born 1939, daughter of Wayne
L. Moss (1915-1980) and Nellie Frances Spencer Moss (1916-2010)
- Selenke, Caroline Eleanora - born April 4, 1938 in
Kansas, daughter of Andrew Selenke (1903-1980) and Frances
Ziegler Selenke (1906-1975)
- Simonis, Mardell Rena - born 1943
- Stahlecker, Marlis Jean - born April 30, 1949,
daughter of Edward R. Stahlecker (1911-1973) and Edna L. Bartman
Stahlecker (1918-1994)
- Thompson, Mary Lois Hall - born February 13, 1901 in
Elk Creek, Nebraska, daughter of John Walter Hall (1871-1951)
and Bertha Mae Young Hall (1873-1956). She married Raymond
Thompson (1893-1972) in 1922.
- Vogel, Connie Jean Hasz - born 1941, daughter of
Hardy J. Vogel (1909-1993) and Leona E. lHasz Vogel (1920-2015)
- Yokum, Jean Elizabeth "Jean" Yokum - born
March 14, 1944 in Flagler, Colorado, daughter of Edwin LaClede
Yocum (1904-1991) and Jean Elizabeth Allingham Yocum
(1917-2004).
August 30, 1952
Maj. Donald Earl Adams (photo from Imperial War Museum)
On this date there was an International Aviation Exposition in
Detroit, Michigan. One of a pair of Northrop F-89 Scorpions
disintegrated in flight during a display, killing the Scorpion pilot
and another officer onboard. Based at Griffis Air Force Base
in Rome, New York, the destroyed F-89 (51-5781) was making a
low-altitude, high-speed pass in view of 51,000 spectators.
The crew included the pilot, Maj. Donald Earl Adams, and the radar
intercept officer, Capt. Edward F. Kelly Jr. The second F-89
was flown by Maj. John Recher and Capt. Thomas Myslick.
The left wing of the lead interceptor (Adams' aircraft) suddenly
separated and then the tail broke away. The fighter crashed
and exploded, causing the Scorpion's 20mm cannon shells to detonate.
The fuselage crashed between railroad tracks and the Willow Run
Expressway, ripping up tracks, fences and telephone lines.
Fatalities
Adams, Maj. Donald Earl - Donald Adams was born February
23, 1921 in Canton, New York, the eldest of two sons born to Alonzo
Deys Adams and Mae C. Hurd Adams. He attended Western State
Teachers College in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he was a member of
the baseball, boxing and wrestling teams. He enlisted as a
private in the Enlisted Reserve Corps at Rochester, New York on
October 10, 1942. He was appointed Aviation Cadet on November
18, 1942. The next year he married Mary Ann Lewark on February
13, 1943 in Montgomery, Alabama. They were parents of three
children: Donald, Nancy and Steven. His military career
continued to advance. He trained as a P-51 Mustang fighter
pilot beginning in July 1944 and then served in Europe during World
War II. On May 01, 1947 he transferred to the Air Corps.
Beginning in October 1951 he flew F-86 Sabres in Korea. He
flew 100 combat missions in the Korean War, earning a Silver Star,
Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal with one silver and two
bronze Oak Leaf Clusters (seven awards), among other awards.
He is buried in Clinton Grove Cemetery, Mount Clemens, Michigan.
Kelly, Capt. Edward F. Jr. - Edward Kelly was born May 05,
1918 in New York, the first of four [six?] children born to Edward
F. Kelly and Agatha M. Tynan Kelly. He flew 69 combat missions
in the Pacific during World War II.
October 19, 1952
Shortly before 4:00 p.m. on October 19, 1952, two F-86 Sabres
were taking part in an air show at Barnes Airport in Westfield,
Massachusetts, when they were involved in a high-speed mid-air
collision. The planes disintegrated on impact killing both pilots
instantly while a crowd of 10,000 people watched in horror.
The men were identified as Captain Fred H. Stevens, 28, of Salem,
Virginia, and 1st Lieutenant Robert H. Danell, 25, of Wakefield,
Massachusetts. Both pilots were assigned to the 131st Fighter
Interceptor Squadron of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
They were members of the 4707th Defense Wing stationed at Westover
Air Force Base, which is now a reserve base.
The air show was part of the airport dedication ceremonies, in which
four F-86 jets had been taking part. The accident occurred just
after the four had completed a maneuver known as a “bombshell” in
which the four jets would go into a steep climb and then peel away
in different directions.
Source: Unknown Massachusetts Newspaper, “2 Die As Jets Collide At
Westfield”, October 20, 1952
Fatalities
Danell, Lt. Robert H. - Robert Danell was born August 14,
1927. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross
with Oak Leaf Cluster, an Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and
a Purple Heart. His spouse was Virginia M. Danell (1922-2003).
Their son, R. Mark Danell, was five years old when the crash
occurred.
Stevens, Capt. Fred Houston - Fred Stevens was born
January 24, 1924, son of Fred Noble Stevens (1891-1961) and Frances
Elizabeth Kesler Stevens Boone (1902-1991). His sisters were
Barbara James "Boogie" Stevens Boone (1933-2007), Rosalie S. Myers,
and Mary S. Johnson. Captain Stevens married Ruth Marie
Mitchell (1925-1986) on August 02, 1945 at Salem, Virginia.
Their son, Charles Stevens, attended the ceremony for the memorial
dedication.
Memorial
In October of 2012, sixty years after the accident, a $10,000
memorial honoring Captain Stevens and Lieutenant Danell was
dedicated at Barnes Airport. It is located near holes 12 and 14 on
the course grounds of the East Mountain Country Club. Most of
the wreckage from the accident came down on what at that time was
farmland and trees.
September 05, 1954
At the Dayton Air Show, being held at the James M. Cox Municipal
Airport, Major John L. ("Jack") Armstrong, U.S. Air Force, flew his
North American Aviation F-86H-1-NA Sabre, 52-1998, to a World Speed
Record over a 500 kilometer course, averaging 649.461 miles per
hour. He died two days later when his plane broke apart in flight
while attempting to set another record.
Fatality
Armstrong, Maj. John Leroy "Jake" - Jake Armstrong was
born July 19, 1922 in Placentia, California, a son of Milton
Williams Armstrong (1882-1967) and Olive M. Meyer Armstrong
(1887-1934). His siblings were Percy W. Armstrong (1910-1933),
Milton J. Armstrong, and Ella E. Post.
Major John Armstrong was a fighter pilot during World War II,
flying Lockheed P-38 Lightnings and North American P-51 Mustangs
with the 79th Fighter Squadron, based at RAF Kings Cliffe,
Northamptonshire, England. On 28 August 1944, his P-51 was shot down
by anti-aircraft gunfire while he was attacking a railway locomotive
in Germany. Armstrong was captured and held at Stalag Luft I at
Barth, Western Pomerania until June 1945. He was the recipient
of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with five Oak Leaf
Clusters, the POW medal, and other wars. He is buried in Loma
Vista Memorial Park, Fullerton, California. |
