Coast Guard Aviators & Aircrews That Did Not Return. . .
Date of incident:
19 January 1935Names of personnel killed in the incident:
CHGUN [Warrant] & NAP Charles T. Thrun, Coast Guard Aviator Number 3Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Cape MayAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman JF-2 Duck, V136Location of the incident:
Cape May, NJDescription of the incident:
"Chief Gunner Charles T. Thrun, USCG, attached to the Cape May Air Station, was killed when his plane nose dived at Cape May. Aviation Motor Machinist's Mate Kermit Parker, the only other occupant of the plane, escaped with a shock. Mr. Thrun's body was removed from the plane by Lieutenant R[ichard] L. Burke, who dived down in the icy water for that purpose. The body had been immersed about one-half hour. Every effort was made to resuscitate Gunner Thrun but after 7 1/2 hours he was pronounced dead. Burial was held at Arlington with full military honors on January 24 [1935]. Secretary [Henry] Morgenthau and the Commandant [RADM Harry Hamlet] sent a message of sympathy to the widow." [As reported in Coast Guard Magazine, March, 1935, p. 4.]The following poem preceded this article:
"So Thrun, old boy, your cruise is done,
No more you'll chart the blue.
You gambled Fate and Fate has won,
As Fate must always do.
You died while on the wing, old chap,
And though we cannot know,
We think that, after all, mayhap,
You would have wished it so."
Date of incident:
15 June 1936Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Charles Martin Perrott
AMM1 William Dovian Eubank
RMC Walter O. MorrisAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA St. PetersburgAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman JF-2 Duck, V142Location of the incident:
Tampa Bay, FLDescription of the incident:
The crew took off in "squally weather to search for two missing fisherman" at 7:00a.m. on June15, 1936. Their amphibian crashed into Tampa Bay. The men were buried in Arlington National Cemetery. [As reported in Coast Guard Magazine, August, 1936, pp. 6-7].
Date of incident:
24 September 1936Names of personnel killed in the incident:
RMC(AP) R. S. Banker
Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA BiloxiAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Vought O2U4 Corsair; A8351 (Navy aircraft??)Location of the incident:
Norfolk Engine School, VADescription of the incident:
RMC R. S. Banker were assigned to CGAS Biloxi. He was a 1935 graduate of the Navy's Aviation Pilots Course in Pensacola. He was taking the machinist's mate course while attached to the Engine School and Repair Base in Norfolk, Virginia. While attached to the Engine School he died as a result of injuries he sustained in an airplane crash in the Norfolk area.
Date of incident:
5 December 1936Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Luke ChristopherAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Cape MayAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Douglas RD-2 Dolphin, V111Location of the incident:
Assateague, Virginia
Description of the incident:
"Lieutenant Christopher was on an errand of mercy when his death occurred. He had been ordered from the Cape May Air Station to pick up a sick man in Assateague Harbor from an Assateague surfboat. He picked up the patient to transport him to the Norfolk Hospital, but crashed on take-off; and died shortly after. The sick man [who survived the crash] was later transported to the hospital at Salisbury, Maryland." [As reported in Coast Guard Magazine, January, 1937, p. 8].Click here to access a more detailed narrative of this rescue and tragic crash.
Date of incident:
14 September 1938Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT William SchisslerAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Attached to the Army Air Corps Technical School, Chanute Field, IllinoisAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
North American BC-1 (Army Air Corps BC-1 #37-658)Location of the incident:
Chanute Air Field, IL
Description of the incident:
LT Schissler was attached to the Army Air Corps Technical School in Chanute Field, Illinois. While flying on a two-hour training mission, LT Schissler became lost while attempting to locate the airfield. The day was overcast with broken clouds. As his fuel supply dwindled, he attempted an emergency landing in a nearby clover field. Apparently during his landing maneuvers, the right wing came off the aircraft and the BC-1 crashed, killing LT Schissler.
Date of incident:
19 December 1938Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Perry Smithson Lyons
ENS Clyde H. Teague, Jr.
AMM1 Rupert H. Germaine
CPL George C. Latham, AUSA (passenger)Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Coast Guard Air Patrol Detachment El PasoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Waco J2W, V157Location of the incident:
Texas
Description of the incident:
The aircraft left El Paso about 4 p.m. on Monday, 19 December 1938, bound for Houston. It crashed in flames near the town of Boerne at 10 p.m. that night. The cause of the crash was never determined.
Date of incident:
6 April 1939Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG Robert Leven GranthamAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Coast Guard Air Patrol Detachment El PasoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Waco J2W, V158Location of the incident:
Texas
Description of the incident:
LTJG R. L. Grantham and three crewmen departed Coast Guard Air Patrol Detachment El Paso enroute to Galveston, Texas. Shortly after takeoff the airplane encountered a dust storm, high winds, and then icing. When the icing became too severe he ordered his crew to bail out. After the last crewman had exited the plane, he too jumped but his parachute caught on a wing and he was carried to his death.His obituary in the May, 1939 Coast Guard Magazine [page 5] states: "The historic sod of Arlington National Cemetery last month closed over yet another Coast Guard hero. Lieutenant (j.g.) R. L. Grantham, USCG, flyer. Not for the first time in recent Coast Guard history has an officer given his life for enlisted men. Lieutenant Grantham's case left no doubt of his actions and heroism in sending his men to safety while he died at his post. Caught in a dust storm near Alpine, Texas, the plane was buffeted about by high winds, completely out of control. Lieutenant Grantham ordered his men to jump. They did, the three men landing safely. They were Clifford J. Hudder, James A. Dinan, and Robert S. Paddon. They realize full well that Lieutenant Grantham died that they might live. Ages ago it was written in letters to the sky, 'Greater love than this hath no man than that he give his life for his friend.' There is no finer way to die. To make sure his men were clear, Grantham stuck at the controls too long. When he tried to clear the plane it was too late to save his own life. Married only last May, Lieutenant Grantham's widow at least has the memory of a man whose name will go down in the annals of the Coast Guard and the United States as all officer, all gentleman, and ALL MAN!"
Date of incident:
15 July 1939Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT William Lee Clemmer
AMM2 (AP) John J. RadanAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA BrooklynAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Hall PH-2, V164Location of the incident:
At sea
Description of the incident:
This crew had just picked up a pneumonia stricken seaman, George Priest, off the motor-sailing ship Atlantis in their Hall PH-2 flying boat. As the seaplane began its takeoff run, according to an article in the Coast Guard Magazine (August, 1939, p. 21), "the V-164 had risen a few feet into the air when a heavy swell reared in its path. The swell caught the plane's nose and dragged it down. Before seamen on the Atlantis could heave a line to the V-164, it had vanished. Five members of the seaplane's crew, two with backs broken by the impact, struggled free [of the wreckage] and were picked up, but the others and the sailor they had rescued were carried down. The dead: George Priest, 34, of Falmouth, Mass., Atlantis crewmember. Lieutenant William Lee Clemmer, U.S.C.G., pilot. John Radan, Jr., of Bessemer, Pa., aviation pilot. The survivors, hauled out of the water by sailors who a few minutes before had rowed Priest to the plane in the Atlantis' small boat, were: Russell Hayes, yeoman, broken back. Frank L. Evers, radioman, broken back. Carl A. Simon, mechanic. Walter Salter, mechanic. Charles R. Whelan, mechanic. The Coast Guard dispatched two planes and three cutters to the scene. The Atlantis turned to meet the Pontchartrain, Comanche and Campbell, the latter carrying a surgeon. Mrs. Adria Clemmer, wife of the V-164's pilot, was at Floyd Bennett Field when news of the crash was received. The Atlantis, a 142-foot auxiliary ketch, with a crew of 17, left the Woods Hole oceanographic station July 5 to gauge the Gulf Stream current and was to have returned to the station on 16 July, 1939. Priest had never been to sea before. He was a real estate operator making a cruise for his health."
Date of incident:
18 July 1939Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AMM1 (AP) Fred E. SchweiningAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA CharlestonAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman JF-2 Duck, V147Location of the incident:
Amelia River, Florida
Description of the incident:
"At 12:45 P.M. on July 18th, another tragedy occurred in the ranks of the Coast Guard when plane V-147, on patrol duty, with Pilot Fred E. Schweining, Thomas S. McKenzie, radio operator, and Frank Dryden, mechanic, taking off in the Amelia River, struck a beacon and crashed in full view of the Coast Guard patrol boat 186, stationed at Fernandina, Florida. Pilot Schweining was drowned, after every effort had been made to extricate him from the sunken wreckage, first by Dryden, who, while he was injured, submerged himself several times in an effort to extricate Schweining. . .The V-147, on patrol duty, searching for a barge belonging to the Tidewater Construction Company, of Beaufort, had landed at Fernandina for information and chow on the 186 and was to have resumed the search later" [As reported in the Coast Guard Magazine, September, 1939, p. 6].
Date of incident:
18 August 1939Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AMM3 J. A. MerrickAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
NAS PensacolaAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Stearman N2S, USN 0617Location of the incident:
Pensacola, FL
Description of the incident:
AMM3 Merrick, a student pilot, was killed in a mid-air collision at low altitude near Felton Field. He was attached to Squadron 2. He had been assigned to flight training from CGAS Biloxi.
Date of incident:
20 June 1940Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AMM3 Herbert Stanley HaleAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA SalemAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Douglas RD-4 Dolphin, V-129Location of the incident:
Salem, MA
Description of the incident:
"Coast Guardsman Herbert Stanley Hale, of the Salem Air Station. . .lost his life by drowning while working on a Coast Guard plane." [As reported in Coast Guard Magazine, August, 1940, p. 19.] His aircraft, piloted by LT George Olson and carrying a Coast Guard inspection party, landed in the waters off Nantucket. According to a news report, Hale was struck by the aircraft's propeller and was thrown into the water. No other details are available. His body was never recovered.
Date of incident:
29 September 1940Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT True G. Miller
SN2 Travis B. RedmanAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA St. PetersburgAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman JF-2 Duck, V145Location of the incident:
Tampa Bay, FL
Description of the incident:
"Lieut. Miller with T. B. Redman, seaman 2nd class, took off from the St. Petersburg Air Station Sunday, September 29, on a local night training flight and crashed some time later. When his amphibian plane did not return to the airport at the expected time, planes and patrol boats were dispatched to search Tampa Bay. Miller's body, badly mangled, was recovered October 1. The search continued for Redman." [As reported in Coast Guard Magazine, November, 1940, p. 51].The Coast Guard Bulletin (November, 1940 issue; Vol. I, No. 17; page 136) reported: "Lt. True G. Miller and Seaman Second Class Travis B. Redman were killed on September 29 [1940], when Coast Guard plane V-145, a single-engined Grumman amphibian, which Lieutenant Miller was piloting, crashed in the water near the St. Petersburg Air Station, Fla. Lieutenant Miller was buried at Arlington Cemetery, Va., on October 4; the body of Seaman Redman has not yet been recovered. The plane at the time of the crash was on a local night training flight. Lieutenant Miller, during his career in the Coast Guard, served on the cutters Shaw, Pontchartrain, and Unalga. He also had been attached to the Salem Air Station, the Cape May Air Station, and the Brooklyn Air Station."
Date of incident:
7 June 1941Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG D. W. Weller, student pilotAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
NAS PensacolaAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Vought SU-3, USMC 9132Location of the incident:
Pensacola
Description of the incident:
LTJG D. W. Weller, a student pilot, was killed when his aircraft collided with another student pilot while flying in a group formation over Banyon Grande in the Gulf of Mexico, just north of Chevalier Field.
Date of incident:
5 August 1941Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AMM1 Leonard L. Stonerock
RM1 John C. Gill
AMM1 Fleet D. HancockAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San FranciscoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Douglas RD-4 Dolphin, V126Location of the incident:
Farallon Islands
Description of the incident:
AMM1 L.L. Stonerock was an Aviation Pilot and was the pilot of the RD-4. They were on a routine patrol off the California coast in foggy conditions. "Skimming close to the ocean, the amphibian plane, piloted by Stonerock, apparently struck a jutting rock and exploded off Farallon Islands, the Associated Press reported. Wreckage of the plane, which had been on patrol duty, was found by a minesweeper sent to search for it when regular radio reports ceased to be received. None of the bodies of the three aboard the plane had been recovered as we go to press. Naval minesweepers found bits of wreckage near the jagged rocks of the island and made identification of the plane from a wing fragment. The plane had been forced to fly low due to poor visibility." [As reported in Coast Guard Magazine, September, 1941, p. 36].
Date of incident:
3 April 1942Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AMM2 (AP) Edward T. Werner
RM3 C. V. BratuAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA SalemAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Vought OS2U-3 Kingfisher, 5777Location of the incident:
Salem, MA
Description of the incident:
While on an ASW patrol off Salem, Massachusetts, the aircraft was presumed to have struck the water, possibly during an attack on a German U-boat. When the aircraft was reported overdue, a search was organized. A wingtip was eventually recovered but no sign of the crew or any other wreckage was found.
Date of incident:
16 April 1942Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Robert J. Lafferty
AMM1 S. J. Tarapchak
RM1 W. A. BoutillierAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA BrooklynAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman JRF-3, V190Location of the incident:
Massachusetts
Description of the incident:
The aircraft departed on a test flight and was diverted to confirm a reported sighting of a submarine southeast of Nantucket. The weather deteriorated and darkness set in after the aircraft departed the station. The rain and gathering darkness limited visibility and the aircraft consequently impacted the cliffs on Block Island, killing all on board.
Date of incident:
5 June 1942Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AM2 Richard L. FisherAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
NAS PensacolaAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, 05023Location of the incident:
Gulf of Mexico
Description of the incident:
The aircraft departed NAS Pensacola on a student navigation flight and ASW patrol over the Gulf of Mexico. At 1025 the pilot sent his position in bearing and distance from a "Point Option" which agreed with his proposed track; this was the last report received from the plane. When it was determined that the plane was overdue, an extensive search was conducted with negative results.
Date of incident:
29 November 1942Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT John A. Pritchard
RM1 Benjamin A. Bottoms
CPL Loren E. Howarth, USAAFAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
CGC NorthlandAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman J2F-4 Duck, V1640Location of the incident:
Greenland
Description of the incident:
LT Pritchard and his radioman, RM1 Bottoms, both assigned to the USCGC Northland on the Greenland Patrol, departed on 28 November 1942 in the Northland's Duck amphibian to locate and assist the crew of a B-17 that had crashed in Greenland. They successfully located the survivors, rescued two, and flew back to the cutter that night. During a subsequent rescue attempt the next day, in heavy fog, their Duck crashed after taking off with one other survivor, Corporal Loren E. Howarth, USAAF. Their bodies were never recovered and on 30 November 1943 the two Coast Guardsmen were declared as killed in the line of duty. Both were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Date of incident:
22 March 1943Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AMM3 R. H. ThompsonAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
NAS PensacolaAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Vultee SNV-1 Valiant, USN 34225Location of the incident:
Florida
Description of the incident:
The aircraft departed NAS Saufley on a basic formation training flight in company with two other aircraft. After completing the training flight, the aircraft returned to Saufley which was obscured by an intense thunderstorm. The instructor vectored the flight to a small grass outlying strip west of Saufley in echelon formation. Upon arrival over the grass strip with flaps down, there was a wind shift. Two of the three aircraft corrected for the wind shift. The accident aircraft stalled, entered a vertical spin from 600 feet, and crashed. The instructor and the other student were waived off and returned to Saufley.
Date of incident:
6 April 1943Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR Frederick L. Westbrook
LTJG C. R. Heussy
CAP E. H. Muyskens
RM1 T. E. KesnerAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Port AngelesAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman JRF-2 Goose, V176Location of the incident:
Olympia, WADescription of the incident:
While enroute to Seattle during IFR conditions, the aircraft impacted Blyn Mountain.
Date of incident:
9 May 1943Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG D. C. Burroughs, USNAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San FranciscoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Vought OS2U-2 Kingfisher, 2270 (Coast Guard aircraft)Location of the incident:
Pacific Ocean
Description of the incident:
The aircraft was returning from a routine anti-submarine patrol off the California coast. At San Gregorio Beach, south of San Francisco, the plane crashed into the ocean. A Coast Guard crewman, Henry H. Kind, survived the crash.
Date of incident:
1 July 1943Names of personnel killed in the incident:
MoMMC Dana W. HeckartAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
NAS PensacolaAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina, 04447Location of the incident:
Pensacola
Description of the incident:
Chief Motor Machinist Mate Dana W. Heckart was undergoing flight training at Pensacola and was the co-pilot of PBY-5 04447 during an anti-submarine patrol training flight. The pilot, LT (jg) John W. Nichols, USN, attempted to make a "power stall" water landing during a rain storm. The PBY "hit swells" that "bounced" the aircraft. On the third bounce, the nose of the aircraft buried in the water, causing the aircraft to nose over. The cockpit section separated from the rest of the aircraft and sank, taking Chief Heckart to the bottom. He did not survive. Nichols and the other six members of the crew, although injured, survived the crash.
Date of incident:
18 July 1943Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR George O. Olson
CDR Harry A. Bolles, USN
LCDR E. L Carpenter, USNR
ENS Joe A. Sosbee, USC & GS
ENS Ray B. Elliott USC & GS
AMMC Charles E. Isaason
RM2 Arthur Arnold Boeke
AMM3 Curtis K. DrennanAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San FranciscoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, 08055Location of the incident:
Adak, AK
Description of the incident:
This PBY-5A had been modified to accommodate a nine-lens aerial mapping camera developed by the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey. The aircraft was manned by a combined crew of Coast Guard and Coast & Geodetic Survey personnel. It crashed near Adak, Alaska, on a survey mission. No other details are available.
Date of incident:
21 September 1943Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AP1 C. R. ByrdAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA SalemAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman JRF-5 Goose, V225Location of the incident:
Pennsylvania
Description of the incident:
On a flight from Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York, to San Francisco, AP1 C. R. Byrd, after leaning out of the interior of the aircraft to attempt to repair a radio antenna, fell to his death.
Date of incident:
19 November 1943Names of personnel killed in the incident:
ENS Harold D. Bennett
RMC J. W. Cole
AMM1 C. W. Bull
1 unidentified passengerAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Port AngelesAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman JRF-2 Goose, V175, 34075Location of the incident:
Alaska
Description of the incident:
The crew of this JF-2 seaplane was on special duty in Alaska, flying patrols and logistic missions. The aircraft took off from Port Heiden into low ceilings and icing conditions. After radioing the airfield of their weather problems, they turned back. Shortly after the aircraft impacted a mountain slope and all four persons on board perished. The second volume of the Coast Guard At War series covering LORAN activities of the service noted:LOSS OF JRF PLANE
On 15 November, 1943, the commanding officer of [LORAN] Construction Detachment A, Lt. Comdr. Martin, being ordered to San Francisco, Calif., to a join a party which was to make surveys for new stations in the southwest Pacific, Lt (j.g.) Horder was left in charge in the Aleutians pending the arrival of a relief. Lt. Comdr. Martin left Attu on 16 November, aboard the JRF airplane the assigned to the unit, no other transportation being available. Because of its extremely short range and the prevailing bad weather, this plane was not considered adequate for the Loran work in Alaska, and the previous day the orders of the plane commander had been endorsed to this effect, and he had been directed to return to his base, Port Angeles, Wash. At Dutch Harbor a Naval Air Transport Plane was departing for Kodiak and as this plane was much faster and was proceeding non-stop Lt. Comdr. Martin transferred to it. The JRF airplane left Dutch Harbor 20 minutes previously for Kodiak, via Cold Bay and Port Heiden where gasoline was to be taken aboard. After leaving Port Heiden the plane disappeared and was never found. [The Coast Guard At War, IV: LORAN, Volume II (Washington, DC: U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Public Information Division, August 1, 1946), p. 45.]
The remains of the four persons on board were recovered in 1987.
Date of incident:
27 November 1943Names of personnel killed in the incident:
ENS Charles E. Johnson, USCGRAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
USNAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, USN, BUNO 08118Location of the incident:
Unalaska, Alaska
Description of the incident:
ENS Johnson was crewman in a Navy PBY-5A that had been running baselines for calibrating new LORAN stations in Alaska. While attempting to enter Unalaska Bay for a landing at Dutch Harbor, during weather conditions of low visibility and rain, the pilot made a landfall in the bay which he did not recognize. Feeling that a turn would probably result in a collision with a mountainside, the pilot elected to land in this bay. After readying the aircraft for a water landing he proceeded to make a normal landing, but was unaware of the height of the ground swells (approximately 5-feet). Immediately after contacting the water, the aircraft nosed into a ground swell and broke apart at the pilot's compartment. The wing broke off and the plane filled with water and sank. ENS Johnson was killed, along with two Navy crewmen. The ten others aboard, including the pilot, were injured but survived.
Date of incident:
23 February 1945Names of personnel killed in the incident:
ENS Walter D. Huston
ARM1 J. A. WoodAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Elizabeth CityAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, 05007Location of the incident:
Elizabeth City, NC
Description of the incident:
Not available.
Date of incident:
5 September 1945Names of personnel killed in the incident:
CAP G. D. Ferrin
ACMC F. S. RakovicAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San DiegoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman JRF-5G Goose, 37795Location of the incident:
San Diego, CA
Description of the incident:
While on a test flight in the vicinity of the Mission Dam the aircraft struck high-tension wires and crashed into the Mission Gorge.
Date of incident:
15 December 1945Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG Joseph T. McCormick
ARM1 B. C. RobinsonAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
CGC EastwindAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman J2F-6 Duck, 32740Location of the incident:
Boston, MA
Description of the incident:
As Eastwind approached Boston, her J2F was put over the side so that it could take off and fly to the Grumman service center in New York. The amphibian took off without incident but when it reached an altitude of between 50 and 75 feet, the engine appeared to blow up in a ball of flame. The Duck crashed into the water, leaving little trace. The aircraft and its crew were not recovered.
Date of incident:
18 December 1945Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Vaughn E. Salisbury
CAP Ernest C. Lindsey
AMMC John E. Vallowe
ARM1 William L. Hickman
AMM2 George L Proffitt
AMM1 Oswald D. Jacobson
CPL Marion Higgins, AUSAAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA BiloxiAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, 46497Location of the incident:
Texas
Description of the incident:
While on a ferry flight from CGAS Biloxi to NAS Seattle for overhaul, pilot reported an oil leak in the right engine. Pilot then reported single engine operation and requested emergency clearance to Fort Worth. Aircraft proceeded out the north leg of the Fort Worth range where the other engine stopped due to an unknown cause, and the propeller was feathered. The aircraft emerged from the clouds in a spin to the left and impacted the ground. All personnel were killed and the aircraft was completely destroyed.
Date of incident:
7 August 1946Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG W. Bulter
EMS C. L. Coler
AMM1 G. R. Spalding
AMM1 W. W. Englehardt
ARM1 T. M. Meleller
AOM1 W. ZinkelAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San FranciscoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, 48284Location of the incident:
San Francisco, CA
Description of the incident:
This aircraft crashed at 1430 hours (Pacific Time) into the Pacific Ocean one-half mile north of Point Arena, California, with the loss of all six crewmembers, while returning from a routine patrol. The cause of the crash is unknown.
Date of incident:
11 February 1947Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR John W. Macintosh, Jr.
LTJG Ralph E. Osterberg
AMMC Roy Mason
ARM1 Rufin E. CrosbyAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Port AngelesAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, 48328Location of the incident:
Tiller, Oregon
Description of the incident:
This crew was ferrying this plane fresh from overhaul at the Naval Air Station, Seattle, to CGAS Elizabeth City at the time of the crash. The crew attempted to avoid a ridge, scraped the side of the ridge, and crashed. Two of the six on board survived the crash.
Date of incident:
22 February 1947Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG Emerson W. Miles
AP1 Fabian J. Kestell
AMM2 Eugene A. Widener
ARM1 Winford C. Williams
AOM3 Quell V. Buchanan
AerM1 Merril J. Murphy
AOM1 John G. Steuer
AMM1 George R. A. Tracy
ARM1 Robert G. Peshek
G. C. Leavitt (Civilian)Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San DiegoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Martin PBM-5 Mariner, 45435Location of the incident:
Mexico
Description of the incident:
This crew was flying back to CGAS San Diego in a heavy fog after completing a 1,400 mile "mercy" flight. All but two of the entire crew perished when the PBM-5 crashed due to "adverse weather, low visibility and low ceiling."
Date of incident:
1 April 1947Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AMM3 D. L. NigrelliAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA St. PetersburgAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Martin PBM-5G Mariner, 59002Location of the incident:
Tampa, FL
Description of the incident:
While practicing single engine landings, with the port engine idling, the aircraft leveled off high and power was removed from the starboard engine. The aircraft dropped into the water and bounced. Power was applied to both engines after the aircraft impacted, however, the port engine failed to produce power. The aircraft crashed with the left wing down. AMM3 Nigrelli occupied the waist crewman position, and could not be recovered until the aircraft was raised. All other crewmen were injured, but rescued.
Date of incident:
2 January 1948Names of personnel killed in the incident:
ENS Roger W. Whale
AMM1 Kristian F. AndersonAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San DiegoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman J4F Widgeon, 32977Location of the incident:
Chattanooga, TN
Description of the incident:
While on a ferry flight from San Diego to the east coast, en route to Chattanooga following a fuel stop at NAS Memphis during a night flight, the aircraft struck the tree tops and crashed and burned on Signal Mountain.
Date of incident:
24 January 1948Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR Charles W. Schuh
LTJG William N. Killebrew
AMM1 Charles A. MacArthur
ARM1 Rudolph H. SchoningAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA ArlingtonAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Lockheed R50-4 Lodestar, 05049Location of the incident:
Baltimore, MD
Description of the incident:
The R50-4 Lodestar was returning from Newark and was diverted from National Airport, due to a severe snowstorm, to Baltimore Municipal Airport. The aircraft crashed between Baltimore and Washington, DC, killing all on board. The wreckage was located two days later after an extensive search by Army, Navy and Coast Guard aircraft.
Date of incident:
27 May 1952Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG R. J. Tomozer
AL1 B. Moore
AL2 B. E. Woodard
TSGT H. P. Colbeck, USAFAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Port AngelesAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Martin PBM-5G Mariner, 84740Location 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 1952Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR R. S. McClendon
LT M. L. McGregor
SK3 H. J. BeltzAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
GuamAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina, 46640Location 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 1952Names of personnel killed in the incident:
CDR J. F. McCue
AD1 H. J. WhiteAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA SalemAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Bell HTL-1, 2460Location 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.
Date of incident:
18 January 1953Names 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. MillerAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRDET Sangley PointAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Martin PBM-5G Mariner, 84738Location 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. [Click here for more information.]
Date of incident:
6 July 1953Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR L. N. FeltsAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Wright Patterson AFB, OHAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Beechcraft C45-B Expeditor, USAF 433565ALocation 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 1953Names of personnel killed in the incident:
ENS V. C. Fleck
AD2 J. C. Netherland
AIC M. L. Sweet, USAFAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA BiloxiAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina, 46617Location 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.
Date of incident:
20 January 1954Names 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. GoodmanAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Port AngelesAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HO4S-3G [HH-19G], 1303Location 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 1954Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG D. G. TeiferAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Corpus ChristiAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Martin PBM-5 Mariner, 59106Location 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 1954Names of personnel killed in the incident:
CDR P. A. Ortman
LT G. E. Eiswald, USNAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
USCGC WestwindAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Bell HTL-4, 128906Location 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 1954Names 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 AnnetteAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman UF-1G [HU-16E] Albatross, 2121Location 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.
Date of incident:
24 June 1956Names of personnel killed in the incident:
HM1 John J. KohanAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA SalemAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HO4S [HH-19G], 1299Location of the incident:
Boston, MA
Description of the incident:
The helicopter was on a search and rescue mission for the crew of a downed National Guard jet aircraft off the coast of Massachusetts. A heavy fog moved in over the area and forced the pilot, LTJG Harold W. Wooley, to abort the mission and return to the mainland. He elected to land at Logan Airport rather than return to Salem as visibility dropped to "zero-zero." He made an instrument approach to the airport and the approach control gave him a radar approach to one of the runways. The controller then informed Wooley that he was over the runway. Wooley put the helicopter down but unfortunately he was a few feet short of the runway and into the water surrounding the runway. The helicopter flipped over and sank. Kohn was trapped under the helicopter's litter and could not escape the sinking craft. He drowned and his body was recovered by divers. The two other crewmen managed to egress the aircraft and were rescued.
Date of incident:
22 January 1957Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR W. E. SaleAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San DiegoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Douglas R5D-3, 50869Location of the incident:
Near Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti, MichiganDescription of the incident:
The Navy Reserve aircraft was on a cross-country transport mission with LCDR Sale as the co-pilot. During an instrument approach to land, the aircraft crashed short of the runway
Date of incident:
18 May 1957Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR A. P. Hartt, Jr.
AO2 W. J. Tarker, Jr.Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA SalemAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman UF-1G [HU-16E] Albatross, 1278Location of the incident:
Salem, MA
Description of the incident:
This crew was performing a water Jet Assisted Takeoff [JATO] demonstration. The aircraft had insufficient airspeed when it rotated from the takeoff roll and consequently stalled and crashed.
Date of incident:
22 August 1957Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR Claude S. Labaw
LT Rolland A. Faucher
AD3 Matthew R. Ross
AL3 Gerald F. FoxAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA BrooklynAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman UF-2G Albatross, 1259Location of the incident:
Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York
Description of the incident:
This crew was performing a test flight after the aircraft had undergone intermediate inspection in which the control columns were removed and inspected for fatigue cracks in the bottom casting. The official message announcing the crash noted: "On takeoff after reaching altitude of approx. 100 ft. left wing dropped & aircraft struck ground, left wing and nose down." A newspaper article describing the crash noted: "Observers said one of the plane's engines appeared to have stopped immediately after take-off. Witnesses said the plane lost altitude and then burst into flames after one of its wings touched the ground."The U.S. Coast Guard Flight Safety Bulletin stated: "The plane was cleared for take-off and instructed to turn right immediately after take-off to avoid other traffic. Take-off was normal but immediately after leaving the runway the plane banked slightly to the left, hesitated, and then banked very rapidly to the left until it was in a 90° bank. The left wing tip struck the ground, [and] the plane broke in two and crashed. . .The Accident Board was not able to determine the cause of this accident but certain items all pointed strongly toward reversed aileron control cable rigging as the most probably cause." [Source: U.S. Coast Guard Flight Safety Bulletin, No. 1, February, 1958, pp. 3-11.]
Two crewmembers survived the crash.
Date of incident:
6 February 1958Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG E. A. McGeeAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
ARSC Elizabeth CityAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Stinson OY-2 Sentinel, 03937Location of the incident:
Texas
Description of the incident:
LTJG McGee was performing a law enforcement mission looking for illicit distilleries. He carried a Treasury agent on board as well. While searching a heavily wooded area he struck the treetops and crashed. The Treasury agent was severely injured but survived the crash, however, LTJG McGee was killed. The December, 1958 U.S. Coast Guard Flight Safety Bulletin [No. 3, p. 4] noted: "THE ACCIDENT: An OY crashed during an A&TTD Law Enforcement flight. The pilot received fatal injuries. The agent was seriously injured. The plane received strike damage. HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT: The plane departed in VFR conditions with approximately 3 hours of fuel. After working one and one-half hours with two radio-equipped cars, the plane departed to search an area where an illicit distillery had been reported. The plane was searching a heavily wooded area when it struck some tree tops and then plunged to the ground after an estimated 2 hours and 13 minutes of flight. About 25 minutes after the crash, the wreckage was seen by two people driving through the state park where the airplane came to rest. These people notified the park manager who made immediate arrangements for help. THE INVESTIGATION: Despite a very intensive investigation, the cause of the accident could not be determined. The pilot was considered a very reliable and conservative pilot. He had been an outstanding flight student. He had not flown an excessive amount in the 72 hours prior to the accident. All available evidence indicated that he had had an ample amount of rest the night before the accident. There were no physical factors involved. There was no evidence of mechanical failure or malfunction or of any maintenance deficiencies. . .The agent who was riding in the plane did not notice anything significant in the pilot's actions or in the behavior of the plane or engine prior to hitting the trees. CONCLUSIONS: The cause of this accident is undetermined. . .Due to the many shortcomings of the OY, it was decided to survey the one aircraft remaining in the inventory. Future A&TTD flights will be made in helicopters."During the crash LTJG McGee suffered a concussion and was taken to the U.S. Air Force hospital at Lackland Air Force Base. While there he developed pneumonia followed by kidney failure. He passed away five days after the crash, 11 February 1958.
Date of incident:
25 April 1961Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT J. H. Levey
SD2 J. P. Taylor, USNAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San Diego (?)Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HO4S-3G [HH-19G], 1310Location of the incident:
Near San Diego, CA
Description of the incident:
LT Levey was performing a medical evacuation from the USS Pine Island 12 miles southwest of San Diego. The helicopter lifted off in a normal manner and was shearing to port to clear ship but also moved forward causing main rotor to contract roller curtain cover aft port corner of the ship's hanger. The rotor blade disintegrated. The helicopter fell on port edge of the seaplane deck and port aviation gas filter station. The helicopter caught fire and rolled into the sea, killing both the pilot and the patient. Neither were recovered.
Date of incident:
29 June 1961Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR S. T. Scharfenstein
LCDR C. E. Mueller
AL1 J. R. DohertyAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA SalemAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HO4S-3G [HH-19G], 5509Location of the incident:
Massachusetts
Description of the incident:
This crew was on an instrument training mission when they experienced a structural fatigue failure on a critical flight component. The HO4S-3G then crashed and burned. The helicopter was completely destroyed and all three occupants were killed. The September, 1961 U.S. Coast Guard Flight Safety Bulletin [No. 13, pp. 8-9] noted: "The flight was an instrument check flight. The check pilot, a highly experienced helicopter pilot, was in the left seat when the plane taxied out. There was one flight crew member in the cabin. The take-off appeared normal in every respect. Approximately 12 minutes after take-off the station heard several 'May-Day' calls but no details as to the trouble were given. There were several witnesses to the crash. In general, their descriptions had the helicopter flying at approximately 1,200' when a noise of some sort attracted their attention to it. The helicopter descended, apparently under partial control, until an estimated 300' altitude where it went through several violent maneuvers and lost some parts. From this point on the descent was uncontrolled. The helicopter struck travelling [sic] almost straight down. . .It was not possible to prove the cause of the crash beyond doubt. . .The most probable cause of this accident was the failure due to fatigue of a RE5M7 rod end located in either the right lateral or fore and aft servo input arm. This failure resulted in uncontrollable flight."
Date of incident:
29 November 1962Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AD2 T. O. ChastainAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA St. PetersburgAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HUS-1G [HH-34F], 1336Location of the incident:
Gulf of Mexico
Description of the incident:
The crew of this helicopter was on a search and rescue case hovering near a vessel in distress. They lost power in hover and had to ditch, and the helicopter sank. Petty Officer Chastain was unable to escape from the sinking helicopter.
Date of incident:
3 July 1964Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR J. N. Andrassy
LT R. A. Perchard
AO1 H. W. Olson
AM2 D. G. Malena
AT3 E. A. KrajniakAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA AnnetteAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman HU-16E Albatross, 7233Location of the incident:
Alaska
Description of the incident:
This crew was returning from a search and rescue case and encountered low ceiling and visibility. They were attempting to return to Air Station Annette on an instrument approach when they crashed into a mountain while in instrument conditions.
Date of incident:
22 December 1964Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR Donald L. Prince
S/LT A. L. Altree, RCN
AE2 J. A. Nininger, Jr.Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San FranciscoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard, 1363Location of the incident:
Trinidad Head, CA
Description of the incident:
While on an active search and rescue case this crew encountered extremely poor weather. They crashed in the mountains near Eureka, CA, while in instrument conditions.
Date of incident:
4 January 1966Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AT3 B. H. MoorehouseAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA KodiakAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Fairchild C-123B Provider, 4529Location of the incident:
Port Angeles, WA
Description of the incident:
This C-123B had just experienced a stack fire in the starboard engine. Petty Officer Moorehouse took a fire extinguisher and quickly exited the aircraft through the crew entrance door to attempt to put out the fire. He was struck by one of the propellers and was killed instantly.
Date of incident:
8 February 1967Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AT2 F. R. EdmundsAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA KodiakAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman HU-16E Albatross, 1271Location of the incident:
St. Paul Island
Description of the incident:
This HU-16E crew was returning from a law enforcement mission when they encountered poor weather. They crashed while attempting a water landing. Petty Officer Edmonds was fatally injured as a result.
Date of incident:
5 March 1967Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Clifford E. Hanna, Jr.
LTJG. Charles F. Shaw
AD1 Ralph H. Studstill
AT1 Eckley M. Powlus, Jr.
AT2 James B. Thompson
AE3 Arthur. L. WilsonAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA St. PetersburgAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman HU-16E Albatross, 1240Location of the incident:
Gulf of Mexico
Description of the incident:
On a night search and rescue case this entire crew perished when their seaplane struck the water while attempting to deliver a dewatering pump to a sinking vessel.
Date of incident:
15 June 1967Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT R. D. Brown
LT D. J. Bain
AT1 R. W. StriffAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA AnnetteAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman HU-16E Albatross, 7237Location of the incident:
Alaska
Description of the incident:
This crew lost their lives searching for a downed aircraft. After an exhaustive night's search the crew flew into a box canyon and crashed into the ridgeline of a mountain.
Date of incident:
7 August 1967Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG F. J. Charles
AD3 W. G. Prowitt
AD3 J. G. MedekAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San FranciscoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman HU-16E Albatross, 2128Location of the incident:
California
Description of the incident:
This crew was searching for an overdue vessel along the California coastline in marginal weather. They impacted on a mountain. Five crewmembers survived.
Date of incident:
9 June 1968Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Jack C. Rittichier, USCG
CAPT Richard C. Yeend, Jr., USAF
SSGT Elmer L. Holden, USAF
SGT James D. Locker, USAFAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Da Nang, Republic of VietnamAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, USAF 4704Location of the incident:
37 miles west of Hue, Republic of South Vietnam
Description of the incident:
LT Rittichier was assigned to the USAF's 37th ARRS out of Da Nang, South Vietnam. He was conducting a rescue attempt of a downed Marine Corps pilot when his helicopter took heavy enemy ground fire. His HH-3E burst into flames and crashed back to earth, killing Rittichier and his 3-man Air Force crew.
Date of incident:
26 November 1969Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG John D. Voss
LTJG Richard K. Clark
AD3 Ronald A. LumsdenAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA St. PetersburgAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard, 1458Location of the incident:
Gulf of Mexico
Description of the incident:
This crew was searching for an overdue vessel when they experienced an in-flight loss of a critical flight component. They lost control and impacted the water.
Date of incident:
16 December 1972Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LDCR P. R. Lewis
MAJ M. A. Cleveland, USAF
AD1 J. Nemetz
AT3 C. E. EdwardsAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA St. PetersburgAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican, 1474Location of the incident:
Gulf of Mexico
Description of the incident:
This crew had just rescued four survivors and was transporting them back to the air station when the crashed into the sea.
Date of incident:
21 September 1973Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR Francis W. Miller
LTJG Jerald M. Mack
AD1 Harold D. Brown, Jr.
AM2 Benjamin R. Gaskins, Jr.
AT2 John F. Harrison
AT2 John P. PledgerAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Corpus ChristiAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman HU-16E Albatross, 2123Location of the incident:
Gulf of Mexico
Description of the incident:
The HU-16E was searching, in concert with an HH-52, a 44-foot MLB, and the CGC Point Baker, for a man reported overboard from the merchant vessel Berlin Ester one mile south of the Port Aransas jetties. The aircrew began dropping hand launched MK-45 parachute flares for the HH-52A that was searching behind them. Before the second flare was dropped, LCDR Miller radioed back that he had an emergency due to a fire on board and that they would have to ditch the aircraft. Apparently, one of the flares accidentally ignited in the aircraft and before they could make a water landing the intense smoke incapacitated the pilots and crew. The HU-16E made an uncontrolled descent into the water about one-half mile off Port Aransas.The aircraft wreck was found on the bottom in 18 feet of water about 800 yards off shore by the National Ocean Survey's vessels Rude and Heck. The aircraft was found upside down with the cockpit buried in the sandy bottom. Both wings and engines were intact and the hull was split along the keel for the whole length of the amphibian. On 25 September the wings and engines of the wreckage were recovered by a commercial barge, assisted by the buoy tender Blackthorn, a Coast Guard dive team, a 44-MLB and a 30-foot UTB, and taken to Air Station Corpus Christi. The hull and tail section were recovered later. The bodies of all six Coast Guardsmen were recovered and memorial services for each were held in the Protestant chapel at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi on 24 September.
ADM Chester Bender, Commandant of the Coast Guard, in a message to the officers and men of Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, said: "The responsibility that I bear as the Commandant of the Coast Guard is made heavier by the sorrow I share with your bereaved families. The response of your men to a mission to safe lives was in the proud tradition of the Coast Guard and in the service of country and humanity. They served their country faithfully and carried the respect and admiration of their fellow Coast Guardsmen, who now share in your sorrow. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to you in your tragic loss."
Date of incident:
20 January 1977Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG F. W. Caesar, III USN
LTJG J. F. Taylor
AT2 J. B. Johnson
Mr. W. S. Simpson (Civilian)Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA ChicagoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard, 1448Location of the incident:
Illinois RiverDescription of the incident:
This crew was performing an aerial ice patrol along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. They struck three electrical transmission wires and crashed into the ice-filled river.
Date of incident:
17 January 1979Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT R. G. Ausness
LT R. C. Shearer, Jr.
AM1 R. E. McClain
AD3 J. B. CaseAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA MiamiAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard, 1376Location of the incident:
Opa Locka Airport, FLDescription of the incident:
This helicopter crew was involved in a midair collision during their landing descent with a civilian helicopter in a takeoff climb. Both aircraft had been cleared by the tower along parallel flight paths, but were not advised of each other. There were no survivors.
Date of incident:
29 January 1979Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LTJG D. C. Sproat
AD3 R. W. StephensonAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA San DiegoAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican, 1483Location of the incident:
MexicoDescription of the incident:
During a SAR mission for a motor vessel reported aground, this HH-3F impacted the water at the bottom of a precision approach to a controlled hover (PATCH). The aircraft rolled and inverted, but remained afloat. Only two crewmembers escaped.
Date of incident:
18 February 1979Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR J. D. Stiles
CAPT G. R. Burge, RCAF
AT2 J. B. Tait
HM2 B. A. KaehlerAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Cape CodAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican, 1432Location of the incident:
North AtlanticDescription of the incident:
This crew was performing a Medevac from a fishing vessel in deteriorating weather. They experienced a loss of power and were forced to land in heavy seas. The waves overturned the helicopter and only one crewman survived.
Date of incident:
7 August 1981Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT E. P. Rivas
LT J. G. Spoja
AD1 S. E. Finfrock
AT3 J. H. SnyderAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA KodiakAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican, 1471Location of the incident:
Hinchinbrook IslandDescription of the incident:
While performing a night hoist to a distressed fishing vessel in heavy weather. The helicopter's tail rotor contacted the water causing the aircraft to become uncontrollable and crashed into the water. The crew drowned after egressing the inverted aircraft.
Date of incident:
22 October 1981Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Raymond T. Brooks
LTJG Robert E. Winter
AD3 Mark C. Johnson
AD3 Joe A. HintonAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA MobileAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard, 1427Location of the incident:
Bates FieldDescription of the incident:
During a night instrument flight the crew experienced a catastrophic failure of a major flight control. There was an instantaneous breakup of the aircraft.
Date of incident:
14 November 1981Names of personnel killed in the incident:
CAPT F. W. OlsonAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA North BendAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard, 1353Location of the incident:
Coos Bay, ORDescription of the incident:
CAPT Olson and crew were on a night search and rescue case searching for a fishing vessel in distress. The weather was deteriorating rapidly and they were attempting to return to base when they experienced an engine malfunction. They executed an autorotation to the water but the aircraft capsized. CAPT Olson died while attempting to escape.
Date of incident:
7 January 1982Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LCDR H. W. Johnson
LT Colleen A. Cain
AD2 D. L. ThompsonAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Barbers PointAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard, 1420Location of the incident:
Mokokia, HIDescription of the incident:
While on an early morning search for a sinking fishing vessel off the island of Molokai, this crew encountered rapidly deteriorating weather. They impacted on a cliff.
Date of incident:
30 July 1982Names of personnel killed in the incident:
AT3 Brad S. Canfield
SN Steven D. BerryhillAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA KodiakAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Lockheed HC-130 Hercules, 1600Location of the incident:
Attu, AKDescription of the incident:
This C-130 crew was transporting personnel and cargo to the island of Attu from Shemya. VFR weather conditions deteriorated, forward visibility was lost, and the aircraft impacted with the terrain. The remainder of the crew escaped the wreckage and survived.
Date of incident:
8 July 1984Names of personnel killed in the incident:
Mr. H. J. Mau, III
Mrs. M. L. MauAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Coast Guard AuxiliaryAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
PA-23-160; N4167PLocation of the incident:
New Hope, NYDescription of the incident:
This crew had just taken off from the airport for a sunset patrol, when they experienced an engine malfunction on the left engine. Mr. Mau was returning to the airport as his airplane lost altitude. In the attempt to turn from the base to final approach, the aircraft made a sharp left turn, stalled, and crashed.
Date of incident:
2 November 1986Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Michael C. Dollahite
LT Robert Lee Carson, Jr.
CDR David M. Rockmore, USPHS
ASM2 Kevin M. McCracken
AT3 William G. Kemp
HS3 Ralph D. KingAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA KodiakAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican, 1473Location of the incident:
Ugak IslandDescription of the incident:
The HH-3F, No. 1473, and its crew were flying to the village of Akhiok, on the southwestern end of Kodiak Island, to medevac a 21-year old man with a head injury. Air Station Kodiak lost contact with the helicopter at about 9:30 p.m. It is believed that they encountered heavy winds and rain while circumnavigating high terrain and impacted. The helicopter was consumed by a post-crash fire. There were no survivors.
Date of incident:
21 January 1989Names of personnel killed in the incident:
Mr. R. C. Smilgoff
Mrs. L. SmilgoffAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Coast Guard AuxiliaryAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
PA-28-180Location of the incident:
Chicago, ILDescription of the incident:
This crew was on final approach to Meigs field in Chicago when they reported an emergency. The engine quit shortly thereafter and they crashed short of the runway.
Date of incident:
18 September 1989Names of personnel killed in the incident:
Mr. R. J. Duffield
Mr. G. B. ReneAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Coast Guard AuxiliaryAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
BE-A35; N566BLocation of the incident:
Description of the incident:
While on a routine patrol the crew encountered a thick cloud layer. It is believed that the pilot became disoriented and overstressed the aircraft as it came out of the cloud layer. The airplane impacted the ground and both crewmembers were lost.
Date of incident:
12 May 1990Names of personnel killed in the incident:
Mr. R. Anderson
Ms. C. Huhne
Ms. J. Nappi
Mr. C. PolimeniAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Coast Guard AuxiliaryAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Bellanca 17-31A; N7SFLocation of the incident:
At seaDescription of the incident:
This crew was on a routine training flight. Shortly after takeoff the aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The cause of the crash is not known.
Date of incident:
24 August 1990Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Duane E. Stenbak
LTJG Paul E. Perlt
LT Craig E. Lerner
AT1 Matthew H. BakerAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA St. AugustineAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman E2C Hawkeye, 3501Location of the incident:
Puerto RicoDescription of the incident:
Returning from a night law enforcement mission, the crew was making their final approach into U.S. Naval Air Station, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico when they reported a wing fire and problems with the plane's hydraulic controls. They crashed short of the runway; there were no survivors.
Date of incident:
13 January 1992Names of personnel killed in the incident:
Mr. G. FeigAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Coast Guard AuxiliaryAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Cessna C-172; N121LLocation of the incident:
At seaDescription of the incident:
Experiencing a loss of power while on patrol 28 miles south of Key West this crew was forced to ditch. The observer "perished in the post-crash sequence."
Date of incident:
31 August 1993Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Marc C. Perkins
LTJG Mark S. FisherAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA BrooklynAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Aérospatiale HH-65A Dolphin, 6594Location of the incident:
Ambrose Light TowerDescription of the incident:
This crew was delivering aids to navigation personnel and equipment to the Ambrose light tower. The helicopter landed short of the elevated helipad. The left main gear struck the edge of the pad, resulting in a dynamic rollover. The aircraft fell to the sea 100 feet below. Both pilots perished in the accident.
Date of incident:
12 July 1994Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Laurence B. Williams
LT Mark E. Koteek
ASMCS Peter A. Leeman
AM1 Michael R. GillAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Humboldt BayAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
HH-65A, 6541Location of the incident:
Shelter Cove, CADescription of the incident:
This crew was responding to a grounded sailing vessel. It was dark and the weather was poor as this crew attempted to descend through the fog to assist the vessel in distress. The helicopter impacted the side of a cliff and the entire crew was lost.
Date of incident:
2 June 1997Names of personnel killed in the incident:
Ms. F. Lizak
Mr. F. LizakAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Coast Guard AuxiliaryAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Grumman AA5-B Tiger; N28297Location of the incident:
Avon Park, FLDescription of the incident:
This crew had lined up with the runway for a landing at Avon Park, FL. At 100 feet the aircraft made a steep turn, stalled and impacted the ground one-half mile from the runway. Low ceilings and poor visibility were reported at the airport.
Date of incident:
8 June 1997Names of personnel killed in the incident:
LT Jeffrey F. Crane
LTJG Charles W. Thigpen IV
AD3 Richard L. Hughes
ASM3 James G. CainesAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Humboldt BayAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Aérospatiale HH-65A Dolphin, 6549Location of the incident:
At sea off the coast of CaliforniaDescription of the incident:
Responding to a sailing vessel taking on water at night the crew of CG-6549 perished in poor weather conditions and high seas. It is believed that the aircraft impacted the water while attempting to make an approach to the vessel.
Date of incident:
1 February 2001Names of personnel killed in the incident:
Mr. Casey Purvis
Mr. Robert FullerAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
Coast Guard AuxiliaryAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
PA-32Location of the incident:
Florida KeysDescription of the incident:
This crew was performing night intercept training with an Air Station Miami HU-25. During their flight, they entered the clouds and subsequently crashed.
Date of incident:
4 September 2008Names of personnel killed in the incident:
CDR Thomas Nelson
LCDR Andrew Wischmeier
AST1 David Skimin
AMT2 Joshua NicholsAir Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to:
AIRSTA Barbers PointAircraft type and Coast Guard tail number (if applicable):
Aérospatiale HH-65 Dolphin, 6505Location of the incident:
Off the coast of Oahu, HawaiiDescription of the incident:
The crew had just completed SAR training with a 47-foot MLB and were returning to their air station when their helicopter crashed into the sea, killing all aboard.