B-58 Accident at Grissom AFB / 53 years ago this Friday

[SnoopLoggyDog]

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EXCERPT FROM PENTAGON REPORT ON DoD NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS:
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[FONT=&amp]December 8, 1964 / B-58 / Bunker Hill (Now Grissom) AFB. Indiana
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[FONT=&amp]SAC aircraft were taxiing during an exercise alert. As one B-58 reached a
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]position directly behind the aircraft on the runway ahead of it, the
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]aircraft ahead brought advanced power. As a result of the combination of the
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]jet blast from the aircraft ahead, the icy runway surface conditions, and the[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]power applied to the aircraft while attempting to turn onto the runway, control[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]was lost and the aircraft slid off the left hand side of the taxiway. The [/FONT][FONT=&amp]left main
landing gear passed over a flush mounted taxiway light fixture and 10 [/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]feet further along in its travel, grazed the left edge of a concrete light
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]base. Ten feet further, the left main landing gear struck a concrete
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]electrical manhole box, and the aircraft caught on fire.
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[FONT=&amp]When the aircraft came to rest, all three crew members aboard began
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]abandoning the aircraft. The aircraft commander and defensive systems
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]operator egressed with only minor injuries. The navigator ejected in his
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]escape capsule, which impacted 548 feet from the aircraft. He did not
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]survive.

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[FONT=&amp]Portions of the five nuclear weapons on-board burned; contamination was
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]limited to the immediate area of the crash and was subsequently removed.



Weapon recovery operations:– Four of the five weapons were recovered andmoved to a storage igloo for packaging.
When personnel attempted to recover the fifthweapon from beneath the aircraft, exposure tothe air caused the weapon to burst into flames.
A trench 6 feet x 8 feet x 12 inches was dugapproximately 150 to 175 feet away.
The burning weapon was moved with a frontend loader to the trench.
The fire was extinguished by covering the weapon with dry sand in the trench.way from the accident site.
The weapons were recovered and shipped to Atomic Energy Commission, (now Dept of Energy), sites in Texas and Tennessee.


The aircraft was buried at a location in the middle of the airfield, with a sign posted "No digging".

in the year 2000, the aircraft and accident debris were dug up. The hazmat remediation was carried out as a joint USAF / Indiana State Department of Health project.

Ejection Pod / Pulling up a wing



Today, there is only normal background radioactive reading at the crash and burial sites. The aircraft and accident debris were removed to proper hazardous waste storage sites in Utah and Texas.






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[rhino]

I never knew about that story! Thanks for sharing it.

I do recall the familiar shape of the B-58, though. A lot of toy planes in the 1960s and early 1970s were patterned after it and I had a few. I didn't know what they were back then, but I knew they were cool.

Do you know if there are any still flying?

 

[printcraft]

I think there is a fuel tank for one of those setting in a junk pile on north washington in Kokomo.... it's one of the last remaining examples and the guy won't sell it is the word I have gotten.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir//00...x5b66c4030220b04!2m2!1d-86.126983!2d40.529842

Zoom in, it's just north of the tank (yes, tracked vehicle with a big gun) in the shade.

I wonder if this one is radioactive.......

 

[Leadeye]

I never knew about that story! Thanks for sharing it.

I do recall the familiar shape of the B-58, though. A lot of toy planes in the 1960s and early 1970s were patterned after it and I had a few. I didn't know what they were back then, but I knew they were cool.

Do you know if there are any still flying?

I don't think any are still flying although there are several static displays. It was an expensive and tricky plane to operate and had a relatively short career.

 

[Spear Dane]

I'm pretty sure none are flying. If it were it would easily be the most expensive privately owned aircraft in the world to operate.

 

[Alamo]

...

in the year 2000, the aircraft and accident debris were dug up. The hazmat remediation was carried out as a joint USAF / Indiana State Department of Health project.

...

Today, there is only normal background radioactive reading at the crash and burial sites.

I was still on active duty in 2000 and stationed at Brooks AFB, San Antonio TX. I was the only line officer assigned to a Air Force Medical Services unit then called Air Force Instituted for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health Risk Analysis, which was abbreviated AFIERA. AFIERA was a grab bag of specialty medical units that dealt with things like epidemiology, environmental contamination, health and safety on the job, radiation safety. It had several wildly different labs, including the Drug Test Laboratory, which was where all the bottles of pee collected for random drug tests were sent. Also monitored disease and illness trends at deployed bases, especially looking for trends that might indicate biological attack, and a lab that could test for all kinds of chemicals (separate from the DTL). All USAF radiation exposure badges were sent there to be read and tracked. I was in charge of a division that provided general computer and networks support for the unit.

The Radiation Assessment Team, which was part of AFIERA, was part of a project where the USAF and maybe others were re-visiting the sites of Broken Arrow accidents (accidents involving nuclear weapons) to check the status of contamination, and for possible remediation. In some instances at least, they would take ATVs on which they mounted various sensors and GPS devices, and drive back and forth to make a plot or map of the readings. The B-58 incident in the OP was one of those projects.

I read their report on the B-58 incident at Bunker Hill/Grissom AFB. IIRC the where the B-58 first burned was still identifiable by radiation readings, although I think the readings were not in the "run away!" range. Once they removed the wreckage the radiation team surveyed it all again to make sure there were not dangerous levels. I don't think the radiation readings were at "normal" levels, but they were low enough to not be hazardous.

 

[Alamo]

If you like Broken Arrow stories, this one is pretty interesting: The Last Flight of Hobo 28 | HistoryNet

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

I think there is a fuel tank for one of those setting in a junk pile on north washington in Kokomo.... it's one of the last remaining examples and the guy won't sell it is the word I have gotten.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir//00...x5b66c4030220b04!2m2!1d-86.126983!2d40.529842

Zoom in, it's just north of the tank (yes, tracked vehicle with a big gun) in the shade.

I wonder if this one is radioactive.......

I have driven by that pod hundreds of times. Being an aircraft nut, I still glance at it every time. I believe it is a B-58 Fuel Pod. Here is a picture of an intact one.

The Weapons Pods were two piece with a larger outer Fuel Pod and a smaller inner Special Weapons Pod. Combined together they became the Mission Pod.

Without the Pod, the fuel load on the aircraft had to carefully managed and balanced, otherwise you end up like the picture below...

Did some more research online and the owner of the Fuel Pod also has a "training" Weapons Pod on the property.

Warbird Information Exchange ? View topic - Picture of Indiana B-58 Pod

 

[scott delaney]

my dad was stationed there at that time. he told us story's about the crash and we never believed the story's at the time, I remember because we heard the story every time we got new dependent id's and went to th BX. shire do miss those times.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

my dad was stationed there at that time. he told us story's about the crash and we never believed the story's at the time, I remember because we heard the story every time we got new dependent id's and went to th BX. shire do miss those times.

OP- thanks for the anniversary reminder and photos... I've heard some of the stories too.

 

[amboy49]

In 1964 I was a sophomore in high school. I lived 15 miles from “Bunker Hill” AFB. (Now known as Grissom AFB). I don’t recall any press about this incident. Perhaps information was not widely dessiminated ?

 

[Jsomerset]

We lived in Galveston at that time and what I remember most was the roar they made when fired up in the middle of the night. We would also go out and park on the road at the west end of the runway. Felt like you could reach up and touch them they were so low. I was told they were prone to break in half because of a weak back bone. It was also a time when there were no rules about sonic booms, remember hearing and feeling them. They literally rattled the windows in the house.

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

In 1964 I was a sophomore in high school. I lived 15 miles from “Bunker Hill” AFB. (Now known as Grissom AFB). I don’t recall any press about this incident. Perhaps information was not widely dessiminated ?

I have a friend with a scanned copy of the original Indy Star article about the accident. Should be able to post it on Monday.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

We lived in Galveston at that time and what I remember most was the roar they made when fired up in the middle of the night. We would also go out and park on the road at the west end of the runway. Felt like you could reach up and touch them they were so low. I was told they were prone to break in half because of a weak back bone. It was also a time when there were no rules about sonic booms, remember hearing and feeling them. They literally rattled the windows in the house.

I remember sonic booms too when I was a kid, and I don't live anywhere near a military base (although then Weir Cook airport wasn't far). It was just a "normal" thing back then.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

I remember the sonic booms... Grandma had a couple cracked windows. As a kid, you loved it, loud roars overhead, bo-boom. Pure thrust-horsepower.

 

[Thor]

Neat stuff, thanks for posting.

 

[cosermann]

...A lot of toy planes in the 1960s and early 1970s were patterned after it and I had a few. I didn't know what they were back then, but I knew they were cool. ...

I had a B-58 "Hustler" model that was made out of kind of a rubbery material that I could "fly" across the backyard by flinging it with a rubber band on a stick. Cool AND fun! Those were the days.

... Do you know if there are any still flying?

Per wiki, "Today there are eight B-58 survivors," none flying.

Grissom has the oldest remaining - the 4th one built.

The one at the USAF museum in Dayton was flown there in 1969.

 

[Cameramonkey]

my first reaction was "who in the hell was going that fast that they veered off the road and plowed into the static display at Grissom?"

Then my brain registered the second half.
LOL

 

[Vigilant]

We that is interesting information, I was just there today, and there was no mention of it by the staff, and I didn’t see anything regarding it. My daughter LOVED the F4Phantom slide! The Hustler was a cool plane that I’d never really heard of before today.

 

[rhino]

I had a B-58 "Hustler" model that was made out of kind of a rubbery material that I could "fly" across the backyard by flinging it with a rubber band on a stick. Cool AND fun! Those were the days.

I had a model when I was a little older. The B-58 I remember the most was made of soft, blue plastic and came from Danners (I think). I played with that a lot. I also had a small die cast replica. The four engines were just too cool!

Per wiki, "Today there are eight B-58 survivors," none flying.

Grissom has the oldest remaining - the 4th one built.

The one at the USAF museum in Dayton was flown there in 1969.

Too bad we'll never get to see one fly!