The crew was engaged in a routine cold war training mission out from Loring AFB, Maine. While cruising by night at an altitude of 36,400 feet over Minnesota State, the tail broke off and the airplane went into a dive. In 108 seconds, the heavy bomber descended at high speed to the altitude of 8,000 feet before crashing in a huge explosion in Inver Grove Heights, about 7,5 miles south of Saint Paul. The aircraft was totally destroyed but one crew member survived while seven others were killed. Crew: Cpt G. Horstman, pilot, † Cpt Richard J. Cantwell, navigator, † Maj S. O. Gillespie Jr., radar observer, † 1st Lt F. Huskey, flight engineer, † T/Sgt Leon R. Lew, tail gunner, † Cpt James D. Taylor, instructor, † Cpt Bernard D. Lanois, instructor, † Cpt Jack Douglas Craft.
Probable cause (official findings): It is believed that control cables failed in flight, causing the aircraft to adopt an unusual attitude that caused the tail to be sheared off. The exact cause of this technical remains however unclear.