Incident
The mission was a refueling training sortie originating from Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire. While flying at night at an altitude of 15,000 feet, the airplane suddenly banked to the left and entered a dive. It continued descending until it crashed in a field located 1.3 miles south of Andover. The force of impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate, and all seven crew members on board were killed.
Crew
The crew consisted of Captain James White (pilot), First Lieutenant Dean Holzworth (copilot), First Lieutenant Harold High (navigator), Technical Sergeant Owen Combs (flight engineer), Technical Sergeant Jake Schmidt (boom operator), Technical Sergeant Marion Ackerman (scanner), and Airman Third Class Phillip Darst (scanner).
Probable Cause
The Air Force Accident Investigation Board conducted a thorough investigation and determined that the crash was caused by a loss of lubrication to the bearings in the #4 engine turbo supercharger. This led to a failure of the turbo supercharger shaft. Once unloaded, the turbine accelerated to destruction, triggering an uncontained catastrophic fire, presumably from severed fuel lines or punctured tanks in the wing.