Accident Details
Shortly after a night takeoff from Castle Air Force Base, while climbing to 500 feet, the aircraft adopted a 5° nose-down attitude. The crew attempted to correct this, but the aircraft entered a descent and struck the ground 4 miles north of the airbase. The aircraft exploded on impact, killing all 10 crew members.
Crew
The crew consisted of: Captain John A. Goddard (aircraft commander), Captain Richard M. Wikstrom (pilot), Captain Leland Fulton Burch (navigator), Major Robert Louis Sherman (ECM operator), Captain Jack Eugene Welch (radar-bombardier), Major Bryant Guernsey Gay (electronic countermeasure operator), Technical Sergeant William J. Maguire (radio operator), Captain Nick Sam Koss (radar-bombardier instructor), Captain Charles Warren Schweer (ECM instructor), and Technical Sergeant Gerald Everett Riley (tail gunner).
Investigation
The official investigation found no technical issues and no structural failure. It is believed the accident was the consequence of an uncontrolled descent caused either by a wrong maneuver on the part of the pilot or due to distraction. Following this accident, it was recommended that flaps not be raised below a minimum altitude of 1,000 feet.