On March 18, 1953, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress (registration 44-69982) operated by United States Air Force - USAF (since 1947) was involved in an aviation accident near Stephenville, Canada during landing or approach. 10 people were killed. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A modified SB-29 from the 52nd Air Rescue Squadron crashed into St. George's Bay on March 18, 1953, while returning to Ernest Harmon AFB after a search mission. All ten crew members were lost, and the main wreckage was never recovered.
Mission Background and Aircraft Configuration On the morning of March 18, 1953, Captain Francis Quinn and First Lieutenant Robert Errico, along with a crew of eight, departed Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in Newfoundland aboard SB-29-70BW, serial number 44-69982. The aircraft was assigned to the 52nd Air Rescue Squadron of the 6th Air Rescue Group and had been modified for search and rescue duties. It carried a 40-foot aluminum boat beneath the bomb bay, which could be dropped by parachute. The boat included a four-cylinder engine, rations for several days, inflatable shelters at each end, and a tarpaulin that could be zipped between the shelters to enclose occupants. A search radar had replaced the lower forward gun turret. The mission was to search for Convair RB-36H-25, serial number 51-13721. The SB-29 located the crash site of the RB-36H and determined that there were no survivors. It returned to Harmon AFB at 7:45 p.m. Weather conditions included broken clouds at 2,700 feet and a solid overcast at 5,000 feet. Harmon tower instructed Captain Quinn to turn to a heading of 180 degrees and handed him over to ground-controlled approach (GCA). Technical Sergeant Robert Burgoon was the GCA operator on duty that evening. Captain Quinn reported that he was receiving the GCA radio signal at “five-by-five.” Burgoon instructed him to descend from 4,000 feet to 3,000 feet and maintain a heading of 180 degrees. Burgoon read out the emergency procedure and current weather, and Quinn acknowledged those transmissions. However, when Burgoon read out the standard rate of turn, a different SB-29 crew member responded over the radio. When the SB-29 appeared on the GCA radar scope about seven miles from Harmon AFB, it was flying on a heading of 220 degrees. Burgoon instructed Quinn to turn right to a heading of 30 degrees to avoid losing the aircraft’s radar return in ground clutter during a left-hand turn. Quinn read back the heading as 300 degrees. Burgoon repeated that the proper heading was 30 degrees. Quinn read back something that Burgoon could not understand, so Burgoon reiterated the command to turn right to a heading of 30 degrees. Quinn stated that he was initiating a left turn to 30 degrees, and Burgoon repeated that the turn was to be made to the right. Quinn began the right turn, and the SB-29 disappeared into the blind spot of the GCA radar. When the aircraft reappeared on radar about 11 miles from the base, it was inbound on the proper heading of 30 degrees. Burgoon read out the runway condition, landing runway, and braking action, but received no reply. He requested acknowledgment twice with no response. Burgoon then commanded Quinn to turn to a heading of 300 degrees to determine whether he was still receiving GCA transmissions. Burgoon repeated the command twice but received no response, and the aircraft continued on a heading of 30 degrees. The SB-29 was over St. George’s Bay about ten miles from the base on a bearing of 240 degrees when it disappeared from the radar scope at 7:51 p.m. It did not disappear into ground clutter; it vanished from a location where it should have remained visible. On one radar pass the blip was present, and on the next pass it was gone. Burgoon made several calls to the aircraft in the blind, but no further transmissions were received. The crew lost in the crash included Pilot Captain Francis Quinn, Co-pilot First Lieutenant Robert Errico, Navigator Captain William Roy, Navigator First Lieutenant Rodger Null, A/3c James Coggins, A/3c Sammy Jones, A/2c Michael Kerr, Staff Sergeant David Kimbrough, A/1c David Rash, and A/1c Robert Montgomery. Search and Recovery Efforts At 8:15 p.m., an Air Force rescue vessel was dispatched to the area where the radar return had disappeared. A De Havilland of Canada L-20 Beaver, serial number 51-16490, took off at 8:44 p.m. to search for signs of survivors at the crash site. A Sikorsky H-5G Dragonfly helicopter, serial number 48-553, took off at 8:46 p.m. to conduct a search. Near midnight, three additional vessels joined the search. At 5:09 a.m. the following morning, an oxygen tank from the SB-29 was spotted floating in St. George’s Bay. Search teams recovered fuel cells, the radio operator’s table, air scoop dust covers, hydraulic fluid, an oxygen tank, the navigator’s briefcase, a partially inflated six-man life raft, and other small debris from the SB-29. The few structural pieces recovered showed evidence that the SB-29 had suffered major damage upon impact with the water. A total of fifty-three pieces of debris were recovered during the first day of searching. A buoy was placed at the oil slick where the debris was found. Two L-20 Beavers searched the bay throughout March 19. The surrounding countryside was searched for witnesses. The H-5 Dragonfly was used to visit residences along the shoreline of the bay that were otherwise inaccessible. Civilian John Walters of Kings Head reported that he heard a loud explosion and saw a bright flash, “kinda like a red flame,” about two to three miles offshore around 7:45 p.m. His account was considered the most reliable eyewitness report. The Dragonfly was flown to the location where the SB-29 had disappeared from radar. It made a series of descents and ascents. It was noted that the aircraft disappeared from radar as it descended through about 800 feet. Dragging and diving operations began on March 20. Forty square miles of ocean floor were dragged. Divers made sixty-one dives with negative results. The divers and dragging gear were unable to search below a depth of 200 feet. The U.S.S. Salvager was dispatched from Norfolk, Virginia, to search the bay with sonar equipment. It arrived at the station on March 27, but it did not have suitable gear for locating the wreckage. UOL equipment and personnel arrived on April 5 and began searching for the SB-29 wreck on April 6. The UOL equipment was disabled by contact with rocks on the bottom of the bay on April 9. The main wreckage of SB-29, 44-69982, and the bodies of its crew were never found.