CRASH INVESTIGATION

harwood Air Force Base on October 27 @ o 9 37 hours an aircraft of the Strategic Air Command had crashed and burned a valuable aircraft and some infinitely more valuable human lives at the claws my name is Marie Colonel John Murray crash investigator was my job to find out why there was a great deal at stake a man's reputation and the National Defense is an instrument of flight an oxygen line fitting its designation is part number 2 8 2016 and inexpensive part of a three and a half million dollar aircraft but a bullet is inexpensive and it to can take the life of a man this story begins at Norton Air Force Base California and the office of the inspector general with a message addressed to the director of flight safety armored division sergeant have Colonel Marie come right in have you established positive identification yet have they any idea which one they saved yet I see yes I think we can break the colonel Marie loose John Murray that's right get back to you later Colonel sit down sack lust of b-47 out of march they were going into harwood on an emergency they crashed just short of the runway one of the men objected on the downwind leg he shoot partially open but he's in a very critical condition although he's still alive the others are dead sir there were four others in the crew a flight commander major Dorfman Sam Dorfman did you know him he was my co-pilot I was have dinner with him Thursday night Sam and Polly their anniversary server first lieutenant Harold Rennie co-pilot Captain Charles heartland and there was also an instructor observer along major Theodore Curtis which one got Oscar no identification yet zach is sending an investigation board down under Colonel Thompson they asked us to cooperate how soon can you leave well may just us can take over the report I'm doing house in two hours good I'll have your orders cut for you right away I was packed briefed cleared and airborne by 12 35 hours at thirteen twenty dollars I touched down in power Colonel hello John you got here in a hurry found out of the survivors yet lieutenant Rennick the observer you know if the observers station eject it upward instead of down he'd have made it safely you put that out he's still alive I'm not sure what it'll make it you can talk to the fight circulated nobody else got out the pilot ejected just short of the end of the runway we gotta get clear of the chair before he hit the co pilot and instructor observer crashed you mean that Dorfman got up with his crew still in the ship you nude orphaned engine yes sir well you'll see what it looks like any luck me not yet had a quick look at all six engine so far I don't see any signs have been flight burning but we're just beginning to get the pattern now full colonel john murray flight safety gene fuller from the Seattle plan fuller clapping oyer Colonel any preliminary theories no I want the power plant people to check these engines you'll need cranes for the base ok this is Colonel John Murray division of flight safety doctor and you know dr. Evers is our flight surgeon he was actually on the flight strip at the time you saw the ship it seemed like a normal approach when I guess for a bomber it was I haven't had too much experience with anything but fighters seemed to me he was a little low I saw the observer eject and the canopy go after that fire just seemed to boil up out of the cockpit fire and black smoke you saw the crash then no just after he went on finally went below my line of vision I heard the crash though flame shot or hundred feet or so in the air see that steak over there with a red streamer that's where we picked up the observer any chance to talk to him get a statement he's in pretty bad way colonel he pulls through the night maybe you can see him in the morning he hit hard arrested him hit harder the planet Colonel Dorfman was Colonel Maria scoop on it sorry he bailed out just before impact I understand everyone thought he was gonna bring the ship in I don't know why he didn't you sure it was Dorfman oh yes we just made identification from his wedding ring you landed about 200 feet from the point of initial impact of what we assume was the point of initial impact yes right over here they were so close to the runway why didn't he laughs well I guess when a man's on fire his first instinct is to save himself it wouldn't be Sam's instinct that must have been something wrong with the injection mechanism he didn't have a chance he jerking another few seconds might have saved three lives Sam had a reason I just know he did hello Polly let this job hard for me to believe it there couldn't be some mistake their shirts then I'm sure I wish there was some easy way but there isn't John meeting started look Polly is there anybody with you now le johnson captain Johnson's wife is here she said she'd look after little Sam stay as long as I need her did the doctor give me anything asleep well that's good now you take it now and I'll call you first thing in the morning of course good night bye colonel from the reports of eyewitnesses and from the field measurements of the plotting group we have a fair idea the sequence of the crash there was no smoke of fire observed until after the pilots transmission we're on fire that was approximately here at 0928 hour here just before the ship turned on base the observer ejected approximately 800 feet altitude here the canopy was jettisoned now after the ship turned on base smoke and flame was observed billowing out of the cockpit by the tower operator here and by dr. Evers on a flight straight after the ship turned on final the pilot ejected here and we had a report from the systems group on the ejection mechanism now sir but I'm sure that it wasn't operating properly have you any reason to suppose that Colonel now sir except that major dorma was my friend and I know that he wouldn't have abandoned your friendship from major Dorfman is not in question krill major dolphin may have been guilty of an error in judgment if as it appears he could have said his ship on the ground and saved the lives of two of his crew it was very grave error we're here to try to discover the cause of the fire yes sir immediately after the pilot ejected the aircraft went into a near-vertical bank the right wing was the first aircraft structure to contact the ground at a point seventeen hundred and twenty-five feet short of the approach end of the runway if we could find out from the observer what was said on the intercom where he bailed out he could solve this whole problem Colonel Edwards how soon can we speak to lieutenant Rennie it's hard to say Colonel I'll be notified the minute there's any change in his condition but when I seriously doubt he'll be out of coma before tomorrow morning I see gentlemen sac has reduced its accident rate in eight years from 6400 thousand hours of five four hundred thousand dollars guitar drive to bring 20 b-47 is the backbone of the Strategic Air Command you've got to keep it safe and in the air that's all gentlemen that first meeting broke up early there was no evidence yet to evaluate I kept reminding myself that the fire was important thing but I kept thinking of Sam he had a distinguished record had he spoiled it in the last 30 seconds of his life by abandoning his crew this I had to know the plotting group had completed the scatter chart fuller brought it to my quarters and we spent two pots of coffee and the rest of the night studying it there's no question about it the explosion was on impact oh how soon do you think we'll hear from the systems people about the ejection mechanism what's that got to do with it or you mean about your friend bailing out before his crew has to be a reason look we got enough troubles without bring in a personal problem if I could just talk to lieutenant Rennie just lot it'll be a fuel line even if it didn't blow in flight the only trouble is there's no fuel line in that crawlway that's getting daylight they should have most of the parts hauled in by now let's go over there and take a look at them while we get a clear look if we had a few hours sleep yeah maybe you're right all right let's me today hello there's this Colonel Marie she's hit the gate here at the face yeah I'll be right there I'll see you later I'll you shouldn't be here I had to come John the Chapmans me to meet you where's Ellie Johnson she came with me she's at the motel John was it Barry I mean how well he he bail out at a low altitude too long it's very quick the other well two of them didn't get out the observers a critical condition but he's alive Sam bailed out before his crew why that's what we're trying to find out Paulie the observers should be able to tell us they're blaming Sam for what happened nobody's blaming anybody for anything which is trying to get it straight I want Sam cleared as badly as you do you just got to take care of yourself well for what you know that answer better than I girl Marie telephone for you sir it's dr. Edwards yeah that must be about the observer we were waiting from a mile of a coma I hate to leave you now but I I think you could take care of yourself this is really important you do your job I'll be right call me Yes Doctor I should have left when I came down here I'll be right there it won't do any good what do you mean lieutenant Rennie just died hello colonel no doctor any clues you to style the fire started we know it started in the crawl way that rules out of having started in the forward wheel well where there are few lines but as a right now we're stuck so I'm out looking for inspiration well maybe I'll have something for you when the autopsy reports come in but I doubt it what's this for oh this is all we bonded the copilot's helmet trying to locate the rest of it sergeant nothing has this been moved no sir nothing's been moved without being plotted and tagged this is way outside the fern area look at it what is it well it was a cushion a standard aircraft cushion what fire in the crash and been thrown clear uh-huh the main fire after the tanks exploded was after in fact this is outside the burn area so it must have been burning before the crash this Grove is strange yeah it looks like it's cut off it was burned out sergeant fire mr. pull in the hangar ask them to join me as quickly as you can i'll be about 47 on the flight behind yes sir obviously you think you found something well doctor sometimes you get lucky I've got out looking for inspiration and maybe this is it John what have you got am i up here take a look now that's how the fire started oh well you see this ring clamp I left work loose in the air from this duck blew across the cushion now this duck brings hot air from the engines into the air conditioning system for heating Lucy clamp would explain how the smoke that sucked into the air conditioning system but it wouldn't tell us how the fire got started wow what about spontaneous combustion air is 450 to 500 degrees I doubt if that temperature could cause a fire and I'm sure a cushion couldn't cause the kind of fire they had you see this oxygen line it's under extremely high pressure even a tiny pinhole would supply enough oxygen into the fire to do the job well the only question is will hot air alone be enough to start a blaze well only one way to find out let's go try it huh actually that's longer than the entire time the plane was flying it sure doesn't seem to be catching heat alone doesn't seem to be enough let's try a little oxygen with it auctioning won't help unless there's a fire to feed let's try it anyway I guess that stretches your cherry shut it off boys come on over here we've come up with something strange it's that when they jettison the canopy they didn't blow it off following normal procedure it was open manually why I don't know when they turned the base leg they jettisoned it manually well they had to once the normal ejection sequence is broken the canopy can't be blown off that's pretty dangerous procedure what's your theory I wish I had one han go take a look at that be 47 on the line again just for inspiration I'll take a walk Colonel Murray autopsy report anything helpful nothing significant far as I can tell but we'll know something more when we get the report from the toxicologist how facts I don't know why no one's ever thought of putting a fire warning system in the kraal way except it's not a logical place for a fire to start but then accidents are never very logical algae let's let's try and reconstruct what happened here oh I forgot another thing we found the shut-off valves in the air conditioner were closed at all stations you mean you'd think they were getting smokes were there maybe but how where was the smoke coming from alright I just wait a minute how the instructor observer was sitting here now let's suppose he felt heat through that pressure door and he opened it to find out where the fire was coming from Alec would I know it's bad procedure but when he opened the door smoke filled in the cockpit and that's when Sam radio we're on fire so they opened the canopy a crack to get rid of the smoke now unable to breathe they're not able to see the instruments you might do it he created a chimney effect which actually suck the fire into the cockpit bad what fits a burn pattern on the body yeah but it still doesn't explain why they didn't eject now after ordering bailout Sam had to get rid of that canopy manually now that takes time it's also very dangerous you never know what a canopy is going to do in to jettison it that way now that's it when that canopy was jettisoned it dished and hit the co-pilot on the head Sam was waiting for the co pilot and the copilot was already did even on fire Sam would have never abandon his crew well I doubt if you'll ever be able to prove that and more to the point that isn't our primary problem we're here for one purpose to find the cause of the fire and to prevent future fires like it yeah all right let's go you so I should get a detail of men and go back on to the crash site i want you to search that area thousand yards back all along that flight path until you find that missing piece of the copilot's helmet yessir thousand yards back that's right where do we go for inspiration now well we see me running out of inspiration let's go back to the hangar oh wait a wedgie I'll get my cap has your trouble mean we've been testing a beautiful new cushion after a cushions been using it's filthy and more important that it gets oil on it options in an oil will burn him without heat let's go and that you're really in it yeah that's it still worried about Darkman I am yeah I'm still work the mystery of the fire was solved but there was still only one way to clear sand name we had to find a missing help before the final meeting you find anything not yet sir going over the field twice I'll keep looking go back a couple hundred feet of it have to yes as soon as you're firing get it to me I understand sir if we find anything all right fellas let's start all over again gentlemen there's no question in my mind I was the cause of this crash a series of coincidences but a deadly combination if the ring clamp on the air duct hadn't come loose it wouldn't have happened if there hadn't been a leak in the oxygen line wouldn't have happened if the cushion had been cleaned wouldn't have happened a chain of circumstance has been repeated three times that we know this must never happen again I suggest that this board recommended the b-47 crawl wave he made a routine inspection point an issue appropriate orders that no loose gear or B story come inside honey they found is where you said Thank You sergeant I appreciate yes gentlemen co-pilots helmet it's been broken into three pieces this proves the copilot was already there hit by the canopy major Dorfman agent there was no neglect of responsibility Holly powered I'm fine now really I your calls helped me so much we're just closing investigation now happen well they won't help to go to details now but the most important thing for the both of us is that sab didn't abandon his crew he stayed in to the last possible moment I won't I'll call you later well Polly it's not much to offer you but this kind of accident won't ever happen again I'll be back in a moment to tell you more about Colonel Murray thing the cause of past failures Colonel Murray and others like him in the office of the inspector general help to prevent future accidents their work saves countless lives in this age of flight you you