The B-52 Stratofortress is a legendary plane and one of the longest serving in military history. Nearly ifty years ago, the plane crashed in a tragic historic incident.
The Associated Press reported "Lt. Col. Dan Bulli's massive B-52 bomber hit turbulence that shook the plane so violently that he couldn't read the gauges. Pulling back on the yoke and pushing forward on the throttle, he tried to fly out of the severe wind. Then there was a loud bang. Moving at about 325 mph, the unarmed bomber banked, nose down, toward the unforgiving winter wilderness below. Unable to control the plane, Bulli signaled for the crew to eject."
The crew only had seconds to save themselves. The night was Jan. 24, 1963 at the Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts and the crew was learning how to use terrain avoidance radar, reported the AP.
The test flight started out fine but then gusts of wind coming at the plane off of mountains created turbulence and eventually, the turbulence became terrible."The instrument panel was vibrating so badly that I couldn't read the dials. I couldn't interpret the radar returns because it was juggling so bad. It was the worst turbulence I had ever encountered," the pilot said to the AP.
after hearing an explosion like sound he had to decide whether or not the plane was still able to fly and had to tell all the crew to get off the plane. The plane crashed into mountains and killed six crew members that could not escape the plane.
"Bulli shot his ejection seat into the air, bursting through the escape hatch. He smashed his foot on the instrument panel but cleared the aircraft. His parachute snagged a tree, and he ended up dangling 30 feet above the ground," reported the AP.
Gerarld Adler, another flight instructor on the plane survived as well. Now about 10 miles away from the crash site, Bulli's parachute and Adler's ejection seat are on display and the clubhouse for the Moosehead Riders snowmobile club where they are on display, holds ceremonies for the site. This Saturday, they will hold one ahead of its anniversary.
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