The Altensteig mid-air collision occurred on 11 August 1955 when two
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechaniz ...
s collided and crashed three miles from
Altensteig
Altensteig (; Swabian: ''Aldaschdaeg'') is a town in the district of Calw, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Altensteig was most likely given town rights by the Counts of Hohenberg around the middle of the 14th century. In 1398, the to ...
in West Germany.
The aircraft were part of a formation of nine C-119s flying a training mission from
Stuttgart-Echterdingen airfield, West Germany with troops from the
United States Seventh Army.
With all 66 on board both aircraft killed, it was, at the time, the deadliest air crash in Germany.
Accident
Just after 14:00 one of the aircraft on the right of a formation of three developed engine problems just after takeoff, when it was around 4,000 feet; it lost height, then climbed abruptly into the second aircraft, colliding in mid-air.
The first aircraft,
serial number ''53-7841'', crashed and disintegrated with the loss of all 19 on board.
The second aircraft ''53-3222'' continued for a while before it also crashed about 30 miles from Stuttgart in a wooded area and burst into flames, killing all 47 on board.
Helicopters were sent to the scene, supported by fire engines and people from local villages to help with the search for survivors, none were found and the fireman were still fighting the blaze into the evening.
Aircraft
The two
Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechaniz ...
s were twin-engined military transport aircraft from the 60th Troop-Carrier Wing based at Rhein-Main airfield in West Germany.
See also
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1959 Okinawa F-100 crash
*
1960 Munich C-131 crash
*
1964 Machida F-8 crash
*
1977 Yokohama F-4 crash
*
1988 Remscheid A-10 crash
*
Cavalese cable car disaster (1998)
The Cavalese cable car crash, also known as the Cermis massacre ( it, Strage del Cermis), occurred on February 3, 1998, near the Italian town of Cavalese, a ski resort in the Dolomites some northeast of Trento. Twenty people were killed when a ...
References
;Notes
External links
AviationSafety Network report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altensteig mid-air collision
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1955
Aviation accidents and incidents in Germany
Accidents and incidents involving the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
Mid-air collisions
Mid-air collisions involving military aircraft
Accidents and incidents involving United States Air Force aircraft
1955 in Germany
20th century in Baden-Württemberg
August 1955 events in Europe