Looking back at the “broken arrow” B-52 bomber crash near Goldsboro (NC) on January 24, 1961. With period photos and news clippings, plus a visit to the crash site today.
At 12:15 a.m., a B-52G Stratofortress operated by the 424 1st Strategic Air Command Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and carrying two unarmed nuclear weapons crashed in the Faro community of rural Wayne County, 12 miles north of Goldsboro and the nearby base. Here’s that story.
Aircraft in Trouble
Said the aircraft’s commander afterward, the plane had been airborne 11 hours when “it developed difficulty.” It was diverted over the ocean and “efforts were made to correct the trouble.” It was then ordered back to base in Goldsboro. As they neared the base, SAC officials ordered the pilots to descend to 10,000 feet, to “check various functions at it neared the base.”
But when they reached that altitude, the plane became uncontrollable. The commander ordered his crew to bail out. The command and five other crew members parachuted from the aircraft. Ten or twelve sections after they bailed out, it crashed and burned near “Musgrave’s Crossroads,” today the intersection of Big Daddy’s Road and Antioch Road.
Three Killed, Five Survived
Five of the parachuting airmen landed safely and with only minor injuries. The body of the sixth member was found in a tree, his parachute open, two miles from the crash site. The two remaining airmen were aboard the aircraft when it crashed. Their bodies were later found in the nose of the aircraft, in the wreckage.
Killed were: Maj. Eugene Shelton, 42, from San Antonio, TX, radar operator; Maj. Eugene Richards, 43, from Toccoa, GA, electronics operator; T-Sgt. Francis R. Barnish, 36, from Greenfield, MA, gunner.
One of the survivors, Maj. Walter S. Tulooch, the aircraft commander, was missing for almost seven hours. He had walked from where he landed, two miles away. He had landed in a swamp.
Two Nuclear Weapons Aboard
Aboard the aircraft were two 24-megaton nuclear bomb. One was ejected and descended by parachute. It was found “dangling from a tree in the general area of the crash”.[1]
The other was found initially reported intact in the wreckage. Both were safely recovered and Air Force officials said “there was no danger of radioactivity.”
However, officials later reported that one part of the bomb aboard the crash aircraft had not been recovered.[2] They would begin digging at the site and continue for months. See later section about that.
[1] News-Argus, October 22, 1962.
[2] News-Argus, March 27, 1961.
Witness Describes the Crash
The crash was described in the newspaper: it “hit in a field a few hundred feet from Bud Tyndall’s home, burst in flames and disintegrated as it powered across a rural road and int a field beyond.” The homeowner’s wife, in the house, said the explosion rocked the area. “It looked like the whole world was on fire.”
Aaron Edmundson, a mile away, was awakened by the blast. “I heard the roar of jet engines and then a loud explosion. It sounded like WHOOM.” And then, “the whole place lit up. It was the reddest I have ever seen.”
Emergency Response
The crash was first reported by the highway patrol minutes after it had occurred. Firefighters from the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base responded to the crash truck, as did volunteer firemen from Wayne County’s rural fire departments. In 1961, there were 24 departments. Those closest to the crash site included Eureka and Faro.
The paper noted “the crash started the wheels turning in Wayne County’s rural volunteer fire departments. Five of the departments were standing by ready to assist at the Air Force’s call.” At the courthouse, manning the “Civil Defense countywide radio set-up,” William Earl Edwards reported that four fire departments were “ready to go to the scene with a five-minute radius.”
At the scene, the rural fire department units were directed by Fire Marshal Norwood Vinson, and all stood by to assist with firefighting.
Security Forces Arrive
Wayne County sheriff’s deputies and State Highway Patrolmen also responded. Also rushing to the scene were dozens of Air Force personnel, including “explosion and armament specialists” and a “big contingent of Air Policemen.” It was estimated that 100 members of the Air Force were on scene.
Though the Air Force said there was no danger of a nuclear blast, “the area was roped off and at least one family was evacuated.” Officials were concerned that the high explosives that were also contained in the nuclear bomb might explode.
Uniformed men “with carbines strapped to their shoulders” secured the perimeter and “curiosity seekers were kept back” and warned by airmen of “possible radio activity.”
Said the newspaper of the community, “at midnight the road leading into Faro had been one of the most deserted parts of the county.” At 1 a.m., “it was bustling with humanity.”
Other Notes
On January 26, 1961, Air Force officials asked those people who had visited the crash site to “please return any of the aircraft parts they may have picked up,” reported that day’s News-Argus. Airbase officials would come to their location and retrieve the items.
Please call the base Provost Marshall, RE 5-1121, and ask for extension 780 or 238. In addition, anyone who had seen the plane in flight, before or after “it developed trouble,” were asked to call the base information office, RE 5-1121, extension 251 or 631. The Air Force also asked that “visitors remain away from the wreckage area” to keep the investigation from being impeded.
On February 7, 1961, the New-Argus reported that the base reported that some 15 to 20 people had contacted the base, or had come to the base, with parts of the plane. Others left pieces at their local fire departments. Officials were still looking for parts of the plane. The largest part that was still missing was the co-pilot’s ejection seat.
On March 27, 1961, the News-Argus reported that county health authorities said there was no contamination from the crash. Air Force testing had found the area free of radioactivity or “other chemical contamination.” Tests were made on “the water supply and vegetation in the area” before and during digging operations. The latter was the search for a “missing portion of a nuclear weapon.” The Air Force had initially denied that they were searching for same, but later confirmed those details.
On May 29, 1961, the News-Argus reported that digging operations at the crash stie were still underway. The Air Force was seeking “a small inert portion of the weapon which was carried down by the plane.” The operations started shortly after the crash and had continued for four months, the newspaper noted.
On June 1, 1961, the News-Argus reported that digging operations at the crash site had ended, Air Force officials announced that day. The portion of the bomb was “buried deep in the ground near Eureka.” Earlier that year, the command of the SAC Wing at Seymour Johnson said “the missing portion was not explosion and there was absolutely no danger from radiation.” On June 1, the Air Force emphasized that “all explosive components have been removed and continued recovery operations are not economical feasible.”
Historical Perspective
The crash was the first of a Strategic Air Command aircraft since the reactivation of Seymour Johnson AFB in 1956.
The last fatal crash at the Seymour Johnson AFB occurred shortly after reactivation, when an F-86 fighter crashed while making an emergency landing. The pilot was killed.
The Site Today
Wikipedia lists the coordinates of the crash site as 35°29′34.23″N 77°51′31.39″W, which is near a small circle of tall trees in a farm field. The circle of trees is a former graveyard, note at least one local resident. They said the crash site is located to the right of the trees and farther back from the road.
And how do historians and researchers regard the accident and how close/not close eastern North Carolina came to a nuclear disaster? Google for contemporary perspectives.
Sources
These narrative notes are drawn from reporting by the News-Argus on January 24 and January 25, unless otherwise noted.
