In 2007, the Orlando Sentinel published an article about the life and times and death of Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy, based on information
made available by the Freedom of Information Act. It sought to associate the crash with allegations of pilot error or "hotdogging" to explain the tragic
event. Many readers felt this did not reconcile with a pilot who had over 20,000 flying hours - most in heavy bombers - and likely more than any other
pilot in the world. McCoy flew 22 combat missions in WWII and was among the first trained to fly B-47s, setting multiple performance records seated in
the cockpit. If he had any reputation for "hotdogging," it would have come out after he started his 3 decades of flying well before 10/09/57.
Furthermore, the Boeing B-47 was fraught with its share of air disasters and seeming design flaws, but the investment in the Boeing aircraft with GE
engines as a tool against the war effort may have been deemed too crucial to fail or be exposed to public criticisms. A death rate of more than one
crewman a week was still not enough to ground a key weapon against communism, even though 464 crewmen died in crashes between 1951 and 1966
(Source: Boeing's B-47 Stratojet book). Most died during training. Sabotage was also suspected because the assembled crew was so capable of
recovering from problems. During the Cold War, McCoy and Woodroffe were two of the most experienced pilots in the air. There is some evidence to
suggest that the military's go-to analysis in such matters is to almost exclusively to blame any crash on "crew/pilot" error while they scramble to have
defects fixed. The seriously sobering statistics below relating to B-47 crashes are compelling.
B-47 Crashes - Staggering Numbers
http://b-47.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Boeing-B-47-Losses-and-Ejections.pdf
"The first SAC B-47B (Serial No. 50-008) was flown on 23 October 1951 from Wichita to MacDill by Col. Michael N. W. McCoy, Commander of the 306th Wing.
Even though the plane was not combat ready, a beginning had been made and this was celebrated on 19 November, when the aircraft was named "The Real
McCoy." Six more B-47Bs programmed for the 306th during that month were refused because of serious deficiencies, but a total of 12 were accepted before
the end of the year.
In September, USAF test pilots pointed out that the plane's weight gain, from 125,000 to 202,000 pounds, had badly affected its flying qualities, making it
unstable at high altitude and generally hard to maneuver."
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b-47b.htm
Long list of B-47 Problems:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b-47-prob.htm
As for the article, area Orlandoans spoke up in droves on a Topix thread, some excoriating the article as a shameless hit piece for ratings, others giving
it more credence and crediting the author with trying to get at any facts that were available. I have divided and color-coded responses to the article on
a Topix thread and married up posts that had direct responses to lessen confusion.
DannySanchez - Chicago, IL - #1 Oct 8, 2007
In public, the military praised Col. Michael McCoy fr steering his disintegrating B-47 bomber away from Orlando homes. But in response to an Orlando
Sentinel request, the Air Force finally reveals how it privately blamed the legendary pilot for causing the infamous crash 50 years ago Tuesday.
Eyewitness and Expert Testimonials
Alan Arthurs - United States - #2 Oct 8, 2007
My mother was a junior at edgewater high working in the office as an elective. she says she first heard the jet then looked out a window and saw the jet
explode. her first reaction was to pick up the phone in the office and she called home. as soon as she heard her mother's voice-she hung up. the myers'
house was near w. 50 and tampa ave. and after looking at the flight path, if the jet had lost control going through channel 6 t.v. towers it is a miracle that
no person died on the ground. she later drove to the crash site with her father and brother.
John T Carney JD - AOL - #3 Oct 9, 2007
I saw the plane making its final turn over Edgewater Drive at about 700ft altitude. It was banked about 35-40 degrees and as a former B-29 pilot I knew
instinctively it was in bad trouble. I followed its path as it disappeared behind a large tree and explode north and beyond of the high school. No doubt
McCoy was a hero by making his last-ditch effort to avoid killing innocent people.
John C Evans Tempe AZ - France - #12 Oct 12, 2007
I have been looking at the recovered parts and eye witness reports of COL McCoy's accident. I am having second thoughts about the cause and COL
McCoy's responsibility. Three things that jump out at me are that the #4 (right inboard) engine is the only engine broken in alf, a loose compressor disk
was found in the wreckage, and the bulk of the burned parts appear to be mid fuselage inline with the #4 engine. To me this looks like a in-flight #4
engine failure that ejected hot parts into the forward/center main fuel tanks.
In 1957 the B47 was the only long range medium jet bomber in the game. We still had some B36 bombers but they were fighter fodder. The would never
have made it to target. The B29's wouldn't have done much better, but they were all mothballed. The B52's were several years away. A lot was riding on
the outcome of the investigation. If an aircraft deficiency caused this catastrophic accident it would have grounded the entire fleet until the cause was
resolved. On the other hand if it could be attributed to pilot error the fleet would remain operational and a strong deterrent to Russia. As COL McCoy
and his crew weren't around to contest the findings pilot error was the best outcome for SAC and the Air Force. Eye witness' said the aircraft was in a 30
to 45 degree left bank at about 700-feet. This bank would result in a 1.5 to 1.71 G-turn, well within the B47's -0 to +3.5 G-limit (+1 G = straight and level
flight). The fact that the aircraft was about 700-feet AGL and appeared to be on fire indicates that COL McCoy could actually have been steering a aircraft
crippled B47 toward an empty field. So what could have been the cause of the accident? I noticed that 5-engines were in tact after the accident, but the
#4 (right inboard) engine was missing its turbine. If a engine turbine had shed several blades of a section of the turbine wheel the engine cases would
not have contained the red hot parts. In addition the out of balance turbine could well have separated from the compressor as the debris field
indicates. Flying red hot turbine parts from the #4 engine would have imbedded into the #4-5 engine firewall, right wing, of the aircraft fuselage. The
aircraft main fuel tanks are located above the fuselage centerline from the forward edge on the forward wheel well to the aft edge of the aft wheel well.
The #4 engine turbine is inline with the aft edge of the forward main fuel tank.
The B47 aircraft did NOT have nitrogen purged fuel tanks. The tanks were vented to atmosphere. COL McCoy took off with a 50,000-pound fuel load and
flew for 57-minutes. His remaining fuel was probably less than 25,000-pounds of the aircraft's 100,000 pound internal capacity meaning that the fuel
tanks were 3/4th full of combustible fuel vapors.
If the aircraft experienced a #4 engine turbine failure and some red hot turbine parts penetrated the forward or center main fuel tank they could easily
have caused an in-flight fire followed by an explosion. With 5-engines still running the failed engine probably wouldn't have been noticed by witness'.
This failure could explain most of the fire damage being mid fuselage trailing aft. Any in-flight explosion in the forward fuel tank would have separated
the wing from the fuselage and most likely blown the fuselage in half.
I believe this scenario dovetails nicely with the reports I have read. This would make COL McCoy the hero he was originally portrayed to be 50 years
ago, and deserving of the praise he received.
P.s. I was a B47 mechanic stationed with the 93rd BS 19th BW at Pine Castle AFB from 10/54 through 10/57.
John C Evans Tempe AZ - France - #15 Oct 14, 2007
My assessment of the cause of Col. McCoy's accident is based on eyewitness reports and FOI act documents of the accident, debris recovered, and
their condition (Burned, Etc.) contained in the Orlando Sentinel article written by Kevin Spear. The burned and separated debris is a good indicator of
the location where the fire/explosion initiated. I found Kevin’s article to be accurate and informative. I do not believe the cause of the accident was the
Boeing B47 aircraft or limitations of its design. I am sure Col. McCoy was well aware of the B47’s limitations, and that he flew well within his capabilities
and the limits of the aircraft, for self-preservation if nothing else. I believe the real culprit was the envelope pushing design of GE J47 jet engines
powering the B47. In 1957 GE J47 jet engines were state-of-the-art power plants operating at the limits of our engineering and metallurgy knowledge.
The report of wreckage indicates that five GE J47 jet engines were fairly intact (in one piece). However the #4 (right inboard) engine was broken in half
and a #5 compressor wheel was found loose in the wreckage. I do not believe this damage was caused at impact, but occurred before aircraft impact
causing the aircraft to explode. Traditionally catastrophic failures of GE J47 jet engines have been caused by foreign object ingestion or internal
mechanical failures. B47 pictures show a red stripe around each engine nacelle in line with the turbine wheel location. This is a danger area to be
avoided by ground personnel. The danger was from the possibly of an un-contained turbine burst during high power settings. Red-hot turbine parts
exiting a J47 engine would be fatal to any ground member struck, or could cause a fire and/or explosion if they struck aircraft fuel tanks full of
combustible vapors. The #4 engine nacelle red stripe is in line with the aircraft wing root. The forward and center main fuel tanks are located above the
forward wheel well and bomb-bay areas and below the wing root. With a light fuel load these fuel tanks are full of combustible and possibly explosive
fuel vapors. Any red-hot #4 engine turbine part escaping the engine would have enough energy to penetrate the aircraft skin and the self-sealing fuel
tanks.
A red-hot piece of jet engine turbine material entering a fuel tank could ignite vapors causing a fire and/or explosion. A fuel tank explosion between the
wing-root and bomb-bay would have broke the wing in half separating it from the aircraft and blown the fuselage in half as well. If this occurred in-flight
it would have created a very large and long debris field that was documented in the accident reports. All of the information I used in coming to my
conclusions of mechanical failure is in the accident report documents, and in my opinion they do not support the U.S. Air Force accident investigations
conclusion of pilot error. I believe the sole purpose of the pilot error conclusion was to avoid having to ground every aircraft using GE J47 jet engines.
This included KC97 refueling aircraft, B36 bombers (4 outboard jet engines) F86 fighters as well as many other aircraft, and engine manufacturers using
similar engine designs.
Under the conditions described in the reports no pilot in the world could have saved a B47 aircraft with that level of damage, or its occupants. The fact
that the B47 was in a low altitude steep left banking turn heading toward an open field leads me to believe that Col. McCoy, at considerable risk to
himself, was attempting to save the lives of not only his crew but people on the ground as well with a controlled crash landing in an open field, and just
ran out of time. These are the actions you expect of hero’s, as Col. McCoy could easily have given the order to eject saving the lives of himself and
some of his crew.
Chigger - United States - #17 Oct 16, 2007
I am a native Orlandoan. Back in October 1957, we lived on Driver Avenue on Little Lake Fairview. My mother was talking on the phone when she saw a
plane on fire circling the lake. She described it as a ring of fire outlining the plane. She rushed out into the back yard to witness the plane appear to
circle the lake and steer into the ground. Later she learned that the plane missed the numerous highly populated neighborhoods and schools in the
immediate area. I think of Col. McCoy each time I look at a flight bag tag…MCO. I’ve told my mother’s version of the story many, many times. I’ve read
the very detailed comments today from James Goodwin and John C. Evans, and others and wonder why pilot error is now identified as the cause. What's
the motive? I will personally choose to continue to believe the heroic account of Col. McCoy and his crew deciding to ride the plane into the ground to
avoid the many innocent people in the area.
Frank Mirande - Ooltewah, TN - #27 Nov 13, 2007 - Collegedale TN
Every kid growing up in the Orlando area in the late-1950's and 1960's with even a passing interest in the "airbase to the south" heard the story of its
legendary namesake. Col. McCoy's accident occurred when I was 3 years old, just about the time my lifelong interest in aviation began. We lived near
Orlando Municipal Airport (later Herndon and now Orlando Executive) and I was treated to the takeoffs and landings of the big propeller airliners of the
day: DC-6's and -7's, Constellations, and others (airline traffic didn't move to McCoy (co-located with the Air Force) until 1963). But it was the more distant
military traffic that really caught my attention, which was the B-47's of the 321st Bomb. Wing coming and going from McCoy, high over Lake Underhill. My
childhood and adolescence progressed against a backdrop of change; the B-47's made way in 1961 for the B-52's of what soon became the 306th B.W.
which for over 11 years became such a fixture in the Orlando skies, but in 1975 (the planes had all left by Oct. 1973), McCoy finally closed. I later moved
away from Orlando for college and grad. school, ending up as an artist/illustrator at Lockheed Georgia in Marietta, where I was employed for 16 years.
I mention the background information in order to demonstrate my personal interest in the event and to lend validity to the position I take regarding the
issues raised in this discussion. As some have said, I believe Mr. Spear has provided his readers a service by bringing to light the particulars of the de-
classified accident report. He promotes a general impression of appreciation for the efforts of Col. McCoy and his colleagues, which I think is quite fair.
However, when he states that they were forced to fly a "dangerous" aircraft-the B-47- I believe he loses credibility.
The B-47 flew as long ago as 1947, and at that time it was considered revolutionary. In hindsight, it was at least that, for its basic configuration supplied
the basis for all subsequent large Boeing aircraft such as the B-52, 707, 747, etc. After a rigorous test program lasting 4 years, the first operational B-47
was delivered to the Air Force (actually by Col. McCoy to his old command: The 306th B.W. at MacDill AFB- the plane was nicknamed "The Real McCoy").
This aircraft took its place in the USAF inventory as a combat-ready machine-not inherently a "dangerous" one-with known limitations that had to be
respected, some of which were referred to in the article in sometimes lurid fashion. Some 2,000 B-47's were produced- contrast this with 744 B-52's, 100
B-1B's, and 21 B-2's. This translated to a vast number of aircraft accumulating a huge amount of flying time, because of the nature of its mission. In such
an enormous operation, the opportunities for accidents are great, and both the 20 losses quoted for 1957, and the human cost over the aircraft's
service life appear dreadful, if viewed in isolation (certainly they were to those involved). But in the context of the experience of other successful
aircraft designs, these losses- as unfortunate as they were- were not considered prohibitive. The B-52, for example, incurred 8 losses the next year
(1958), and, in fact suffered the great majority of its almost 100 major accidents in its intial ten years of service.
I don't claim any great expertise in the highly specialized subject of military aircraft operation and accidents, but I became familiar with it over my years
of study and involvement in the industry. Certainly, it does not lend itself to superficial research, for that inevitably results in misleading conclusions.
Having once been an industry professional and always a student of history, I can say that the manufacturers and their Air Force counterparts lived up to
their obligation to ensure that aircrews flew reliable aircraft.
Don - Jacksonville, FL - #28 Dec 14, 2007
I was in school at Robert E. Lee Jr. Hi when the plane went over our school and crashed in a field at Ben White Raceway. We always thought the pilot
was a hero.
Bev - Ocala, FL - #29 Dec 22, 2007
I was also a student at Robert E. Lee Jr. High School at the time of the Col. McCoy crash. We were in Geography class in the portables along the athletic
field when there was a huge roaring sound. Our teacher( Ms Tucker?) yelled for all of us to "get out of the building". I think she thought it was a
tornado. When we got outside there were many, many students and teachers that had also evacuated their buildings and were lining the play field.
When we looked up the huge plane was right there on top of us. It almost looked like the plane was going to land on the field but at the last moment Col.
McCoy pulled the nose up and he skipped over the field and houses to the west. Then we saw a huge explosion and smoke. At the time I thought it hit
Lake Silver Elem. School were my brother was a student and was very upset until my mother came to my school with my brother. We then drove out to
the crash site by the canning company on 17-92. I remember there was debris all over the road with one of the engines in the middle of the road and out
in the cow pasture across the street. The police made us turn around at that point. I really think Col. McCoy saved our lives because it was very
apparent that he pulled the nose of the plane up when he saw all of us kids on that play field. He is my hero.
Harv LaFollette USAF Retired - United States - #34 Jan 14, 2008
I flew the B-47 for 3 years. When Boeing designed the B-707 (America's first jet airliner), many of the B-47 design features were incorporated into the B-
707. Every airplane ever built has had some problems. As a retired airline pilot, I can honestly say the intensive training we underwent to operate the B-
47 went far beyond the training required to even fly commercial jet airliners today. Was Mike McCoy a hero? YOU BET HE WAS!
Carl J Mollnow - Lakewood, WA - #37 Mar 3, 2008
As a USAF Pilot 1961 I was assigned to McCoy AFB to fly B-47s. Enroute I was reassigned to Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson , AZ much to my chagrin - I loved
Florida and the great life I could see myself having on my very few days off each month. With 4-years and 2,700+ hours in the B-47 I found it to be a very
reliable, fast and great acft. to fly. One or more posts mentioned that the wings would bend severely at times. "Hello,???!!!" They were designed to do
that and at 425 knots (488.75 mph) low level (500-1,000' AGL) this made for quite a nice ride ala shock-absorber motion. 30 knots or so faster the wing
tips twisted a little an made the ailerons less effective - but it was easy to stay below that speed and fly safely. Like several posts(especially the B-47
mechanic - who by the way "they/he" did a fantastic job in keeping the B-47s in top-notch safe flying condition) the only real problems arose during
component or system failures - which were few and far between in my B-47 experience 1961-1966. The biggest problems were crew navigation errors
low level. Two occurred, 1 each at the 2 bases I flew out of. We did not have sophisticated navigation aids while flying with just a few hundred feet AGL
(Above Ground Level) and those that did not have the Co-Pilot aiding the Navigator using a well set-up annotated low-level chart were usually/always
the losers as were their families and loved ones.
I only lost 3 engines(mechanical engine failure) but were shut-down immediately before further destruction occurred. Jet engines were new back than
and one second they were humming like a top and a nano-second later they were coming apart and tearing up your airplane. There is NOTHING Col.
McCoy could have done to make the engine come apart no matter how he flew it to have it engulfed in flames as described in the posts or AR's. When
something comes apart and you are now a flying torch and you stay with the aircraft to bring it down in an area of no human habitation. - YOU ARE NOT
ONLY A HERO - YOU ARE BRAVE BEYOND ANY MEASURE A HUMAN BEING CAN EVER BE! YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE A DEAD PERSON - AS YOU ARE
FLYING YOUR SOPHISTICATED MULITOV COCKTAIL AWAY FROM AND TO KEEP OTHER UNWITTING PERSONS, WHERE-EVER, FROM THE FATE YOU KNOW
YOU ARE GOING TO RECEIVE. ANY DOUBTERS ARE PURE IDIOTS AND HAVE NEVER FLOWN AN AIRCRAFT IN DISTRESS. With over 22,000 hrs flying (most
heavy jet) and having witnessed/been around many USAF accidents - the MAIN THING USAF COMMAND DOES IS ASSIGN BLAME IN PERCENTAGES(%).
WHEN THE CREW DIES IN THE ACCIDENT - THERE IS "NO SUPERVISORY ERROR" - IT IS ALWAYS "CREW/PILOT ERROR" AS THEY ARE NOT AROUND TO
DEFEND THEMSELVES. I have written many "USAF HAZARD REPORTS" AND EVERY ONE HAS LATER CAUSED MANY (KILLING THOUSANDS - BOTH CIVILIAN
AND MILITARY - WORLDWIDE) ACCIDENTS. ONE HAZARD REPORT I WROTE IN 1971 ON "ANTI-HIJACKING PROCEDURES" NOTED AN EXACT OCCURANCE OF
A HIJACKED B747 THOUGH IN SEATTLE, WA. "NO-ONE WOULD DO THAT STORY BACK THEN EVEN "60 MINUTES" WHEN THEY DID A STORY ON ANOTHER OF
MY "HAZARD REPORTS" WHERE THE C-141's WERE FLYING WITH "LESS THAN ATP”(Airline Transport Pilot) RATED PILOTS AND NOT PROPERLY TRAINED IN
"TERPS" (Terminal Instrument Procedures) AND THUS CRASHED INTO THE MOUNTAINS AT NIGHT OUTSIDE SEATTLE. THE FAA - NTSB - CONGRESS &/OR
THE SENATE OR ADMINISTRATION CARED AND THUS 9/11 COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED SIMPLY BY GETTING THEIR HEADS OUT OF THEIR POSTERIOR
OPENINGS.
THUS COL. MIKE McCoy, USAF COMMAND PILOT, HAS BEEN SLIGHTED THOUGH NO REAL "LAWYER" HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO DEFEND HIS/THE REAL
OPERATIONS OCCURING IN THE COCKPIT OF THE B-47 THAT DAY SO MANY YEARS AGO AND THE HUMANS (MANY WHICH HAVE IN THESE POSTS SO
NICELY HAVE GIVEN COL. MIKE HIS DUE PRAISES OF HEROISM) "OVER" WHICH THE BURNING B-47 INFERNO PASSED AND DID NOT HARM EVEN A HAIR ON
THIR HEADS. COL. MIKE McCOY, I SALUTE YOU !
THE HERO THAT YOU ARE - NO ONE CAN TAKE AWAY. A FELLOW B-47 PILOT.
Carl J. Mollnow
Tacoma, WA 98467
cmollnow741@comcast.net
Frank Spittle NC - Huntersville, NC - #42 Jul 24, 2008
It has been nearly 51 years since that day but it has lived on with me like nothing else has. I was 13 years old. Because it has been so long ago and we
moved from Orlando in '59 I do not remember some of the names. We lived in Pine Hills and I went to school in downtown Orlando by school bus. I
believe it was Memorial School. They were building a new school only a mile or so from where we lived and I went there the first year it opened in '58. I
believe it was Maynard Evans but I could be wrong. When I was riding the bus home on that afternoon in '57 traffic was moving slow in Pine Hills. Finally
it stopped. After sitting there for at least 15 minutes I ask the bus driver if I could walk home which was only a half mile. I could not understand why all
the cars were parked on the road. When I got home my mon said a plane had crashed. I got on my bike and rode around the parked cars until I got to the
crash site. I was expecting to see a small private plane. I will never forget that image of massive destruction. Nothing can ever change my mind about
COL McCoy regardless of why the plane crashed. He is my hero.
danny - AOL - #43 Sep 15, 2008
I too was a student at the time of the crash. There was a report, I believe in the Orlando paper that stated that the plane was on fire as it came across
downtown Orlando, as reported by a worker on top of the Angebilt hotel. There never was much info after that but Col McCoy surely saved a lot of lives
as he rode that aircraft in to prevent crashing into 2 elem. schools.
John C Evans Tempe AZ - Phoenix, AZ - #48 Jun 9, 2009
Lots of luck finding much information about the B47 in the 1950's. I crewed B47B with the EbbTide modifications (Upgrded to an E model) SN 51-2312
(nose #312) for my entire enlistment first at Pine Castle (McCoy) ATB and later Homestead AFB. I cannot find any documentation that the B47B models
ever existed, let alone the one I crewed. With two findings, Pilot Hero and Pilot Error I believe the findings were political to keep from grounding every
USAF aircraft powered by GE J47 engines. This would allow the USAF to continue to protect our airspace and country while GE corrected the cause of
the #4 engine turbine failure that ignited the main fuel tanks resulting in the crash and loss of life.
Pine Castle AFB was less than ten minutes away with emergency equipment and Col. McCoy knew this. His decision to crash land his crippled aircraft in
a field with no emergency equipment tells me that he did not believe the aircraft would have made it to his base and emergency equipment. The aircraft
had three ejection seats and four crew members. His decision to try to save everyone instead of "punching our" is what hero's do. Col. McCoy could
have saved himself, and chose to try to save his crew and people on the ground instead. You do not trash the reputation of commanders of this caliber.
Don Evans - Ooltewah, TN - #50 Dec 24, 2010
My father Colonel Richard E. Evans was the Deputy of Operations with Mc Coy Head of Operations at Mc Dill for the B-47 program. My father set the jet
bomber record for 25, 30, and 35 hours non stop flights in the B-47 using KC-47's to refuel. Colonel Evans considered Mike Mc Coy the best the Air
Force had to offer. The story I heard as a boy was that the accident happened during joint test of the B-47 and the British Vulcan Bomber. The tests were
at low level. My mother indicated that Colonel Mc Coy may not have been flying the plane but had turned over control to a visiting British pilot. My
father passed away in 2006 so I may be wrong about the cause of the accident. There were several connections in the B-47 progam with the British.
Colonel Mc Coy served in the Canadian Air Force and I understand joined the Brits for a while. My father flew a B-17 for General Montgomery
commander of the British 8th Army during the Tunisian and Sicily campaigns of WW2. A great deal of the B-47 training envolved plans to use Britian as a
forward base to launch the aircraft against Russia. It was my father's view that Mike Mc Coy would have gone to the top of the Air Force. If you would
enjoy seeing shots of the B-47 at Mc Dill check out "Strategic Air Command" staring Jimmy Stewart. My father flew the B-47 for the movie but Colonel
Mike Mc Coy was the boss.
Don Evans - Ooltewah, TN - #51 Dec 24, 2010
If ay members of the Mc Coy family wish to contact me my e mail is anglo1987@hotmail.com
Mark Sublette - Clemson, SC - #56 Feb 23, 2011
As an Air Force brat growing up, and as a historian now, I have to defend the publication of the investigative efforts of the Sentinel. There were MANY
incidents during the Cold War that were hushed up by various countries, and it is only with the passing of time that the true details and circumstances
can now begin to emerge. An example of a state secret that COULD have had profound effects on future events was the death of Soviet cosmonaut
Valentin Bondarenko who was killed on 23 March 1961 in a pure-oxygen fire during tests, almost the exact same situation that killed the three American
astronauts in the Apollo 1 pad fire in 1967. Had the details of this hushed-up tragedy been known, Gus Grissom, Ed White Roger Chaffee might still be
alive today. As George Santayana observed, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." There is nothing inherently wrong with
investigative journalism. It reveals the realities of the times in which various ulterior motives conspired to obscure the facts of the day. Those who
resent the pulling back of the curtain on our Cold War history are guilty of denial and self-deception. As Mr. Spock observed on Star Trek, "military
secrets are the most fleeting of all."
Don Evans - Ooltewah, TN - #57 Apr 4, 2011
My father Colonel Richard Evans was Deputy Chief of Operations for the B-47 program. Colonel McCoy was the Chief of Operations. My father set the
15,25,and 35 hr refueling records in the B-47 with KC-97's at Mc Dill. He also flew the aircraft shots in the Jimmy Stewart movie filmed at Mc Dill, the
Strategic Air Command. Another pilot was John Denver's dad (Colonel Dutchendorf). Richard Evans and all of the pilots had tremendous respect and
affection for Colonel Mc Coy. My mother and father indicated to me that the view of most of the pilots at Mc Dill was that Mike allowed the RAF pilot to fly
the aircraft. The aircraft got into trouble and Mike tried to save the situation and was forced to steer her in. At the time the British had brought over
some Vulcan bombers for joint exercises and it is probable the pilots allowed their counterparts to fly their aircraft.
Marvin L Mobley - - Columbia, SC - #58 Aug 7, 2011
I was a photographer stationed at Pinecastle Air Force Base and took the aerial photographs of Col. McCoys crash.......The first photographs I took were
in Ben White race track....A very large portion of one of the wings was lying in the infield. Of great importance was the fact that the main spar of the wing
was bent almost 90 degrees. also in the infield was one of the huge wing tanks. empty I am sure as no fire was evident on the tank or wing.. At the time
of the accident, my memory recalls that the control tower had a visual sight of the aircraft inbound to Pinecastle from the Apopka area.....moments later
the plane disappeared from view....This information was transmitted from the control tower to the helicopter pilot as we departed Pinecastle to the
crash sight.....The main crash site was in a vacant lot across highway 17/92 from Ben White Race Course......Of course there was a huge explosion and
fire there......I am 78 years old today but my memories are still quite clear of the happenings on that memorable day...m0m071@yahoo.com...A1C Howell
Beatty was the other photographer who took all the photos on the ground.....He also was the photographer who took the color photo of Col. McCoy
standing in front of a B-47 that was on display in the Base Headquarters building for at least to Feb. 1963 when I departed McCoy after a 7 year
assignment to Yokota Air Base, Tokyo Japan..There was no other areas that contained pieces of the aircraft, which indicates to me the plane was at a
very low altitude and a rapid destruction took place over Ben White and the empty lot....Comments as to the cause of this accident I will leave to
others....All I can report is what I saw and photographed.....
Rev Richard F Boeke - UK - #59 Aug 7, 2011
Dear Kevin Starr: Thanks for the update on the crash of Colonel McCoy’s B-47. Especially the update on Vernon Stuff’s son, Barry, who now lives in
Texas. I was the young chaplain who told Vernon’s wife that her husband was dead. Then spoke to the children. The next morning when I came, Vernon’
s wife, Tucker, opened the door with anger. She would not participate in the joint Funeral in the Hanger. She asked me to conduct his funeral in the
Base Chapel. In many ways it was the hardest thing I ever did. As I completed my term in the USAF a year later, I published a little book of poetry with this
opening page:
This book is respectfully dedicated to all those living and dead who strive to serve the cause of peace in the United States Air Force.
IN MEMORIAM
Michael N. R. McCoy, Colonel, USAF
Charles Joyce, Lt. Colonel, USAF
Vernon D. Stuff, Major, USAF
John Woodruffe, Group Captain, DSC. DFC *
“THE BRAVE DIE BUT ONCE”
Courage faces death head on,
And does not turn its head away;
Courage faces life head on,
Fears not that death may come and stay.
Courage does not run and hide,
It does not die and die inside,
But hour by hour and year by year
Walks on what e’er may be its fear:
It flies the sky, or braves the sea,
Or walks through death as it’s called to be.
God, we commend unto thy care
The souls of these who now are gone:
Their lives are past,
We still live on …
Help us, like them,
To live, die strong.
Four killed in the crash of a B-47, October 9, 1957
Whatever happened to cause the crash,
I respected Colonel McCoy.
Blessings and hope, Richard Boeke
The Rev Richard F. Boeke
Chair, British Chapter, International Association for Religious Freedom www.iarf.net
Retired in England, but still active
for the cause of peace and interfaith understanding.
Robert Landley - Furlong, PA - #60 Sep 29, 2011
I have one problem with facts stated in the story. I was in 8th grade at Robert E Lee Jr. High, and I was in the outer-most (closest to the playground) of
the "portable" classrooms when this happened. I don't guarantee that my memory is perfect, but this is what I remember. We heard the sound of the jet
engines when the plane was still over College Park. We were a long way from Pinecastle AFB, and you normally didn't hear those kinds of sounds
around there, so everyone rushed to the windows on the side of the room looking toward the playground. We could tell it was going to go over the
school and we wanted to be able to see it. Back then, seeing a jet aircraft up close was a big deal to kids. We looked up, and I remember seeing the
plane go over the school, very low, in a slight left turn, and then bank sharply to the left so that we were looking at the top of the plane. As we watched,
there were flames, not a lot, but definitely flames. I don't remember exactly where they were coming from, but it was in the middle of the aircraft, not the
front and not the tail. The aircraft started to go down and we watched it until it went out of sight behind the treeline on the edge of the playground.
Although I don't have a strong memory of the attitude of the plane, I don't think it turned completely upside down while I watched it. That would have
made a big impression on a 13 year old kid. I suppose it was possible that could have happened in the last few seconds of the flight. My concern is that
the story says the plane crashed at 500 miles per hour. That's not my recollection. It was going very slowly when it went over our school. We heard it
coming, and had enough time to realize what the sound was and rush to the window before it went over. When it turned on its side and went down, the
flames were clearly visible. I think at 500 miles per hour, they would have been flattened to the side of the aircraft, and I don't think they would have
been that visible. I don't know how high the plane was, but it was very big in our view, and that says it wasn't very high. I'm guessing somewhere
between 500 and 1500 feet. If it were at that height and traveling at 500 mph, I don't know if we would have been able to see as much of the final flight as
we did. I know that a 54 year old memory is not to be taken as absolute truth, but I thought it would be good to add my recollections to this thread.
Diana Fountain Cunningham - Sacramento, CA - #61 Mar 14, 2012
I was a student a Lake Silver Elementary School on the day Colonial McCoy stayed with his plane and became a hero. My class saw the whole thing.I
would not be here today had he made any other decision.
Sally - North Wales, PA - #64 Nov 18, 2012
My father was one who died in 1957, when the B-47 he was in exploded.
M Smith - Quakertown, PA - #66 Feb 4, 2013
I was at Lee Junior High watching the airplane in a left bank. It literally exploded and two balls of fire plummeted to earth hitting in a field across from
where Lee Rd intersects with 441. I remember it vividly. I later became a military pilot! Who knows the real cause -- none of us were in the cockpit. It
might have had a mechanical problem that McCoy saw and was trying to get, over open land. That area in 1957 was nothing more than cow pastures,
armadillos, rattlesnakes, and palmettos!
Charles Jones - Albany, GA - #67 Jun 3, 2013
On that day, I was marching in the Boone High School Band on our high school football field. We were practicing for a half-time show no doubt. I saw
McCoy's B-47 fly over, make a turn and suddenly burst into explosive flames. Until the explosion, it did not appear that the plane was in trouble. The turn
seemed right and good. We (the band) watched as the plane fell from the air and out of our sight, only to later hear the news of where the wreckage fell.
I believe McCoy was a hero, making the best of a bad situation. I believe the story of an engine failure described above fits the scene very well. He
saved many lives doing his last minute best.
Don J Chiarella Msgt Ret - Winter Garden, FL - #72 Jul 16, 2014
The B-47 was a dangerous underpowered aircraft of its' time. It took long RW's to takeoff and land on. I was stationed at 55 SRW at Forbes AFB from 1958-
66 and witnessed two RB-47 crashes during my tenure there. During this "Cold War" period, many other of our RB-47 were lost due to crashes, never
reported to the civillian population. I flew in many during training flights and deployments, was always on the edge of my seat!(Was seated in what was
known as "The 4th Mans seat", the seat no one ever ejected out of.) I was a young USAF S/SGT at the time Servicing a new APN-102 "Doppler Radar"
Navigational System installed on the RB-47's. In conclusion, it was a time when the B-47 was our transition from the slower B-36 Bomber to a newer
Modern Swept Wing faster and higher flying Medium Bomber. I was proud to serve in SAC then but had many nightmares of B-47 crashes during my
tenure.
Don Evans - Fort Myers, FL - #76 Feb 15, 2016
The team of pilots under McCoy's command had the greatest respect for him. Who were some of these men? Colonel Pat Flemming who was the number
four Naval ace in WW2....yes Navy he transferred to the Air Force to fly the B-47. Pat unfortunately was the first man to die in a B-52 accident. Colonel
Don Hillman, WW2 fighter ace, and a man that did spy missions over Soviet Russia in a B-47years prior to the U-2. Major Duchendorf, father of John
Denver and a man that set speed records later in the B-58. My father Colonel Richard Evans who took over the B-47 Operations when Mike McCoy died.
Evans set the 35 hour record in a B47.
Family Members Posts
Lynda Woodroffe - Oxford, UK - #4 Oct 9, 2007
I congratulate the author of this article, Kevin Spears, for all his work and feel some pride that my father is remembered in this online publication. What
crossed my mind when I read the article was this: "Yet 464 crewmen died in crashes between 1951 and 1966, according to the book Boeing's B-47
Stratojet." I did not know this statistic until this month. While my father and the USAF airmen were intricately involved in the Cold War, I ask myself -'Did
they not consider all the others who had died in this aircraft before them? Why did they take the risk?'. Of course I will never get the answer, but the
question also echoes what Kevin Spear raised in his article, that maybe there was something that Boeing and the USAF hid from others, although it is
difficult to imagine that the details of aircraft failure would be easy to hid from major airmen like my father and the others on that fateful flight.
Mike Linquist - AOL - #7 Oct 10, 2007
Ms. Woodruffe, I read your comments with interest. My grandfather was Col. Mike McCoy. My mother is Pam Linquist (formerly Pamela A. McCoy) and she
still lives in Tampa, FL. I live 25 miles north in Wesley Chapel, FL. We attended the dedication of McCoy Elementary in Orlando last year n Veterans' Day.
It was nice to discover someone like you who was so close to the tragic event that happened. Please feel free to get in touch.
Mike Linquist e-mail mikelinquist8@aol.com
Eric Linquist - Winter Haven, FL - #23 Oct 31, 2007
Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy was my grandfather as well. I’m Eric Linquist, the younger brother of previous poster Michael Linquist and I have
been an Orlando resident since 1986. Unfortunately, Grandaddy Mike perished a year before I was born so I never got to be a grandson to him. Our still
younger brother Marc is in the same boat.
It stretches my sensibilities to chalk up such a horrible accident to “hot-dogging” or “pilot error” for a man who was arguably one of the finest US pilots
at the time with an unparalleled repertoire of flying experience. How does a man with 20,000 flying hours in the cockpit “hotdog” anything? That McCoy
had the ability and presence of mind to coax a craft that had degraded into a crippled fireball away from populated areas is self-evident testimony to his
valor and heroism. Declarations to the contrary just don’t fly.
Furthermore, in consideration of the inaction and complacency regarding the horrible ongoing death toll of the B-47, I also believe that Mrs. Woodroffe’
s laser-like focus is just. A sweeping investigation into the B-47’s death toll would almost certainly have grounded the fleet, an outcome the military
could ill afford, while any government retooling of the truth would likely be devoid of earnest scrutiny in 1957. Coupled with John C. Evans’ competent
assessment of craft damage and historical data, there seems to be much in the way of evidence to suggest the B-47 was fraught with design flaws.
Certainly the families associated with the 464 other victims of the B-47, fallen heroes all, would agree in kind. Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy
earned his wings.
The real McCoy was a real Hero.
Respectfully,
Eric Linquist
jetmail17@yahoo.com
Mike Capdeville - Long Beach, CA - #35 Feb 28, 2008
My brother, Jeff, who now lives in the Pensacola area, just sent a copy of this article to me and I am flabbergasted to be reading about all of this. We,
too, are grandsons of Col. McCoy. My mother was Barbara (McCoy) Capdeville and our grandmother was his first wife, Helen McCoy. She had two
daughters by him, Barbara and Patricia. There are four of us grandchildren. Most of us live in Southern California, along with Col. McCoy's sister and
brothers families. The most ironic thing is that Grams passed away at the age of 98 just three months before Rose McCoy passed. They were married for
eight years. My brother, Jeff was in the Marine Corps in the 1960's and took an R & R trip to McCoy Air Force base and was given a tour by the current
Commander. My fondest memories of him are when he visited us here in California in the early 50's after making a trip to Japan when we were really
young and bringing us kimonos and watches made in Japan at the time. He has three distinct and unique families and it would be fun for us all to get
acquainted some time. I will email Mike and Eric Lindquist soon and chat with them. What an incredible story all the way around! Colonel Michael N.W.
McCoy was certainly our hero!
Eric Linquist - Orlando - #36 Mar 1, 2008
To Mike Capdeville: Eric Linquist here. I continue to check this thread and just came across your fascinating post. I had located your grandmother
(McCoy's first wife) Helen's name along with her two daughters, Patricia and Barbara (your mom) on Ancestry.com a few months ago but knew no way to
get in contact. I have a younger brother, Marc, who lives in Los Angeles' Echo Park in your state! What an interesting turn of events! My grandmother
Alyce, who passed in the nineties, was married to Michael McCoy for about 22 years. Would be great to compare notes! Please feel free to send me an
email at jetmail17@yahoo.com.
melissa ramsey beach - Hesperia, CA - #53 Feb 9, 2011
wow its all amazing. Im just starting to research my family tree and its like a mini family get together right here! Hi cousin Mike!! To all you others out
there Im the great grand daughter of Col.McCoy, and proud of it!!!!! my e mail is beach212010@live.com any other family stories Id love to hear.
Eric Linquist - Ocoee, FL - #54 Feb 9, 2011
Hey Everyone! One of three grandsons of Michael McCoy here, thru his 2nd wife Alice Kimball, whom Mike was married to for 22 years. If you haven't
seen these links that follow, you will be treated to what may be the only actual movie footage of Colonel McCoy known to exist:
http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675022550...
http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675022553...
http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675022552...
melissa ramsey beach - Hesperia, CA - #55 Feb 12, 2011
thank you for the info. Eric. It was really great to see footage of him. I've only seen one picture of him in my life but had heard about him, this makes him
real to me. I dont really know anything other than about the crash, if you have any info. on him ANYTHING I'd love to know. thank you
Eric Linquist - New Smyrna Beach, FL - #69 Nov 1, 2013
Here's what everyone should know about the world-class piloting skills of Colonel Michal N. W. McCoy. After World War II broke, Colonel McCoy joined
the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and served as a ferry pilot and instructor. He trained Canadian pilots in the old Hudson Bomber until 1942 at which
time he transferred as a captain to the U.S. Army Air Corps. At this time, McCoy arguably had logged more flight hours than any pilot in the world. In June
of 1945 while serving with the 315th Bomb Wing on Guam, Colonel McCoy flew 22 missions in B29 "Stratofortresses" " over Japan. After the war. Colonel
McCoy made the first successful Japan-to-Washington, D.C, nonstop flight in the 'Fluffy Fuzz,' a B-29. In 1950 he pioneered a 42-hour B-50 flight from the
United States to Hawaii and back non-stop, proving the feasibility of an around the world flight in a bomber. He was project officer on the first around
the world non-stop flight successfully completed by a B-50 bomber, the Lucky Lady I. Colonel McCoy enjoyed the distinction of being the dean of
Strategic Air Command’s B-47 "Stratojet" commanders. When the United States Air Force made its decision to equip SAC with the B-47, it was Colonel
McCoy who took delivery of the first "combat type" B-47. He was commander of the first B-47 wing, the 306th Bombardment Wing at MacDill Air Force
Base, near Tampa, Florida. Within two years he had formed, trained to combat-readiness, and led his original B-47 wing, the 306th, on the first
successful rotation of a SAC jet bomber force to Fairford, England from MacDill. He and his team broke all existing speed records on the trip over and
when they returned, broke them again. On their initial rotation Colonel McCoy solidified SAC's position as a Global Force utilizing jet aircraft. To assure
that the B-47 would assume a truly intercontinental stature, he was instrumental in pioneering and developing the present system of aerial refueling
now in use throughout the Air Force. His list of personal decorations included Legion of Merit. Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Air Medal.
Humans are fallible, yes, but this is not the resume of a show-off or of a pilot prone to making in-flight errors during air shows in which he routinely
participated. Given the track records of corporate cover-ups, cronyism and corruption, it's hard not to suspect the dubious defects record that led to an
inordinate share of B-47 crashes back in the day.
While the B-47's reliability and serviceability were regarded as good overall, there was a major problem with poor avionics reliability, normal in this
environment given the vacuum tube technology at the time, and the need to place some equipment outside the pressurized crew compartment. Much
work was done to improve avionics reliability, but they remained problematic throughout the B-47's operational life. Starting in 1950, several models of
the B-47 included a fuel tank inerting system, in which dry ice was sublimed into carbon dioxide vapor while the fuel pumps operated or while the in-
flight refueling system was in use. The carbon dioxide was then pumped into the fuel tanks and the rest of the fuel system, ensuring that the amount of
oxygen in the fuel system was low, reducing the probability of an explosion. Ten carbon dioxide tanks and heaters were involved. The system was
implemented largely to reduce risks from static electricity discharges occurring during in-flight refueling.
Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojet bombers, the world's first swept-wing bomber, had initial mission profiles that included the loft bombing of nuclear
weapons. As the training for this imposes repeated high stress on the aircraft, the airframe lifetime would have been severely limited by metal fatigue,
and this maneuver was later eliminated.
I will post B-47 crash info next.
(See Link provided near top of this page. - Eric)
Elsa-Marie Kitching - Melksham, UK - #75 Nov 14, 2015
My Father, Ulf Burberry was stationed at RAF Wittering when this appalling crash happened - killing our lovely Station Commander with whom my family
was close friends. Group Captain Woodroffe was a highly decorated, much respected pilot and to lose such a man in such circumstances was, to state
the very least - tragic. I have never, ever forgotten the feelings expressed and how Wittering , including the village wherein John Woodroofe now lies
at peace also went into mourning. My thoughts and condolences are first and foremost for the families. My father was guided in his career by some
fantastic men . Consequently he too became a Group Captain OBE and went on to command RAF Benson when the Queen's Flight was there. Well done
Lynda - I do hope my little not cheers you. And your father, has for company my father who passed away in 1997, aged 74. On Christmas Day, heart attack
whilst sitting waiting for The Queen's Speech.
Sincerely,
Elsa-Marie (nee) Burberry Kitching.
Opinions
Captain Jack - Palm Bay, FL - #5 Oct 9, 2007
I would have preferred that the Orlando Sentinel let Colonel McCoy and his surviving family members and all the rest of us continue wih the original
explanation of his death. I find it totally devoid of good judgement and good manners to destroy a man's reputation needlessly. It's not much different
than to go to a grieving Mother of a deceased Marine serving overseas and look her in the eye and say: "You son got drunk, climbed up into the
cockpit of a parked fighter jet in the hanger of his carrier and yanked the ejection lever and blew himself through the cockpit and into the bulkhead
above. Sorry, he was a stupid, careless jerk."
Chuck - Clearwater, FL - #8 Oct 10, 2007
I agree with you. The Slantinel just couldn't help it. Gotta trash the dead pilot to sell more ads. The Air Force never really knew what happened and they
couldn't ask the crew. I saw the plane as a kid on the playground at Lake Silver. It appears that he did get it out over the dairy property and died doing it.
I later flew fighters for the Navy. I don't know much about newspapers but I do know that pilots don't make the errors in judgement that he is accused of.
The excessive speed that the Slantinel talks about can occur for a number of other reasons, some of which can be from a pilot trying to correct for a
plane malfunction. The paper does a great disservice to the community and families of the deceased in repeating speculative propaganda that was
produced to continue hiding the design problems of the craft.
Then again.....smearing good guys does sell ads, doesn't it?
Col Gunz - Silver Spring, MD - #68 Oct 31, 2013
At Chuck: Pilots do indeed make catastrophic errors similar to this. I doubt the flight credentials of anyone who says otherwise.
Lynda Woodroffe - Oxford, UK - #9 Oct 11, 2007
Captain Jack, I don’t think this article strips Colonel McCoy of his honours. He, like my father, was a victim of faulty design, something they should have
been able to avoid; they were not test pilots. The article describes how the aircraft was too powerful for its appendages. Surely Boeing should be held
accountable for this? How many men died in 1957? Forty. How many died in this plane over the 15 years that the B-47 was being ‘trialled’? Over 400.
Many, many families have suffered at the hands of Boeing’s callous disregard for the military personnel and as far as I know not one has been
compensated. For my part, I know only too well how my mother suffered from the loss of her husband and provider, just as my brother and I also missed
his love and protection for all of our lives. Not a day has gone by over the last 50 years when I have not felt the loss of my father. That the facts of this
disaster have at last been laid open is right and correct. Boeing created a killer machine and we should be compensated.
Jim - United States - #41 Mar 3, 2008
At Captain Jack: Since when has the Orlando Sentinel, or for that matter any paper owned by the "New York Times" demonstrated good judgement,
common sense or for that matter even simply stuck to the facts?
Anonymous - Winter Park, FL - #73 Dec 19, 2014
At Captain Jack: Well put Captain.
poor taxpayer - Lakeland, FL - #6 Oct 9, 2007
Why is the Sentinel so determined to trash this man's reputation? He WAS a hero. He is not here to defend himself and we really can't ever know what
exactly happened 50 years ago. This is just one of many examples of why I canceled my subscription to the fish wrapper long ago.
James Goodwin - Virginia Beach, VA - #10 Oct 11, 2007
In the cold war, technology was pushed to the limits, new designs for fighter aircraft and bombers created and then tested until ready for production.
Then on to production if deemed ready for service after testing. During those days, risk was taken. Those who flew the planes knew of the risks
inherent in doing so. No pilot would fly a plane that was totally unsafe to get out of the ground - they would quickly point it out to the ground crew for
the aircraft to be stricken from the day's flying activities. I cannot speak for individual pilots as to their qualifications to fly. Some were hot dogs while
the great majority respected the aircraft they flew and flew safely to return to their famlies. It is not enough to blame a plane crash on a pilot's
hotdogging, you have to find other factors that could cause the crash such as design or mechanical failures. I am not pointing fingers at Mc Coy for the
crash of his B-47. However, I will point out the fact that if the Air Force had deemed the B-47 totally unsafe to fly, it would have had to ground the B-47's
and be without a bomber until sufficient quantities of B-52's could be made to take their place. Since it was not possible to increase B-52 production at a
faster rate without disrupting supply chains to make up the lost quantities of grounded B-47's, they made the choice to keep the plane flying until finally
retired in 1966 once ICBM's were built in sufficient numbers to allow it to happen. At that time, their options were limited and they had to make do with
what they had.
It is not enough to blame Boeing for the deaths of all those B-47 crews during the Cold War. Boeing was building planes the Air Force wanted. THey
designed cutting edge planes and had to bear risk that the planes would fly and to fly safely so that they would remain in business to build more planes.
Contractors make the government indemnify them against claims filed by deceased crew members. Otherwise their lawyers would advise them against
building planes if they could not be protected. Suffice it to say that during those cutting edge times of the Cold War, contractors who built planes that
crashed, killing the crews felt bad for the crews killed as they had families to come home to like the deceased crews did. No one is becoming callous,
but that is the universal feelings of employees who built the planes the government needed. Nobody felt any cheer about the plane crashes of the
military, especially those whose companies built those planes. The people who flew America's planes took great risks and they are heroes to America
and their families, too. From crashes, lessons were learned and changes made to preclude them from happening. In the past two decades, we have had
fewer fighter and bomber crashes than we had in the 1950's and 1960's. Safety is often stressed during flying and the military wants its crews to fly and
then bring back home their planes so that they can live to fly another day.
McCoy was a hero who saved people living in the homes by steering his doomed B-47 away from certain disaster. He should be remembered for such
than for a FOIA document that listed pilot error as the cause of the crash.
Chloeellen - Casselberry, FL - #11 Oct 11, 2007
To Captain Jack: I have agree with you. This story serves no purpose except to tarnish the memory of surviving family. Must have been a slow news day.
Truly Blessed Mom - Winter Garden, FL - #13 Oct 12, 2007
I'm glad I'm not the only one who wonders why this article was printed. What I got from the article was: 50 years later, it is determined that it may have
been pilot error that caused the crash, or, then again, it might have been a problem with the plane. Why even bring it up after this length of time unless
you have reasonable proof that he was at fault?
Spears likes the X Files - Fort Huachuca, AZ - #14 Oct 14, 2007
Col. McCoy defended this nation and he is human and made a mistake. That doesn't mean he is NOT a hero. His final act was to steer away from the
community. Guys like Kevin Spears search for conspiracy theories in all things government. They serve a good purpose in our society, to keep our
elected people honest, but media exertions like this serve no purpose other than to showcase the resiliency and investigative research skills of a man
who is obviously looking for employment or trying to keep his job at a newspaper that continues to cut jobs and is obviously, by the remarks posted
here, not in touch with its readership.
E Vey - Longwood, FL - #16 Oct 15, 2007
Some of these comments are at least as fascinating as the story.
"destroy a man's reputation needlessly."
"trash this man's reputation?"
"Gotta trash the dead pilot to sell more ads."
"This story serves no purpose"
"Why even bring it up"
"Guys like Kevin Spears search for conspiracy theories in all things government.
All this condemnation for the messenger, when all he did was bring to light a classified Air Force document. Not a single complaint against the
investigators, the people that wrote the report. I doubt if there is anyone that has served in the military that has not witnessed some sort of screw-up.
When I saw them happen, they were immediately classified. I guess the idea was that if the enemy found out about our screw-ups, then we would no
longer appear invincible. Seems as though some people, even when the enemy has been vanquished and the equipment long obsolete, would prefer
to keep any screw-ups classified forever. According to them, history is better as a myth than truth.
George chopped down the cherry tree.
Gary - Clearwater, FL - #18 Oct 16, 2007
Excuse us, Dummy. The reason people wrote in disfavor of the Slantinel article is because it does serve no purpose and it trashes a good man for
absolutely no reason. There was no proof that the crash was pilot error and more proof that the plane design was at fault. But...I guess, if in you world,
destroying a dead hero and his reputation, serves your and the Slantinel's purpose, its okay. You sound like an investigative reporter wannabe.
Pathetic.
E Vey - Longwood, FL - #19 Oct 16, 2007
So lemmee get this straight. You would prefer not to know what those highly qualified Air Force crash investigators thought to preserve what you think
you know? What does that make you? A "dummy?"
Gary - Clearwater, FL - #20 Oct 17, 2007
A lot was riding on the outcome of the investigation. If an aircraft deficiency caused this catastrophic accident it would have grounded the entire fleet
until the cause was resolved. Yeah, I'm the dummy. Pilot error is always more economically sound than blaming the manufacturer or design, which in this
case, was the true cause. You and your ilk just want to air the "truth" in order to satisfy some percieved need to "make things right". Ignore the design
features, history of problems in flight, and blame the pilot.
You're either stupid, ignorant of the history of this craft, or choose to swallow the official story. You are not my problem and I'm glad I don't now you...
see ya.
E Vey - Longwood, FL - #21 Oct 17, 2007
You have a problem, but I'm not it. If The Sentinel had not asked for these documents, how would you even know they blamed the pilot? Did you have
access to the classified documents that the rest of us didn't? I'm trying to figure out what you think The Sentinel should have done. Asked for the
documents, then not print them?
Linda Voll - Tallahassee, FL - #22 Oct 22, 2007
To Family Member Mike Linquist: I attended McCoy Elementary. I vividly remember the portrait of your Grandfather in the school lobby. I know the old
building is gone, but I hope they put the portrait in another place of prominence. Sir, Col. mcCoy was a true hero in my book.
John C Evans Tempe AZ - France - #25 Nov 7, 2007
Since my previous posts Kevin Spear and I have exchanged several email about questions generated by my posts, and his contact with B47 pilots. My
impression of Kevin is that he really wants to know the truth as closely as can be determined after 50 years. As a B47 ground crew member I believe in
the truth about the aircraft and those who lost their lives in them. My comments were based on finding the truth, not guilt or innocence that serves no
purpose. Like it or not, Col. McCoy was a accomplished aviator who like many before him has moved into history. All of the pilots I have known like
police officers want to go home after the end of their shift. Sometimes through no fault of their own do not.
Jim - United States - #26 Nov 8, 2007
Isn't it odd that the Air Force had operation Milk Bottle on the B-47's after McCoy's?
david head - Plano, TX - #30 Jan 3, 2008
Col McCoy was a hero to be sure and a great pilot. His craft bit him just as a Pit Bull surely does its master eventually. The craft was flawed. Kevin
Spears and John Evans are sincere and intelligent men. See the light people. God bless McCoy and his crew and families.
alan arthurs - Milledgeville, GA - #31 Jan 3, 2008
i'm sure col. mccoy was heroic on numerous flights-but he and the military were NOT that day. he and the british pilot were "swapping race cars" like
little boys with OUR lives and tax dollars at stake. most civilians or soldiers do not realize what the pentagon is capable of.-and believe me, they would
have censored this report longer if they could. stop acting like sheep.
david head - Plano, TX - #32 Jan 4, 2008
Hi Alan, I am always interested in the truth, please offer more insight on your comments regarding "swapping race cars". I am ex military and realise
what they and the governmment will do. Why were the JFK files sealed in 1963 until 2035?
alan arthurs - Aiken, SC - #33 Jan 4, 2008
read the sentinel story- the brit took col. mccoy for a ride in his vulcan(?), then mccoy took him in the B-47 out of deland FL air base.
howard - Champlain, NY - #44 Oct 8, 2008
As Clint Eastwood said," a man simply must know his limitations", in this situation a man must know the limitations of his plane. I've read this story
before, and I come to the same conclusion I did the last time, Colonel McCoy had just been in a really hot RAF fighter jet where the pilot put the plane
through its paces. I think when it came Mike's turn to reciprocate, he attempted to get more out of the plane than it could give. Legends are made by
people going a step beyond what they are capable of, in this situation the Colonel took the plane beyond what it was capable of.
73 - Newtown - #52 Dec 25, 2010
Blame the pilot is standard military ploy.
zazz - JUSTICE DENIED, AGAIN!!!” - #63 Mar 17, 2012
It is very interesting to read all these historical accounts. I don't think McCoy's reputation has been tarnished. Landing the plane where he did certainly
makes him a hero. I for one had never heard of him before. Boeing bears the blame for these deaths. The military has a history of blaming pilots for
Boeing's faulty designs. We all know how and why Boeing gets military contracts. Nothing has changed.
Randy Tetzner - San Luis, AZ - #71 Mar 20, 2014
My dad Roger was a B-47 pilot was a member of the B-47 thousand hour club before he went to B-52's. He only said it was like a sports car. His class
mate Leonard Theis died in a mid-air collision of B-47's in 1963. I am surprised he never mentioned the danger of this aircraft.
made available by the Freedom of Information Act. It sought to associate the crash with allegations of pilot error or "hotdogging" to explain the tragic
event. Many readers felt this did not reconcile with a pilot who had over 20,000 flying hours - most in heavy bombers - and likely more than any other
pilot in the world. McCoy flew 22 combat missions in WWII and was among the first trained to fly B-47s, setting multiple performance records seated in
the cockpit. If he had any reputation for "hotdogging," it would have come out after he started his 3 decades of flying well before 10/09/57.
Furthermore, the Boeing B-47 was fraught with its share of air disasters and seeming design flaws, but the investment in the Boeing aircraft with GE
engines as a tool against the war effort may have been deemed too crucial to fail or be exposed to public criticisms. A death rate of more than one
crewman a week was still not enough to ground a key weapon against communism, even though 464 crewmen died in crashes between 1951 and 1966
(Source: Boeing's B-47 Stratojet book). Most died during training. Sabotage was also suspected because the assembled crew was so capable of
recovering from problems. During the Cold War, McCoy and Woodroffe were two of the most experienced pilots in the air. There is some evidence to
suggest that the military's go-to analysis in such matters is to almost exclusively to blame any crash on "crew/pilot" error while they scramble to have
defects fixed. The seriously sobering statistics below relating to B-47 crashes are compelling.
B-47 Crashes - Staggering Numbers
http://b-47.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Boeing-B-47-Losses-and-Ejections.pdf
"The first SAC B-47B (Serial No. 50-008) was flown on 23 October 1951 from Wichita to MacDill by Col. Michael N. W. McCoy, Commander of the 306th Wing.
Even though the plane was not combat ready, a beginning had been made and this was celebrated on 19 November, when the aircraft was named "The Real
McCoy." Six more B-47Bs programmed for the 306th during that month were refused because of serious deficiencies, but a total of 12 were accepted before
the end of the year.
In September, USAF test pilots pointed out that the plane's weight gain, from 125,000 to 202,000 pounds, had badly affected its flying qualities, making it
unstable at high altitude and generally hard to maneuver."
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b-47b.htm
Long list of B-47 Problems:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b-47-prob.htm
As for the article, area Orlandoans spoke up in droves on a Topix thread, some excoriating the article as a shameless hit piece for ratings, others giving
it more credence and crediting the author with trying to get at any facts that were available. I have divided and color-coded responses to the article on
a Topix thread and married up posts that had direct responses to lessen confusion.
DannySanchez - Chicago, IL - #1 Oct 8, 2007
In public, the military praised Col. Michael McCoy fr steering his disintegrating B-47 bomber away from Orlando homes. But in response to an Orlando
Sentinel request, the Air Force finally reveals how it privately blamed the legendary pilot for causing the infamous crash 50 years ago Tuesday.
Eyewitness and Expert Testimonials
Alan Arthurs - United States - #2 Oct 8, 2007
My mother was a junior at edgewater high working in the office as an elective. she says she first heard the jet then looked out a window and saw the jet
explode. her first reaction was to pick up the phone in the office and she called home. as soon as she heard her mother's voice-she hung up. the myers'
house was near w. 50 and tampa ave. and after looking at the flight path, if the jet had lost control going through channel 6 t.v. towers it is a miracle that
no person died on the ground. she later drove to the crash site with her father and brother.
John T Carney JD - AOL - #3 Oct 9, 2007
I saw the plane making its final turn over Edgewater Drive at about 700ft altitude. It was banked about 35-40 degrees and as a former B-29 pilot I knew
instinctively it was in bad trouble. I followed its path as it disappeared behind a large tree and explode north and beyond of the high school. No doubt
McCoy was a hero by making his last-ditch effort to avoid killing innocent people.
John C Evans Tempe AZ - France - #12 Oct 12, 2007
I have been looking at the recovered parts and eye witness reports of COL McCoy's accident. I am having second thoughts about the cause and COL
McCoy's responsibility. Three things that jump out at me are that the #4 (right inboard) engine is the only engine broken in alf, a loose compressor disk
was found in the wreckage, and the bulk of the burned parts appear to be mid fuselage inline with the #4 engine. To me this looks like a in-flight #4
engine failure that ejected hot parts into the forward/center main fuel tanks.
In 1957 the B47 was the only long range medium jet bomber in the game. We still had some B36 bombers but they were fighter fodder. The would never
have made it to target. The B29's wouldn't have done much better, but they were all mothballed. The B52's were several years away. A lot was riding on
the outcome of the investigation. If an aircraft deficiency caused this catastrophic accident it would have grounded the entire fleet until the cause was
resolved. On the other hand if it could be attributed to pilot error the fleet would remain operational and a strong deterrent to Russia. As COL McCoy
and his crew weren't around to contest the findings pilot error was the best outcome for SAC and the Air Force. Eye witness' said the aircraft was in a 30
to 45 degree left bank at about 700-feet. This bank would result in a 1.5 to 1.71 G-turn, well within the B47's -0 to +3.5 G-limit (+1 G = straight and level
flight). The fact that the aircraft was about 700-feet AGL and appeared to be on fire indicates that COL McCoy could actually have been steering a aircraft
crippled B47 toward an empty field. So what could have been the cause of the accident? I noticed that 5-engines were in tact after the accident, but the
#4 (right inboard) engine was missing its turbine. If a engine turbine had shed several blades of a section of the turbine wheel the engine cases would
not have contained the red hot parts. In addition the out of balance turbine could well have separated from the compressor as the debris field
indicates. Flying red hot turbine parts from the #4 engine would have imbedded into the #4-5 engine firewall, right wing, of the aircraft fuselage. The
aircraft main fuel tanks are located above the fuselage centerline from the forward edge on the forward wheel well to the aft edge of the aft wheel well.
The #4 engine turbine is inline with the aft edge of the forward main fuel tank.
The B47 aircraft did NOT have nitrogen purged fuel tanks. The tanks were vented to atmosphere. COL McCoy took off with a 50,000-pound fuel load and
flew for 57-minutes. His remaining fuel was probably less than 25,000-pounds of the aircraft's 100,000 pound internal capacity meaning that the fuel
tanks were 3/4th full of combustible fuel vapors.
If the aircraft experienced a #4 engine turbine failure and some red hot turbine parts penetrated the forward or center main fuel tank they could easily
have caused an in-flight fire followed by an explosion. With 5-engines still running the failed engine probably wouldn't have been noticed by witness'.
This failure could explain most of the fire damage being mid fuselage trailing aft. Any in-flight explosion in the forward fuel tank would have separated
the wing from the fuselage and most likely blown the fuselage in half.
I believe this scenario dovetails nicely with the reports I have read. This would make COL McCoy the hero he was originally portrayed to be 50 years
ago, and deserving of the praise he received.
P.s. I was a B47 mechanic stationed with the 93rd BS 19th BW at Pine Castle AFB from 10/54 through 10/57.
John C Evans Tempe AZ - France - #15 Oct 14, 2007
My assessment of the cause of Col. McCoy's accident is based on eyewitness reports and FOI act documents of the accident, debris recovered, and
their condition (Burned, Etc.) contained in the Orlando Sentinel article written by Kevin Spear. The burned and separated debris is a good indicator of
the location where the fire/explosion initiated. I found Kevin’s article to be accurate and informative. I do not believe the cause of the accident was the
Boeing B47 aircraft or limitations of its design. I am sure Col. McCoy was well aware of the B47’s limitations, and that he flew well within his capabilities
and the limits of the aircraft, for self-preservation if nothing else. I believe the real culprit was the envelope pushing design of GE J47 jet engines
powering the B47. In 1957 GE J47 jet engines were state-of-the-art power plants operating at the limits of our engineering and metallurgy knowledge.
The report of wreckage indicates that five GE J47 jet engines were fairly intact (in one piece). However the #4 (right inboard) engine was broken in half
and a #5 compressor wheel was found loose in the wreckage. I do not believe this damage was caused at impact, but occurred before aircraft impact
causing the aircraft to explode. Traditionally catastrophic failures of GE J47 jet engines have been caused by foreign object ingestion or internal
mechanical failures. B47 pictures show a red stripe around each engine nacelle in line with the turbine wheel location. This is a danger area to be
avoided by ground personnel. The danger was from the possibly of an un-contained turbine burst during high power settings. Red-hot turbine parts
exiting a J47 engine would be fatal to any ground member struck, or could cause a fire and/or explosion if they struck aircraft fuel tanks full of
combustible vapors. The #4 engine nacelle red stripe is in line with the aircraft wing root. The forward and center main fuel tanks are located above the
forward wheel well and bomb-bay areas and below the wing root. With a light fuel load these fuel tanks are full of combustible and possibly explosive
fuel vapors. Any red-hot #4 engine turbine part escaping the engine would have enough energy to penetrate the aircraft skin and the self-sealing fuel
tanks.
A red-hot piece of jet engine turbine material entering a fuel tank could ignite vapors causing a fire and/or explosion. A fuel tank explosion between the
wing-root and bomb-bay would have broke the wing in half separating it from the aircraft and blown the fuselage in half as well. If this occurred in-flight
it would have created a very large and long debris field that was documented in the accident reports. All of the information I used in coming to my
conclusions of mechanical failure is in the accident report documents, and in my opinion they do not support the U.S. Air Force accident investigations
conclusion of pilot error. I believe the sole purpose of the pilot error conclusion was to avoid having to ground every aircraft using GE J47 jet engines.
This included KC97 refueling aircraft, B36 bombers (4 outboard jet engines) F86 fighters as well as many other aircraft, and engine manufacturers using
similar engine designs.
Under the conditions described in the reports no pilot in the world could have saved a B47 aircraft with that level of damage, or its occupants. The fact
that the B47 was in a low altitude steep left banking turn heading toward an open field leads me to believe that Col. McCoy, at considerable risk to
himself, was attempting to save the lives of not only his crew but people on the ground as well with a controlled crash landing in an open field, and just
ran out of time. These are the actions you expect of hero’s, as Col. McCoy could easily have given the order to eject saving the lives of himself and
some of his crew.
Chigger - United States - #17 Oct 16, 2007
I am a native Orlandoan. Back in October 1957, we lived on Driver Avenue on Little Lake Fairview. My mother was talking on the phone when she saw a
plane on fire circling the lake. She described it as a ring of fire outlining the plane. She rushed out into the back yard to witness the plane appear to
circle the lake and steer into the ground. Later she learned that the plane missed the numerous highly populated neighborhoods and schools in the
immediate area. I think of Col. McCoy each time I look at a flight bag tag…MCO. I’ve told my mother’s version of the story many, many times. I’ve read
the very detailed comments today from James Goodwin and John C. Evans, and others and wonder why pilot error is now identified as the cause. What's
the motive? I will personally choose to continue to believe the heroic account of Col. McCoy and his crew deciding to ride the plane into the ground to
avoid the many innocent people in the area.
Frank Mirande - Ooltewah, TN - #27 Nov 13, 2007 - Collegedale TN
Every kid growing up in the Orlando area in the late-1950's and 1960's with even a passing interest in the "airbase to the south" heard the story of its
legendary namesake. Col. McCoy's accident occurred when I was 3 years old, just about the time my lifelong interest in aviation began. We lived near
Orlando Municipal Airport (later Herndon and now Orlando Executive) and I was treated to the takeoffs and landings of the big propeller airliners of the
day: DC-6's and -7's, Constellations, and others (airline traffic didn't move to McCoy (co-located with the Air Force) until 1963). But it was the more distant
military traffic that really caught my attention, which was the B-47's of the 321st Bomb. Wing coming and going from McCoy, high over Lake Underhill. My
childhood and adolescence progressed against a backdrop of change; the B-47's made way in 1961 for the B-52's of what soon became the 306th B.W.
which for over 11 years became such a fixture in the Orlando skies, but in 1975 (the planes had all left by Oct. 1973), McCoy finally closed. I later moved
away from Orlando for college and grad. school, ending up as an artist/illustrator at Lockheed Georgia in Marietta, where I was employed for 16 years.
I mention the background information in order to demonstrate my personal interest in the event and to lend validity to the position I take regarding the
issues raised in this discussion. As some have said, I believe Mr. Spear has provided his readers a service by bringing to light the particulars of the de-
classified accident report. He promotes a general impression of appreciation for the efforts of Col. McCoy and his colleagues, which I think is quite fair.
However, when he states that they were forced to fly a "dangerous" aircraft-the B-47- I believe he loses credibility.
The B-47 flew as long ago as 1947, and at that time it was considered revolutionary. In hindsight, it was at least that, for its basic configuration supplied
the basis for all subsequent large Boeing aircraft such as the B-52, 707, 747, etc. After a rigorous test program lasting 4 years, the first operational B-47
was delivered to the Air Force (actually by Col. McCoy to his old command: The 306th B.W. at MacDill AFB- the plane was nicknamed "The Real McCoy").
This aircraft took its place in the USAF inventory as a combat-ready machine-not inherently a "dangerous" one-with known limitations that had to be
respected, some of which were referred to in the article in sometimes lurid fashion. Some 2,000 B-47's were produced- contrast this with 744 B-52's, 100
B-1B's, and 21 B-2's. This translated to a vast number of aircraft accumulating a huge amount of flying time, because of the nature of its mission. In such
an enormous operation, the opportunities for accidents are great, and both the 20 losses quoted for 1957, and the human cost over the aircraft's
service life appear dreadful, if viewed in isolation (certainly they were to those involved). But in the context of the experience of other successful
aircraft designs, these losses- as unfortunate as they were- were not considered prohibitive. The B-52, for example, incurred 8 losses the next year
(1958), and, in fact suffered the great majority of its almost 100 major accidents in its intial ten years of service.
I don't claim any great expertise in the highly specialized subject of military aircraft operation and accidents, but I became familiar with it over my years
of study and involvement in the industry. Certainly, it does not lend itself to superficial research, for that inevitably results in misleading conclusions.
Having once been an industry professional and always a student of history, I can say that the manufacturers and their Air Force counterparts lived up to
their obligation to ensure that aircrews flew reliable aircraft.
Don - Jacksonville, FL - #28 Dec 14, 2007
I was in school at Robert E. Lee Jr. Hi when the plane went over our school and crashed in a field at Ben White Raceway. We always thought the pilot
was a hero.
Bev - Ocala, FL - #29 Dec 22, 2007
I was also a student at Robert E. Lee Jr. High School at the time of the Col. McCoy crash. We were in Geography class in the portables along the athletic
field when there was a huge roaring sound. Our teacher( Ms Tucker?) yelled for all of us to "get out of the building". I think she thought it was a
tornado. When we got outside there were many, many students and teachers that had also evacuated their buildings and were lining the play field.
When we looked up the huge plane was right there on top of us. It almost looked like the plane was going to land on the field but at the last moment Col.
McCoy pulled the nose up and he skipped over the field and houses to the west. Then we saw a huge explosion and smoke. At the time I thought it hit
Lake Silver Elem. School were my brother was a student and was very upset until my mother came to my school with my brother. We then drove out to
the crash site by the canning company on 17-92. I remember there was debris all over the road with one of the engines in the middle of the road and out
in the cow pasture across the street. The police made us turn around at that point. I really think Col. McCoy saved our lives because it was very
apparent that he pulled the nose of the plane up when he saw all of us kids on that play field. He is my hero.
Harv LaFollette USAF Retired - United States - #34 Jan 14, 2008
I flew the B-47 for 3 years. When Boeing designed the B-707 (America's first jet airliner), many of the B-47 design features were incorporated into the B-
707. Every airplane ever built has had some problems. As a retired airline pilot, I can honestly say the intensive training we underwent to operate the B-
47 went far beyond the training required to even fly commercial jet airliners today. Was Mike McCoy a hero? YOU BET HE WAS!
Carl J Mollnow - Lakewood, WA - #37 Mar 3, 2008
As a USAF Pilot 1961 I was assigned to McCoy AFB to fly B-47s. Enroute I was reassigned to Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson , AZ much to my chagrin - I loved
Florida and the great life I could see myself having on my very few days off each month. With 4-years and 2,700+ hours in the B-47 I found it to be a very
reliable, fast and great acft. to fly. One or more posts mentioned that the wings would bend severely at times. "Hello,???!!!" They were designed to do
that and at 425 knots (488.75 mph) low level (500-1,000' AGL) this made for quite a nice ride ala shock-absorber motion. 30 knots or so faster the wing
tips twisted a little an made the ailerons less effective - but it was easy to stay below that speed and fly safely. Like several posts(especially the B-47
mechanic - who by the way "they/he" did a fantastic job in keeping the B-47s in top-notch safe flying condition) the only real problems arose during
component or system failures - which were few and far between in my B-47 experience 1961-1966. The biggest problems were crew navigation errors
low level. Two occurred, 1 each at the 2 bases I flew out of. We did not have sophisticated navigation aids while flying with just a few hundred feet AGL
(Above Ground Level) and those that did not have the Co-Pilot aiding the Navigator using a well set-up annotated low-level chart were usually/always
the losers as were their families and loved ones.
I only lost 3 engines(mechanical engine failure) but were shut-down immediately before further destruction occurred. Jet engines were new back than
and one second they were humming like a top and a nano-second later they were coming apart and tearing up your airplane. There is NOTHING Col.
McCoy could have done to make the engine come apart no matter how he flew it to have it engulfed in flames as described in the posts or AR's. When
something comes apart and you are now a flying torch and you stay with the aircraft to bring it down in an area of no human habitation. - YOU ARE NOT
ONLY A HERO - YOU ARE BRAVE BEYOND ANY MEASURE A HUMAN BEING CAN EVER BE! YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE A DEAD PERSON - AS YOU ARE
FLYING YOUR SOPHISTICATED MULITOV COCKTAIL AWAY FROM AND TO KEEP OTHER UNWITTING PERSONS, WHERE-EVER, FROM THE FATE YOU KNOW
YOU ARE GOING TO RECEIVE. ANY DOUBTERS ARE PURE IDIOTS AND HAVE NEVER FLOWN AN AIRCRAFT IN DISTRESS. With over 22,000 hrs flying (most
heavy jet) and having witnessed/been around many USAF accidents - the MAIN THING USAF COMMAND DOES IS ASSIGN BLAME IN PERCENTAGES(%).
WHEN THE CREW DIES IN THE ACCIDENT - THERE IS "NO SUPERVISORY ERROR" - IT IS ALWAYS "CREW/PILOT ERROR" AS THEY ARE NOT AROUND TO
DEFEND THEMSELVES. I have written many "USAF HAZARD REPORTS" AND EVERY ONE HAS LATER CAUSED MANY (KILLING THOUSANDS - BOTH CIVILIAN
AND MILITARY - WORLDWIDE) ACCIDENTS. ONE HAZARD REPORT I WROTE IN 1971 ON "ANTI-HIJACKING PROCEDURES" NOTED AN EXACT OCCURANCE OF
A HIJACKED B747 THOUGH IN SEATTLE, WA. "NO-ONE WOULD DO THAT STORY BACK THEN EVEN "60 MINUTES" WHEN THEY DID A STORY ON ANOTHER OF
MY "HAZARD REPORTS" WHERE THE C-141's WERE FLYING WITH "LESS THAN ATP”(Airline Transport Pilot) RATED PILOTS AND NOT PROPERLY TRAINED IN
"TERPS" (Terminal Instrument Procedures) AND THUS CRASHED INTO THE MOUNTAINS AT NIGHT OUTSIDE SEATTLE. THE FAA - NTSB - CONGRESS &/OR
THE SENATE OR ADMINISTRATION CARED AND THUS 9/11 COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED SIMPLY BY GETTING THEIR HEADS OUT OF THEIR POSTERIOR
OPENINGS.
THUS COL. MIKE McCoy, USAF COMMAND PILOT, HAS BEEN SLIGHTED THOUGH NO REAL "LAWYER" HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO DEFEND HIS/THE REAL
OPERATIONS OCCURING IN THE COCKPIT OF THE B-47 THAT DAY SO MANY YEARS AGO AND THE HUMANS (MANY WHICH HAVE IN THESE POSTS SO
NICELY HAVE GIVEN COL. MIKE HIS DUE PRAISES OF HEROISM) "OVER" WHICH THE BURNING B-47 INFERNO PASSED AND DID NOT HARM EVEN A HAIR ON
THIR HEADS. COL. MIKE McCOY, I SALUTE YOU !
THE HERO THAT YOU ARE - NO ONE CAN TAKE AWAY. A FELLOW B-47 PILOT.
Carl J. Mollnow
Tacoma, WA 98467
cmollnow741@comcast.net
Frank Spittle NC - Huntersville, NC - #42 Jul 24, 2008
It has been nearly 51 years since that day but it has lived on with me like nothing else has. I was 13 years old. Because it has been so long ago and we
moved from Orlando in '59 I do not remember some of the names. We lived in Pine Hills and I went to school in downtown Orlando by school bus. I
believe it was Memorial School. They were building a new school only a mile or so from where we lived and I went there the first year it opened in '58. I
believe it was Maynard Evans but I could be wrong. When I was riding the bus home on that afternoon in '57 traffic was moving slow in Pine Hills. Finally
it stopped. After sitting there for at least 15 minutes I ask the bus driver if I could walk home which was only a half mile. I could not understand why all
the cars were parked on the road. When I got home my mon said a plane had crashed. I got on my bike and rode around the parked cars until I got to the
crash site. I was expecting to see a small private plane. I will never forget that image of massive destruction. Nothing can ever change my mind about
COL McCoy regardless of why the plane crashed. He is my hero.
danny - AOL - #43 Sep 15, 2008
I too was a student at the time of the crash. There was a report, I believe in the Orlando paper that stated that the plane was on fire as it came across
downtown Orlando, as reported by a worker on top of the Angebilt hotel. There never was much info after that but Col McCoy surely saved a lot of lives
as he rode that aircraft in to prevent crashing into 2 elem. schools.
John C Evans Tempe AZ - Phoenix, AZ - #48 Jun 9, 2009
Lots of luck finding much information about the B47 in the 1950's. I crewed B47B with the EbbTide modifications (Upgrded to an E model) SN 51-2312
(nose #312) for my entire enlistment first at Pine Castle (McCoy) ATB and later Homestead AFB. I cannot find any documentation that the B47B models
ever existed, let alone the one I crewed. With two findings, Pilot Hero and Pilot Error I believe the findings were political to keep from grounding every
USAF aircraft powered by GE J47 engines. This would allow the USAF to continue to protect our airspace and country while GE corrected the cause of
the #4 engine turbine failure that ignited the main fuel tanks resulting in the crash and loss of life.
Pine Castle AFB was less than ten minutes away with emergency equipment and Col. McCoy knew this. His decision to crash land his crippled aircraft in
a field with no emergency equipment tells me that he did not believe the aircraft would have made it to his base and emergency equipment. The aircraft
had three ejection seats and four crew members. His decision to try to save everyone instead of "punching our" is what hero's do. Col. McCoy could
have saved himself, and chose to try to save his crew and people on the ground instead. You do not trash the reputation of commanders of this caliber.
Don Evans - Ooltewah, TN - #50 Dec 24, 2010
My father Colonel Richard E. Evans was the Deputy of Operations with Mc Coy Head of Operations at Mc Dill for the B-47 program. My father set the jet
bomber record for 25, 30, and 35 hours non stop flights in the B-47 using KC-47's to refuel. Colonel Evans considered Mike Mc Coy the best the Air
Force had to offer. The story I heard as a boy was that the accident happened during joint test of the B-47 and the British Vulcan Bomber. The tests were
at low level. My mother indicated that Colonel Mc Coy may not have been flying the plane but had turned over control to a visiting British pilot. My
father passed away in 2006 so I may be wrong about the cause of the accident. There were several connections in the B-47 progam with the British.
Colonel Mc Coy served in the Canadian Air Force and I understand joined the Brits for a while. My father flew a B-17 for General Montgomery
commander of the British 8th Army during the Tunisian and Sicily campaigns of WW2. A great deal of the B-47 training envolved plans to use Britian as a
forward base to launch the aircraft against Russia. It was my father's view that Mike Mc Coy would have gone to the top of the Air Force. If you would
enjoy seeing shots of the B-47 at Mc Dill check out "Strategic Air Command" staring Jimmy Stewart. My father flew the B-47 for the movie but Colonel
Mike Mc Coy was the boss.
Don Evans - Ooltewah, TN - #51 Dec 24, 2010
If ay members of the Mc Coy family wish to contact me my e mail is anglo1987@hotmail.com
Mark Sublette - Clemson, SC - #56 Feb 23, 2011
As an Air Force brat growing up, and as a historian now, I have to defend the publication of the investigative efforts of the Sentinel. There were MANY
incidents during the Cold War that were hushed up by various countries, and it is only with the passing of time that the true details and circumstances
can now begin to emerge. An example of a state secret that COULD have had profound effects on future events was the death of Soviet cosmonaut
Valentin Bondarenko who was killed on 23 March 1961 in a pure-oxygen fire during tests, almost the exact same situation that killed the three American
astronauts in the Apollo 1 pad fire in 1967. Had the details of this hushed-up tragedy been known, Gus Grissom, Ed White Roger Chaffee might still be
alive today. As George Santayana observed, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." There is nothing inherently wrong with
investigative journalism. It reveals the realities of the times in which various ulterior motives conspired to obscure the facts of the day. Those who
resent the pulling back of the curtain on our Cold War history are guilty of denial and self-deception. As Mr. Spock observed on Star Trek, "military
secrets are the most fleeting of all."
Don Evans - Ooltewah, TN - #57 Apr 4, 2011
My father Colonel Richard Evans was Deputy Chief of Operations for the B-47 program. Colonel McCoy was the Chief of Operations. My father set the
15,25,and 35 hr refueling records in the B-47 with KC-97's at Mc Dill. He also flew the aircraft shots in the Jimmy Stewart movie filmed at Mc Dill, the
Strategic Air Command. Another pilot was John Denver's dad (Colonel Dutchendorf). Richard Evans and all of the pilots had tremendous respect and
affection for Colonel Mc Coy. My mother and father indicated to me that the view of most of the pilots at Mc Dill was that Mike allowed the RAF pilot to fly
the aircraft. The aircraft got into trouble and Mike tried to save the situation and was forced to steer her in. At the time the British had brought over
some Vulcan bombers for joint exercises and it is probable the pilots allowed their counterparts to fly their aircraft.
Marvin L Mobley - - Columbia, SC - #58 Aug 7, 2011
I was a photographer stationed at Pinecastle Air Force Base and took the aerial photographs of Col. McCoys crash.......The first photographs I took were
in Ben White race track....A very large portion of one of the wings was lying in the infield. Of great importance was the fact that the main spar of the wing
was bent almost 90 degrees. also in the infield was one of the huge wing tanks. empty I am sure as no fire was evident on the tank or wing.. At the time
of the accident, my memory recalls that the control tower had a visual sight of the aircraft inbound to Pinecastle from the Apopka area.....moments later
the plane disappeared from view....This information was transmitted from the control tower to the helicopter pilot as we departed Pinecastle to the
crash sight.....The main crash site was in a vacant lot across highway 17/92 from Ben White Race Course......Of course there was a huge explosion and
fire there......I am 78 years old today but my memories are still quite clear of the happenings on that memorable day...m0m071@yahoo.com...A1C Howell
Beatty was the other photographer who took all the photos on the ground.....He also was the photographer who took the color photo of Col. McCoy
standing in front of a B-47 that was on display in the Base Headquarters building for at least to Feb. 1963 when I departed McCoy after a 7 year
assignment to Yokota Air Base, Tokyo Japan..There was no other areas that contained pieces of the aircraft, which indicates to me the plane was at a
very low altitude and a rapid destruction took place over Ben White and the empty lot....Comments as to the cause of this accident I will leave to
others....All I can report is what I saw and photographed.....
Rev Richard F Boeke - UK - #59 Aug 7, 2011
Dear Kevin Starr: Thanks for the update on the crash of Colonel McCoy’s B-47. Especially the update on Vernon Stuff’s son, Barry, who now lives in
Texas. I was the young chaplain who told Vernon’s wife that her husband was dead. Then spoke to the children. The next morning when I came, Vernon’
s wife, Tucker, opened the door with anger. She would not participate in the joint Funeral in the Hanger. She asked me to conduct his funeral in the
Base Chapel. In many ways it was the hardest thing I ever did. As I completed my term in the USAF a year later, I published a little book of poetry with this
opening page:
This book is respectfully dedicated to all those living and dead who strive to serve the cause of peace in the United States Air Force.
IN MEMORIAM
Michael N. R. McCoy, Colonel, USAF
Charles Joyce, Lt. Colonel, USAF
Vernon D. Stuff, Major, USAF
John Woodruffe, Group Captain, DSC. DFC *
“THE BRAVE DIE BUT ONCE”
Courage faces death head on,
And does not turn its head away;
Courage faces life head on,
Fears not that death may come and stay.
Courage does not run and hide,
It does not die and die inside,
But hour by hour and year by year
Walks on what e’er may be its fear:
It flies the sky, or braves the sea,
Or walks through death as it’s called to be.
God, we commend unto thy care
The souls of these who now are gone:
Their lives are past,
We still live on …
Help us, like them,
To live, die strong.
Four killed in the crash of a B-47, October 9, 1957
Whatever happened to cause the crash,
I respected Colonel McCoy.
Blessings and hope, Richard Boeke
The Rev Richard F. Boeke
Chair, British Chapter, International Association for Religious Freedom www.iarf.net
Retired in England, but still active
for the cause of peace and interfaith understanding.
Robert Landley - Furlong, PA - #60 Sep 29, 2011
I have one problem with facts stated in the story. I was in 8th grade at Robert E Lee Jr. High, and I was in the outer-most (closest to the playground) of
the "portable" classrooms when this happened. I don't guarantee that my memory is perfect, but this is what I remember. We heard the sound of the jet
engines when the plane was still over College Park. We were a long way from Pinecastle AFB, and you normally didn't hear those kinds of sounds
around there, so everyone rushed to the windows on the side of the room looking toward the playground. We could tell it was going to go over the
school and we wanted to be able to see it. Back then, seeing a jet aircraft up close was a big deal to kids. We looked up, and I remember seeing the
plane go over the school, very low, in a slight left turn, and then bank sharply to the left so that we were looking at the top of the plane. As we watched,
there were flames, not a lot, but definitely flames. I don't remember exactly where they were coming from, but it was in the middle of the aircraft, not the
front and not the tail. The aircraft started to go down and we watched it until it went out of sight behind the treeline on the edge of the playground.
Although I don't have a strong memory of the attitude of the plane, I don't think it turned completely upside down while I watched it. That would have
made a big impression on a 13 year old kid. I suppose it was possible that could have happened in the last few seconds of the flight. My concern is that
the story says the plane crashed at 500 miles per hour. That's not my recollection. It was going very slowly when it went over our school. We heard it
coming, and had enough time to realize what the sound was and rush to the window before it went over. When it turned on its side and went down, the
flames were clearly visible. I think at 500 miles per hour, they would have been flattened to the side of the aircraft, and I don't think they would have
been that visible. I don't know how high the plane was, but it was very big in our view, and that says it wasn't very high. I'm guessing somewhere
between 500 and 1500 feet. If it were at that height and traveling at 500 mph, I don't know if we would have been able to see as much of the final flight as
we did. I know that a 54 year old memory is not to be taken as absolute truth, but I thought it would be good to add my recollections to this thread.
Diana Fountain Cunningham - Sacramento, CA - #61 Mar 14, 2012
I was a student a Lake Silver Elementary School on the day Colonial McCoy stayed with his plane and became a hero. My class saw the whole thing.I
would not be here today had he made any other decision.
Sally - North Wales, PA - #64 Nov 18, 2012
My father was one who died in 1957, when the B-47 he was in exploded.
M Smith - Quakertown, PA - #66 Feb 4, 2013
I was at Lee Junior High watching the airplane in a left bank. It literally exploded and two balls of fire plummeted to earth hitting in a field across from
where Lee Rd intersects with 441. I remember it vividly. I later became a military pilot! Who knows the real cause -- none of us were in the cockpit. It
might have had a mechanical problem that McCoy saw and was trying to get, over open land. That area in 1957 was nothing more than cow pastures,
armadillos, rattlesnakes, and palmettos!
Charles Jones - Albany, GA - #67 Jun 3, 2013
On that day, I was marching in the Boone High School Band on our high school football field. We were practicing for a half-time show no doubt. I saw
McCoy's B-47 fly over, make a turn and suddenly burst into explosive flames. Until the explosion, it did not appear that the plane was in trouble. The turn
seemed right and good. We (the band) watched as the plane fell from the air and out of our sight, only to later hear the news of where the wreckage fell.
I believe McCoy was a hero, making the best of a bad situation. I believe the story of an engine failure described above fits the scene very well. He
saved many lives doing his last minute best.
Don J Chiarella Msgt Ret - Winter Garden, FL - #72 Jul 16, 2014
The B-47 was a dangerous underpowered aircraft of its' time. It took long RW's to takeoff and land on. I was stationed at 55 SRW at Forbes AFB from 1958-
66 and witnessed two RB-47 crashes during my tenure there. During this "Cold War" period, many other of our RB-47 were lost due to crashes, never
reported to the civillian population. I flew in many during training flights and deployments, was always on the edge of my seat!(Was seated in what was
known as "The 4th Mans seat", the seat no one ever ejected out of.) I was a young USAF S/SGT at the time Servicing a new APN-102 "Doppler Radar"
Navigational System installed on the RB-47's. In conclusion, it was a time when the B-47 was our transition from the slower B-36 Bomber to a newer
Modern Swept Wing faster and higher flying Medium Bomber. I was proud to serve in SAC then but had many nightmares of B-47 crashes during my
tenure.
Don Evans - Fort Myers, FL - #76 Feb 15, 2016
The team of pilots under McCoy's command had the greatest respect for him. Who were some of these men? Colonel Pat Flemming who was the number
four Naval ace in WW2....yes Navy he transferred to the Air Force to fly the B-47. Pat unfortunately was the first man to die in a B-52 accident. Colonel
Don Hillman, WW2 fighter ace, and a man that did spy missions over Soviet Russia in a B-47years prior to the U-2. Major Duchendorf, father of John
Denver and a man that set speed records later in the B-58. My father Colonel Richard Evans who took over the B-47 Operations when Mike McCoy died.
Evans set the 35 hour record in a B47.
Family Members Posts
Lynda Woodroffe - Oxford, UK - #4 Oct 9, 2007
I congratulate the author of this article, Kevin Spears, for all his work and feel some pride that my father is remembered in this online publication. What
crossed my mind when I read the article was this: "Yet 464 crewmen died in crashes between 1951 and 1966, according to the book Boeing's B-47
Stratojet." I did not know this statistic until this month. While my father and the USAF airmen were intricately involved in the Cold War, I ask myself -'Did
they not consider all the others who had died in this aircraft before them? Why did they take the risk?'. Of course I will never get the answer, but the
question also echoes what Kevin Spear raised in his article, that maybe there was something that Boeing and the USAF hid from others, although it is
difficult to imagine that the details of aircraft failure would be easy to hid from major airmen like my father and the others on that fateful flight.
Mike Linquist - AOL - #7 Oct 10, 2007
Ms. Woodruffe, I read your comments with interest. My grandfather was Col. Mike McCoy. My mother is Pam Linquist (formerly Pamela A. McCoy) and she
still lives in Tampa, FL. I live 25 miles north in Wesley Chapel, FL. We attended the dedication of McCoy Elementary in Orlando last year n Veterans' Day.
It was nice to discover someone like you who was so close to the tragic event that happened. Please feel free to get in touch.
Mike Linquist e-mail mikelinquist8@aol.com
Eric Linquist - Winter Haven, FL - #23 Oct 31, 2007
Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy was my grandfather as well. I’m Eric Linquist, the younger brother of previous poster Michael Linquist and I have
been an Orlando resident since 1986. Unfortunately, Grandaddy Mike perished a year before I was born so I never got to be a grandson to him. Our still
younger brother Marc is in the same boat.
It stretches my sensibilities to chalk up such a horrible accident to “hot-dogging” or “pilot error” for a man who was arguably one of the finest US pilots
at the time with an unparalleled repertoire of flying experience. How does a man with 20,000 flying hours in the cockpit “hotdog” anything? That McCoy
had the ability and presence of mind to coax a craft that had degraded into a crippled fireball away from populated areas is self-evident testimony to his
valor and heroism. Declarations to the contrary just don’t fly.
Furthermore, in consideration of the inaction and complacency regarding the horrible ongoing death toll of the B-47, I also believe that Mrs. Woodroffe’
s laser-like focus is just. A sweeping investigation into the B-47’s death toll would almost certainly have grounded the fleet, an outcome the military
could ill afford, while any government retooling of the truth would likely be devoid of earnest scrutiny in 1957. Coupled with John C. Evans’ competent
assessment of craft damage and historical data, there seems to be much in the way of evidence to suggest the B-47 was fraught with design flaws.
Certainly the families associated with the 464 other victims of the B-47, fallen heroes all, would agree in kind. Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy
earned his wings.
The real McCoy was a real Hero.
Respectfully,
Eric Linquist
jetmail17@yahoo.com
Mike Capdeville - Long Beach, CA - #35 Feb 28, 2008
My brother, Jeff, who now lives in the Pensacola area, just sent a copy of this article to me and I am flabbergasted to be reading about all of this. We,
too, are grandsons of Col. McCoy. My mother was Barbara (McCoy) Capdeville and our grandmother was his first wife, Helen McCoy. She had two
daughters by him, Barbara and Patricia. There are four of us grandchildren. Most of us live in Southern California, along with Col. McCoy's sister and
brothers families. The most ironic thing is that Grams passed away at the age of 98 just three months before Rose McCoy passed. They were married for
eight years. My brother, Jeff was in the Marine Corps in the 1960's and took an R & R trip to McCoy Air Force base and was given a tour by the current
Commander. My fondest memories of him are when he visited us here in California in the early 50's after making a trip to Japan when we were really
young and bringing us kimonos and watches made in Japan at the time. He has three distinct and unique families and it would be fun for us all to get
acquainted some time. I will email Mike and Eric Lindquist soon and chat with them. What an incredible story all the way around! Colonel Michael N.W.
McCoy was certainly our hero!
Eric Linquist - Orlando - #36 Mar 1, 2008
To Mike Capdeville: Eric Linquist here. I continue to check this thread and just came across your fascinating post. I had located your grandmother
(McCoy's first wife) Helen's name along with her two daughters, Patricia and Barbara (your mom) on Ancestry.com a few months ago but knew no way to
get in contact. I have a younger brother, Marc, who lives in Los Angeles' Echo Park in your state! What an interesting turn of events! My grandmother
Alyce, who passed in the nineties, was married to Michael McCoy for about 22 years. Would be great to compare notes! Please feel free to send me an
email at jetmail17@yahoo.com.
melissa ramsey beach - Hesperia, CA - #53 Feb 9, 2011
wow its all amazing. Im just starting to research my family tree and its like a mini family get together right here! Hi cousin Mike!! To all you others out
there Im the great grand daughter of Col.McCoy, and proud of it!!!!! my e mail is beach212010@live.com any other family stories Id love to hear.
Eric Linquist - Ocoee, FL - #54 Feb 9, 2011
Hey Everyone! One of three grandsons of Michael McCoy here, thru his 2nd wife Alice Kimball, whom Mike was married to for 22 years. If you haven't
seen these links that follow, you will be treated to what may be the only actual movie footage of Colonel McCoy known to exist:
http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675022550...
http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675022553...
http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675022552...
melissa ramsey beach - Hesperia, CA - #55 Feb 12, 2011
thank you for the info. Eric. It was really great to see footage of him. I've only seen one picture of him in my life but had heard about him, this makes him
real to me. I dont really know anything other than about the crash, if you have any info. on him ANYTHING I'd love to know. thank you
Eric Linquist - New Smyrna Beach, FL - #69 Nov 1, 2013
Here's what everyone should know about the world-class piloting skills of Colonel Michal N. W. McCoy. After World War II broke, Colonel McCoy joined
the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and served as a ferry pilot and instructor. He trained Canadian pilots in the old Hudson Bomber until 1942 at which
time he transferred as a captain to the U.S. Army Air Corps. At this time, McCoy arguably had logged more flight hours than any pilot in the world. In June
of 1945 while serving with the 315th Bomb Wing on Guam, Colonel McCoy flew 22 missions in B29 "Stratofortresses" " over Japan. After the war. Colonel
McCoy made the first successful Japan-to-Washington, D.C, nonstop flight in the 'Fluffy Fuzz,' a B-29. In 1950 he pioneered a 42-hour B-50 flight from the
United States to Hawaii and back non-stop, proving the feasibility of an around the world flight in a bomber. He was project officer on the first around
the world non-stop flight successfully completed by a B-50 bomber, the Lucky Lady I. Colonel McCoy enjoyed the distinction of being the dean of
Strategic Air Command’s B-47 "Stratojet" commanders. When the United States Air Force made its decision to equip SAC with the B-47, it was Colonel
McCoy who took delivery of the first "combat type" B-47. He was commander of the first B-47 wing, the 306th Bombardment Wing at MacDill Air Force
Base, near Tampa, Florida. Within two years he had formed, trained to combat-readiness, and led his original B-47 wing, the 306th, on the first
successful rotation of a SAC jet bomber force to Fairford, England from MacDill. He and his team broke all existing speed records on the trip over and
when they returned, broke them again. On their initial rotation Colonel McCoy solidified SAC's position as a Global Force utilizing jet aircraft. To assure
that the B-47 would assume a truly intercontinental stature, he was instrumental in pioneering and developing the present system of aerial refueling
now in use throughout the Air Force. His list of personal decorations included Legion of Merit. Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Air Medal.
Humans are fallible, yes, but this is not the resume of a show-off or of a pilot prone to making in-flight errors during air shows in which he routinely
participated. Given the track records of corporate cover-ups, cronyism and corruption, it's hard not to suspect the dubious defects record that led to an
inordinate share of B-47 crashes back in the day.
While the B-47's reliability and serviceability were regarded as good overall, there was a major problem with poor avionics reliability, normal in this
environment given the vacuum tube technology at the time, and the need to place some equipment outside the pressurized crew compartment. Much
work was done to improve avionics reliability, but they remained problematic throughout the B-47's operational life. Starting in 1950, several models of
the B-47 included a fuel tank inerting system, in which dry ice was sublimed into carbon dioxide vapor while the fuel pumps operated or while the in-
flight refueling system was in use. The carbon dioxide was then pumped into the fuel tanks and the rest of the fuel system, ensuring that the amount of
oxygen in the fuel system was low, reducing the probability of an explosion. Ten carbon dioxide tanks and heaters were involved. The system was
implemented largely to reduce risks from static electricity discharges occurring during in-flight refueling.
Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojet bombers, the world's first swept-wing bomber, had initial mission profiles that included the loft bombing of nuclear
weapons. As the training for this imposes repeated high stress on the aircraft, the airframe lifetime would have been severely limited by metal fatigue,
and this maneuver was later eliminated.
I will post B-47 crash info next.
(See Link provided near top of this page. - Eric)
Elsa-Marie Kitching - Melksham, UK - #75 Nov 14, 2015
My Father, Ulf Burberry was stationed at RAF Wittering when this appalling crash happened - killing our lovely Station Commander with whom my family
was close friends. Group Captain Woodroffe was a highly decorated, much respected pilot and to lose such a man in such circumstances was, to state
the very least - tragic. I have never, ever forgotten the feelings expressed and how Wittering , including the village wherein John Woodroofe now lies
at peace also went into mourning. My thoughts and condolences are first and foremost for the families. My father was guided in his career by some
fantastic men . Consequently he too became a Group Captain OBE and went on to command RAF Benson when the Queen's Flight was there. Well done
Lynda - I do hope my little not cheers you. And your father, has for company my father who passed away in 1997, aged 74. On Christmas Day, heart attack
whilst sitting waiting for The Queen's Speech.
Sincerely,
Elsa-Marie (nee) Burberry Kitching.
Opinions
Captain Jack - Palm Bay, FL - #5 Oct 9, 2007
I would have preferred that the Orlando Sentinel let Colonel McCoy and his surviving family members and all the rest of us continue wih the original
explanation of his death. I find it totally devoid of good judgement and good manners to destroy a man's reputation needlessly. It's not much different
than to go to a grieving Mother of a deceased Marine serving overseas and look her in the eye and say: "You son got drunk, climbed up into the
cockpit of a parked fighter jet in the hanger of his carrier and yanked the ejection lever and blew himself through the cockpit and into the bulkhead
above. Sorry, he was a stupid, careless jerk."
Chuck - Clearwater, FL - #8 Oct 10, 2007
I agree with you. The Slantinel just couldn't help it. Gotta trash the dead pilot to sell more ads. The Air Force never really knew what happened and they
couldn't ask the crew. I saw the plane as a kid on the playground at Lake Silver. It appears that he did get it out over the dairy property and died doing it.
I later flew fighters for the Navy. I don't know much about newspapers but I do know that pilots don't make the errors in judgement that he is accused of.
The excessive speed that the Slantinel talks about can occur for a number of other reasons, some of which can be from a pilot trying to correct for a
plane malfunction. The paper does a great disservice to the community and families of the deceased in repeating speculative propaganda that was
produced to continue hiding the design problems of the craft.
Then again.....smearing good guys does sell ads, doesn't it?
Col Gunz - Silver Spring, MD - #68 Oct 31, 2013
At Chuck: Pilots do indeed make catastrophic errors similar to this. I doubt the flight credentials of anyone who says otherwise.
Lynda Woodroffe - Oxford, UK - #9 Oct 11, 2007
Captain Jack, I don’t think this article strips Colonel McCoy of his honours. He, like my father, was a victim of faulty design, something they should have
been able to avoid; they were not test pilots. The article describes how the aircraft was too powerful for its appendages. Surely Boeing should be held
accountable for this? How many men died in 1957? Forty. How many died in this plane over the 15 years that the B-47 was being ‘trialled’? Over 400.
Many, many families have suffered at the hands of Boeing’s callous disregard for the military personnel and as far as I know not one has been
compensated. For my part, I know only too well how my mother suffered from the loss of her husband and provider, just as my brother and I also missed
his love and protection for all of our lives. Not a day has gone by over the last 50 years when I have not felt the loss of my father. That the facts of this
disaster have at last been laid open is right and correct. Boeing created a killer machine and we should be compensated.
Jim - United States - #41 Mar 3, 2008
At Captain Jack: Since when has the Orlando Sentinel, or for that matter any paper owned by the "New York Times" demonstrated good judgement,
common sense or for that matter even simply stuck to the facts?
Anonymous - Winter Park, FL - #73 Dec 19, 2014
At Captain Jack: Well put Captain.
poor taxpayer - Lakeland, FL - #6 Oct 9, 2007
Why is the Sentinel so determined to trash this man's reputation? He WAS a hero. He is not here to defend himself and we really can't ever know what
exactly happened 50 years ago. This is just one of many examples of why I canceled my subscription to the fish wrapper long ago.
James Goodwin - Virginia Beach, VA - #10 Oct 11, 2007
In the cold war, technology was pushed to the limits, new designs for fighter aircraft and bombers created and then tested until ready for production.
Then on to production if deemed ready for service after testing. During those days, risk was taken. Those who flew the planes knew of the risks
inherent in doing so. No pilot would fly a plane that was totally unsafe to get out of the ground - they would quickly point it out to the ground crew for
the aircraft to be stricken from the day's flying activities. I cannot speak for individual pilots as to their qualifications to fly. Some were hot dogs while
the great majority respected the aircraft they flew and flew safely to return to their famlies. It is not enough to blame a plane crash on a pilot's
hotdogging, you have to find other factors that could cause the crash such as design or mechanical failures. I am not pointing fingers at Mc Coy for the
crash of his B-47. However, I will point out the fact that if the Air Force had deemed the B-47 totally unsafe to fly, it would have had to ground the B-47's
and be without a bomber until sufficient quantities of B-52's could be made to take their place. Since it was not possible to increase B-52 production at a
faster rate without disrupting supply chains to make up the lost quantities of grounded B-47's, they made the choice to keep the plane flying until finally
retired in 1966 once ICBM's were built in sufficient numbers to allow it to happen. At that time, their options were limited and they had to make do with
what they had.
It is not enough to blame Boeing for the deaths of all those B-47 crews during the Cold War. Boeing was building planes the Air Force wanted. THey
designed cutting edge planes and had to bear risk that the planes would fly and to fly safely so that they would remain in business to build more planes.
Contractors make the government indemnify them against claims filed by deceased crew members. Otherwise their lawyers would advise them against
building planes if they could not be protected. Suffice it to say that during those cutting edge times of the Cold War, contractors who built planes that
crashed, killing the crews felt bad for the crews killed as they had families to come home to like the deceased crews did. No one is becoming callous,
but that is the universal feelings of employees who built the planes the government needed. Nobody felt any cheer about the plane crashes of the
military, especially those whose companies built those planes. The people who flew America's planes took great risks and they are heroes to America
and their families, too. From crashes, lessons were learned and changes made to preclude them from happening. In the past two decades, we have had
fewer fighter and bomber crashes than we had in the 1950's and 1960's. Safety is often stressed during flying and the military wants its crews to fly and
then bring back home their planes so that they can live to fly another day.
McCoy was a hero who saved people living in the homes by steering his doomed B-47 away from certain disaster. He should be remembered for such
than for a FOIA document that listed pilot error as the cause of the crash.
Chloeellen - Casselberry, FL - #11 Oct 11, 2007
To Captain Jack: I have agree with you. This story serves no purpose except to tarnish the memory of surviving family. Must have been a slow news day.
Truly Blessed Mom - Winter Garden, FL - #13 Oct 12, 2007
I'm glad I'm not the only one who wonders why this article was printed. What I got from the article was: 50 years later, it is determined that it may have
been pilot error that caused the crash, or, then again, it might have been a problem with the plane. Why even bring it up after this length of time unless
you have reasonable proof that he was at fault?
Spears likes the X Files - Fort Huachuca, AZ - #14 Oct 14, 2007
Col. McCoy defended this nation and he is human and made a mistake. That doesn't mean he is NOT a hero. His final act was to steer away from the
community. Guys like Kevin Spears search for conspiracy theories in all things government. They serve a good purpose in our society, to keep our
elected people honest, but media exertions like this serve no purpose other than to showcase the resiliency and investigative research skills of a man
who is obviously looking for employment or trying to keep his job at a newspaper that continues to cut jobs and is obviously, by the remarks posted
here, not in touch with its readership.
E Vey - Longwood, FL - #16 Oct 15, 2007
Some of these comments are at least as fascinating as the story.
"destroy a man's reputation needlessly."
"trash this man's reputation?"
"Gotta trash the dead pilot to sell more ads."
"This story serves no purpose"
"Why even bring it up"
"Guys like Kevin Spears search for conspiracy theories in all things government.
All this condemnation for the messenger, when all he did was bring to light a classified Air Force document. Not a single complaint against the
investigators, the people that wrote the report. I doubt if there is anyone that has served in the military that has not witnessed some sort of screw-up.
When I saw them happen, they were immediately classified. I guess the idea was that if the enemy found out about our screw-ups, then we would no
longer appear invincible. Seems as though some people, even when the enemy has been vanquished and the equipment long obsolete, would prefer
to keep any screw-ups classified forever. According to them, history is better as a myth than truth.
George chopped down the cherry tree.
Gary - Clearwater, FL - #18 Oct 16, 2007
Excuse us, Dummy. The reason people wrote in disfavor of the Slantinel article is because it does serve no purpose and it trashes a good man for
absolutely no reason. There was no proof that the crash was pilot error and more proof that the plane design was at fault. But...I guess, if in you world,
destroying a dead hero and his reputation, serves your and the Slantinel's purpose, its okay. You sound like an investigative reporter wannabe.
Pathetic.
E Vey - Longwood, FL - #19 Oct 16, 2007
So lemmee get this straight. You would prefer not to know what those highly qualified Air Force crash investigators thought to preserve what you think
you know? What does that make you? A "dummy?"
Gary - Clearwater, FL - #20 Oct 17, 2007
A lot was riding on the outcome of the investigation. If an aircraft deficiency caused this catastrophic accident it would have grounded the entire fleet
until the cause was resolved. Yeah, I'm the dummy. Pilot error is always more economically sound than blaming the manufacturer or design, which in this
case, was the true cause. You and your ilk just want to air the "truth" in order to satisfy some percieved need to "make things right". Ignore the design
features, history of problems in flight, and blame the pilot.
You're either stupid, ignorant of the history of this craft, or choose to swallow the official story. You are not my problem and I'm glad I don't now you...
see ya.
E Vey - Longwood, FL - #21 Oct 17, 2007
You have a problem, but I'm not it. If The Sentinel had not asked for these documents, how would you even know they blamed the pilot? Did you have
access to the classified documents that the rest of us didn't? I'm trying to figure out what you think The Sentinel should have done. Asked for the
documents, then not print them?
Linda Voll - Tallahassee, FL - #22 Oct 22, 2007
To Family Member Mike Linquist: I attended McCoy Elementary. I vividly remember the portrait of your Grandfather in the school lobby. I know the old
building is gone, but I hope they put the portrait in another place of prominence. Sir, Col. mcCoy was a true hero in my book.
John C Evans Tempe AZ - France - #25 Nov 7, 2007
Since my previous posts Kevin Spear and I have exchanged several email about questions generated by my posts, and his contact with B47 pilots. My
impression of Kevin is that he really wants to know the truth as closely as can be determined after 50 years. As a B47 ground crew member I believe in
the truth about the aircraft and those who lost their lives in them. My comments were based on finding the truth, not guilt or innocence that serves no
purpose. Like it or not, Col. McCoy was a accomplished aviator who like many before him has moved into history. All of the pilots I have known like
police officers want to go home after the end of their shift. Sometimes through no fault of their own do not.
Jim - United States - #26 Nov 8, 2007
Isn't it odd that the Air Force had operation Milk Bottle on the B-47's after McCoy's?
david head - Plano, TX - #30 Jan 3, 2008
Col McCoy was a hero to be sure and a great pilot. His craft bit him just as a Pit Bull surely does its master eventually. The craft was flawed. Kevin
Spears and John Evans are sincere and intelligent men. See the light people. God bless McCoy and his crew and families.
alan arthurs - Milledgeville, GA - #31 Jan 3, 2008
i'm sure col. mccoy was heroic on numerous flights-but he and the military were NOT that day. he and the british pilot were "swapping race cars" like
little boys with OUR lives and tax dollars at stake. most civilians or soldiers do not realize what the pentagon is capable of.-and believe me, they would
have censored this report longer if they could. stop acting like sheep.
david head - Plano, TX - #32 Jan 4, 2008
Hi Alan, I am always interested in the truth, please offer more insight on your comments regarding "swapping race cars". I am ex military and realise
what they and the governmment will do. Why were the JFK files sealed in 1963 until 2035?
alan arthurs - Aiken, SC - #33 Jan 4, 2008
read the sentinel story- the brit took col. mccoy for a ride in his vulcan(?), then mccoy took him in the B-47 out of deland FL air base.
howard - Champlain, NY - #44 Oct 8, 2008
As Clint Eastwood said," a man simply must know his limitations", in this situation a man must know the limitations of his plane. I've read this story
before, and I come to the same conclusion I did the last time, Colonel McCoy had just been in a really hot RAF fighter jet where the pilot put the plane
through its paces. I think when it came Mike's turn to reciprocate, he attempted to get more out of the plane than it could give. Legends are made by
people going a step beyond what they are capable of, in this situation the Colonel took the plane beyond what it was capable of.
73 - Newtown - #52 Dec 25, 2010
Blame the pilot is standard military ploy.
zazz - JUSTICE DENIED, AGAIN!!!” - #63 Mar 17, 2012
It is very interesting to read all these historical accounts. I don't think McCoy's reputation has been tarnished. Landing the plane where he did certainly
makes him a hero. I for one had never heard of him before. Boeing bears the blame for these deaths. The military has a history of blaming pilots for
Boeing's faulty designs. We all know how and why Boeing gets military contracts. Nothing has changed.
Randy Tetzner - San Luis, AZ - #71 Mar 20, 2014
My dad Roger was a B-47 pilot was a member of the B-47 thousand hour club before he went to B-52's. He only said it was like a sports car. His class
mate Leonard Theis died in a mid-air collision of B-47's in 1963. I am surprised he never mentioned the danger of this aircraft.
Revisiting the Past
