Barstow, CA Test Pilots Die in Air Crash, Jan 1958
Posted August 9th, 2008 by Linda Horton
Two Douglas Test Pilots Die in Crash
Two Douglas Aircraft Co. test fliers were killed just after noon yesterday in the unexplained crash of a Navy A-3D twin jet attack bomber eight miles west of Barstow.
The victims were identified as the pilot, Thomas C. Kilgariff, 33, of 1326 Kettering St. Lancaster, and Dale A. Benethum, 29, 1029 West Ave., Lancaster, flight test and research engineer.
Routine Report
The small jet bomber took off from Edwards Air Force Base at 11:45 a.m. on a engineering evaluation flight and radioed a routine report five minutes later without any indication of trouble.
Witnesses said the plane exploded in midair. Wreckage in midair. Wreckage was strewn across two miles of brushland in the Hinkley area.
Leave Families
One of the crewmen, it was reported, attempted to parachute from the plummeting, flaming aircraft, but struck the ground just as his chute was opening.
Douglas records showed Kilgariff leaves his widow Mary, and two children. Benethum leaves his widow Virginia.
Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA 29 Jan 1958
__________________
Transcribed by Linda Horton. Thank you, Linda!
Search for more information on this disaster and other train wrecks, fires, accidents, etc. in historical newspapers in the Newspaper Archive. Over one billion newspaper articles online!
Search for your ancestors among the billions of names at ancestry.com Find death records, census images, immigration lists and genealogy other databases for your surnames. Use this Free trial
to search for your ancestors.
Start Your Family Tree It's FREE and easy. Start with yourself, your parents, grandparents and you're on your way to building your family history! Get Started Now and build your family tree at ancestry.com. It's Free!
Find Your Ancestors For Free!
Take advantage of a free trial and start finding more information on your ancestors!
Military Records - 7 days for FREE! Fold3 Civil War, World War I, World War II, and more
Birth, Death, Marriage & Divorce Records, Obituaries - 7 days for FREE! Find genealogy records at archives.com
Census Records, Vital Records, Old Newspapers - 14 days for FREE! Trace your families history at ancestry.com Search millions of records.
Yearbooks, Death Records, Histories, Obituaries, - 3 days for FREE! Search huge database of Records at worldvitalrecords.com
|
gendisasters.com is a genealogy site, compiling information on the historic disasters, events, and tragic accidents our ancestors endured, as well as, information about their life and death. Database and records searchable by surname. Compilation, design, artwork and concept covered by copyright. Copyright ©2006-2011, All rights reserved. Contact me. Privacy Policy. |