Brunswick, MD Military Jet and Airliner Collide, May 1958 - Planes Crash

Thanks for posting this information. I was interested to read about this collision because, not only do I work for the FAA, but because my father was one of the air traffic controllers handling that Capital flight 300. So my knowledge of it is mostly from the controller's perspective. My father died in 1971, but I have read his notes, letters, testimony, and publications concerning the accident.

Only Capt. McCoy (of the MD National Guard) survived this collision, which occurred when his plane flew upward, from below radar coverage, into the side and bottom of the Viscount airliner. All crew and passengers from the Capital 300 flight, and the passenger in the National Guard flight were killed.

It is a tragedy for all, of course. But I can say that those people doing their jobs, but unlucky enough to be employees of the government, paid a price as well. The accident report declared that cause was the failure of the pilot to see and be seen. As a result, the families of those killed sued the Maryland National Guard, but lost since it was decided that the plane was owned by the Air Force, and suing them was not allowed. (Or perhaps it was the other way around...suing the AF first and then the NG.) In any case, there was no way to win the case and so the families then sued the Civil Aeronautics Agency for failing to prevent the collision. Yet the Air Traffic Control system and rules of 1958 could not prevent this type of invisible collision.

In the end, the court wanted the government to provide the deserved restitution and it was decided (or perhaps negotiated) that the fault could lie on the air traffic controllers (who could not see the NG plane on the radar). This compromise caused my father endless nightmares as he testified over and over what had happened, along with two other controllers. One of those men committed suicide as a result of all the stress. My father left his controller job stressed, disillusioned, and beaten by an unfair system. He later died of a brain tumor. The whole event had taken a terrible toll on him, his wife, and his family.

I remember my mother shaking her head and not wanting to talk about the whole thing, which had gone on for 8 years. But she did say how sorry she felt for Captain McCoy, who appeared in court still badly bruised from the accident and on crutches.

I wonder what ever happened to him and to the families involved.

Thanks for posting this article. My aunt was killed in this tradgedy before I was born. growing up, I heard the exact same stories about the law suits and my grandparents frustration with the system. My mother always wondered about the fate of the pilot.

My Dad was one of the passengers on this flight. He was 35 years old and worked for US Life Ins. in NYC on a business trip. He had just been promoted to Superintendent of Agencies and we had moved into a brand new house on Long Island 3 weeks before the crash. My Mom was left with 3 kids under age 12. I was eleven. It was difficult for all of us. Me and my Dad were really close. I was his only son (I have 2 sisters) and his loss hit me hard. My Mom never recovered and fell into a deep depression and after several unsuccessful attempts committed suicide seven years later without re-marrying. Here is my recollection of events and I was young so some of the details may be inaccurate. Our family attorney guided us to Walcott and Walcott law firm in NYC who specialized in disaster law suits and eventually most of the families of the killed passengers joined the suit. My understanding is that the State of Maryland was sued; they denied responsibility and it may have gone to the Supreme Court which ruled in their favor. Next the federal government was sued because it was their jet on loan to Maryland National Guard and again it may have gone to the Supreme Court who ruled in the government's favor. One of the lawyers at Walcott had taken depositions from many involved including the air traffic controllers one of who I understand subsequently committed suicide. Using this documentation the suit was revived, the federal government allowed itself to be sued this time, and eventually settled as they took some responsibility perhaps because they employed the air traffic controllers. Our family eventually got a very small settlement after 10 years of litigation. My Mother never saw a penny. I understand from my attorney, who has now also passed so I can't confirm, that Capt. McCoy also committed suicide. I often wondered about the details of the crash. What actually happened. It was near impossible to find out before now. Its fascinating but quite poignant. Cheers. courtney morgan

Hopefully he is still feeling responsible for this crash as it was his negligence that caused it. My cousin was the passenger in the Guard jet. He could have possible ejected if he had been shown how. This was just a demonstration ride for him and was not for training.

Where was the field that the airliner landed in

It happened on Warren Fry's farm on Fry Road in Jefferson, Maryland

thank you

My father witnessed the crash as he was going out to the field to work. He came running into the house and told us to go to the basement ~ he then called the operator and told her to send all emergency equipment. He kept saying why does it not hit and then we heard the debris hitting the house, many thumps all around and a large thump. Much of plane(s) debris landed on our farm and some on Clayton Smith's farm. My mother had been a nurse so she went to the fields to see if she could help anyone. She came back and got sheets to cover the bodies. It was a hot day and she wanted to protect the bodies from the sun. I remember her saying the pilot was very handsome and all he had was a wound in his forehead. It was a day that I never forgot nor many people will. Emergency vehicles were all around. Military came as well. Newspaper reporters came to get pictures and stories. My mother refused us to be photographed ~ my sister and I had been playing in the yard prior to the crash ~ where we had been playing ~ a double seat from the plane had landed. It was horrific and because we were so young (I was almost 4 years old) my parents refused for us to go outside during all the commotion. it was not over for anyone and many suffered due to this accident. Many cows died from eating metal, equipment was damaged from debris, the barn roofs were damaged too. It was very sad and every time you would think it was over, something new would happen. From my understanding no one ever got reimbursed for damages or suffering. Many lives were changed that day. As I said when you would think it was over you would hear about the tragedy to the air traffic controllers involved or families of the causalities involved or more damage to the farm. Again, far as I know,no one received compensation and it was a day NO one would forget.