Calverton, NY Navy Jet Crashes, Feb 1964

6 MEN DIE IN NAVY JET PLANE CRASH.

Calverton, N.Y. (AP) -- A big Navy cargo plane with eight men aboard crashed and burned while approaching for a landing Thursday night in a rainsquall.
Six men died. The two survivors were in critical condition at Central Suffolk Hospital today.
The four-engine C54 from Kirtland Air Force Base at Albuquerque, N.M., crashed about a mile from the Peconic River Airport on the eastern end of Long Island.
Officials said there were conflicting reports from witnesses on whether the plane caught fire in the air. The Navy began an investigation.
A Federal Aviation Agency official in an adjacent airport's control tower said: "We were in touch with the plane. There were no calls for help, no indication of trouble."
A Navy spokesman identified the dead as:
Capt. KYLE MORRIS.
Cmdr. ROBERT BAKER.
Lt. ALLEN ABLE.
Aviation Mechanic N. R. SEITZ.
Aviation Mechanic Striker R. W. CALDWELL.
All above assigned to the navy's weapons evaluation facility at Kirtland AFB.
LT. RALPH STEVENS of the U. S. Naval Reserve, assigned to the air ferry squardon 32, North Island Naval Base, Calif.
CALDWELL'S wife is Cathryn Caldwell, 314 Alcazar S. E. Apt. 9, Albuquerque. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Guy W. Caldwell, 114 3rd St., Deer Park, Tex.

The Advocate Victoria Texas 1964-02-08
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!