Cleburne, TX Bomber Crashes, Nov 1950

MISSION AIRMAN EXCAPES CRASH.

TWO KILLED BUT 14 PARACHUTE DOWN.

Forth Worth, (AP) -- A crippled B-36 bomber fighting its way homeward on three engines crashed in a field 25 miles south of here Wednesday. Two of the 16-man crew were killed parachuting from the plane, the world's largest land based bomber.
Most of the 14 other men were injured but none critically. The most serious injury was a broken leg. The parachuting airmen were scattered over a four mile area and were not rounded up until hours after the crash.
The wreckage was spotted five miles south of Cleburne by Howard McCullough and W. Boeten who were flying a Civil Aeronautics Authority DC-3 in the area. They noticed that the number one and number three propellers were feathered and the number five engine was on fire. The DC-3 turned to follow the descending bomber.
Killed in the jump:
Captain JAMES YEINGST, radar operator, suffered fatal injuries when his parachute opened late.
Captain HORACE STEWART, navigator, was killed instantly when, by opening his chute too soon, was drawn into a propeller.
Surviving the jump:
Captain ROBERT NELSON, bombardier, suffered contusions of his lower spine on landing.
Captain WILBUR EVANS, co-pilot, broke both bones in his lower right leg on landing.
Cpl. PAUL MYERS, radio operator, landed with minor injuries.
M/Sgt. EDWARD FARCAS, flight engineer, landed with minor injuries.
ROBERT GIANERAKIS, radar mechanic, landed with minor injuries.
Captain SAMUEL BAKER, flight engineer, landed with slight injuries.
Sgt. ARMANDO VILLAREAL, radio operator, landed with minor injuries.
First Lt. WALTER ROSS, pilot, landed with minor injuries.
S/Sgt. ANDREW BYRNE, gunner, landed with minor hurts.
S/Sgt. RAY EARL, radar observer, landed with slight injuries.
Cpl. CLAVIN MARTIN, gunner, suffered a broken right ankle and a fractured vertebrae in his spine on landing.
S/Sgt. RONALD WILLIAMS, gunner, landed with slight injuries.
S/Sgt. FRED BOYD, gunner, suffered a broken fibula of his left leg on landing.
Aircraft Commander HILDEBRANDT, pilot commander, landed with minor injuries.

Valley Morning Star Harlingen Texas 1950-11-23
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!