Reporter-News Archives

Friday, February 20, 1998

Investigation into B-1 crash begins

By BETH HALLMARK Staff Writer

A Dyess Air Force Base B-1 bomber that plowed into a Kentucky pasture on Wednesday was flying at about 20,000 feet when it encountered a major malfunction, base officials said on Thursday.

However, the task of determining the problem that brought down the plane and prompted its four-member crew to safely eject is now in the hands of an Air Force investigative team.

The B-1B crew will likely remain in Kentucky for another week to help investigators piece together what happened, said base commander Brig. Gen. Mike McMahan.

All four -- Lt. Col. Daniel Charchian, Capt. Kevin Schields, Capt. Jeff Sabella, and 1st Lt. Bert Winslow -- were in good health at Blanchfield Community Hospital in Fort Campbell, Ky., the general said.

They ejected from the plane minutes before it crashed and exploded into an open field near Mattoon, Ky., about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. The B-1B, called "The Hellion," narrowly missed a farmhouse.

A volunteer fireman who picked up one of the downed crew members said the co-pilot told him the crew noticed thick smoke in the cockpit and soon lost control of the plane.

But Dyess officials on Thursday refused to speculate on the cause of the crash. McMahan said the current focus is on helping the crew's family and gathering any data the investigate board may need, including maintenance and safety records.

"The board will be able to take very small pieces of information and put them together," McMahan said, adding a final report could come within a month. "We'll be able to get a real accurate picture once we get all the facts." One of the key elements in the investigation will involve determining the amount of time that elapsed from when the crew first noticed a problem and when they ejected, McMahan said.

"I know from talking to the air crews that they tried to send a distress signal," he said, though he could not confirm when or if it was received.

Air crew reports and FAA records also indicate the first problems were noted at about 20,000 feet, he said. McMahan said he believed the ejection was at a relatively high altitude. Though several crash witnesses reported seeing the plane flying at exceedingly low levels, McMahan said the information is not necessarily contradictory to preliminary Air Force reports.

Investigators will try to speak with every witness, he said, and will compare the various accounts.

"They'll look at the angle at which the witnesses viewed this and the timing in which they saw it."

The plane was on a training mission that involved low-level and high-level maneuvers and air-to-air refueling.

Though base officials had few details about the accident, McMahan said his early information indicated the crew had performed well under difficult circumstances.

The B-1B traveled about 12 miles after the crew ejected, passing over a community of about 3,300 and eventually slamming into a cow pasture. No one on the ground was injured.

But deserting a crashing plane near a populated area is something no crew member wants to do, the general said.

"It's probably one of the most difficult issues that an air crew member goes through," he said. "But most of the time you're ejecting because you've lost complete control of the aircraft, in which case you've done everything you can to save the lives of the people on the ground.

"You have to remember that these men and women are the same ones who everyday strap on those aircrafts and are prepared to travel anywhere in the world and put their lives on the line."

The general also reiterated statements that Wednesday's crash would not affect operations for the B-1B fleet, about half of which are stationed at Dyess.

"I see no impact on our ability to go out and fly any mission our country may need us to do," he said. "The B-1 remains a very capable aircraft."

McMahan said he had talked to the crew members by phone, and they seemed to be in high spirits though a little bumped and bruised.

"One said, 'I feel like I'm 100 years old, but it's the best 100 years I've ever spent,' " he reported.