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The Crash of the B-1A
In
the Mojave Desert, CA
29
August, 1984
| When the B-1 bomber program
was re-instituted in 1981, the plan called for the use of the original
four B-1A prototypes as test-beds for systems for the B-1B. B-1A
number 2 (74-0159) was modified by having B-1B flight control system
features installed and was intended for air load testing and engine/inlet
development. It began flying on March 23, 1983. Unfortunately, it
crashed on August 29, 1984 when the aircraft lost control when the
center of gravity became unbalanced during fuel transfer management.
Command Pilot Richard Reynolds pulled the eject handle,
flinging the cock pit and its three-man crew free of the plane just 9 seconds
before it slammed into the ground. The
escape capsule deployed successfully, but the parachute risers did not
deploy properly. The capsule hit the ground at a steep angle, so steep
that the inflatable cushions could not shield the impact. Chief test
pilot Douglas Benefield was killed, and two other crew members were
seriously injured.
The Air Force attributed the crash to be caused by human error. As the
plane's movable wings were swung forward for a low-altitude test, Benefield
apparently forgot to switch on a mechanism that shifts fuel among various tanks.
The B-1A's center of gravity thus stayed toward the tail, causing the bomber to
rear up at a 70° angle, stall and tumble earthward. |
We
are currently searching for photos of the crash site taken during the investigation.
If you have any - please contact us.
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The B-1A, 74-0159, in flight during early testing.
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Rockwell's chief test pilot Doug Benefield was killed
in the crash.
The Benefield Anechoic Facility, a facility for testing how aircraft react to
and jam radar signals, at Edwards AFB was named for him. |
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From the air, it just looks like a clear spot in the desert.
However, it doesn't take much imagination to see the resemblance of the
spot to the shape of the B-1A.
Roads to the area are the result of the heavy equipment
that was brought in for the recovery efforts.
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At the site
looking to the east. Small desert plants are slowly to filling in the
area that was bulldozed during the recovery efforts.
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It is not hard to find
wreckage (mostly aluminum and steel) from the B-1A. In fact, filling up
a truck with wreckage would be an easy task. What is missing from the
wreckage are bits of Titanium. Because of its high cost, it was only
used where absolutely necessary. Only about 20-percent of the aircraft
was made of Titanium and most of that was in the engines.
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The site looking to the northwest
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Click here
to own a piece of the B-1A
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