story chasing a c-133 cargomaster

7/28/2019 Story Chasing a C-133 Cargomaster

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Chasing a C-133 Cargomaster

By Dave Trojan, [email protected]

C-133 Cargomaster

On April 10th, 1963, C-133B Cargomaster serial number 59-0523 crashed 3/4 mile fromTravis AFB while making a practice instrument approach. No official cause was ever determined. Of the fifty C-133 Cargomaster aircraft built, ten were lost due to accidents.

The primary cause for most of the losses were likely related to the C-133's stallcharacteristics. This story explores the history of the aircraft, recounts eyewitnessreports and explores the crash site of C-133B, 59-0523, the fourth C-133 that crashed.

C-133 Cargomaster History:

The C-133 Cargomaster was the largest turboprop transport to be used by the USAF.

The giant aircraft measured 157 feet long with a wingspan of 179 feet. It had four Pratt

and Whitney T34-P-7WA engines, each rated at 6,500 horsepower. There were only 50

Cargomasters manufactured; 35 "A Models" and 15 "B Models." The aircraft proved

invaluable during the Vietnam War and soldiered on until the Lockheed C-5Galaxy entered service in the early 1970s. Two C-133s established trans-Atlantic speed

records for transport aircraft on their first flights to Europe. Cargomasters were assigned

to Travis AFB between October 17, 1958 and July 30, 1971.

With its rear and side loading doors, the C-133 was capable of carrying large payloads

including the Atlas, Titan and Minuteman ballistic missiles. The C-133 also did work for

NASA transporting Atlas, Saturn and Titan rockets to Cape Canaveral as the launch

boosters for the Gemini, Mercury and then the Apollo space programs.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



History of the flight from the official accident report:

C-133B, SN 59-523, was scheduled for a local four-hour training flight to depart Travis

AFB at 1530 PST, 10 April 1963. The primary purpose of the flight was to upgrade1st

Lt. Grey to first pilot by Major Johnston. If time permitted, Major Johnson was then to

give pilot instruction to 1st

Lt. Dorman (student second pilot), a new 84th

ATS pilot not

yet qualified in the C-133.

Weather at the time of take-off and for the ensuing period for flight was 4,500 feet

scattered with 20 mile visibility, temperature was 58 degrees and a 10 knot wind from

220 degrees. It was a typical spring day at Travis AFB. The aircraft departed Travis AFB

on Runway 21R at 1534 PST. The flight plan called for a VOR/ILS approach to be

followed by a circling approach. Clearance was received for the requested approach

and the aircraft reported on "initial" at 1602 PST. At 1605 PST, Travis Approach Control

instructed 90523 to start procedure turn.

Travis Approach Control then instructed 90523 to contact Travis Tower on 255.9 mcs,

and if approach approval was not received over the outer marker, to abandon approach,

this was acknowledged by 90523. At 1610 PST, plus several seconds, 90523 reported

outer marker and requested to know if ILS glide slope had been working.

Travis tower then cleared 90523 for a circling approach, Runway 21L, report base;

acknowledged by 90523. At 1611 PST, Travis tower advised 90523 that the glide slope

appeared normal in RAPCON, which was acknowledged by 90523 stating, "523, Thankyou." This was the last known radio transmission to or from 90523. The aircraft crashed

at 1612 PST. The plane burst into flames on impact. It was very difficult for base

firefighters to reach the wreckage through the marshland and an Air Force spokesman

said the craft burned for nearly an hour after it crashed.

All nine crewmembers aboard were killed.

Major Roy M. Johnston

1st Lieutenant William H. Grey

1st Lieutenant Leonard R. Dorman

2nd Lieutenant Edward Melda (N/Unq)

2nd Lieutenant Russell R. Zablan, Sr. (N/Unq)

Technical Sergeant Donald D. Cox (FET)

Technical Sergeant Joel R. Nipper (FET)

Technical Sergeant Lloyd J. Richard (FET)

Airman 3rd Class Charles W. Wittle (maintenance)



Eyewitness accounts:

Richard D Davis was the C-133 crew chief and had done the Pre-Flight inspection on

523. He recalled “It was at shift change, and my newest team member was on board for

the scheduled trip (Charles W. Wittle). I was waiting at the flight line office for the plane

to make its first touch and go when we were informed that '523' had crashed and was

burning in the swamp near the end of the runway. Not official, of course, but we were

under the impression that the pilot had cut the turn too wide, and had to make a second

run for it. Our understanding was that he had apparently lifted too steeply and the

aircraft stalled at about three hundred feet elevation, settling back into the swamp on it

tail.”

Chuck Trout was standing in his front yard on Travis when the C-133 crashed. He said

“I was looking right at it. They were turning final and just fell out of the air. I was a

dependent at the time. One of my neighbors said they stalled it. “

Richard Gauntlett was stationed at Travis AFB at the time. He recalled: “We called them

Oscar Meyer Wennie wagons due to their shape. They were plagued with problems. I

was unfortunate enough to witness the crash of one at Travis. There were no survivors.

It was said that they had an issue between indicated and actual airspeed, which caused

the crew to think everything was fine, when in fact it was flying close to a stall in climb

configuration. I know that they grounded them more than once for issues. I met a flight

engineer who had transferred back to my C-124 squadron who said that more than

once in a routine climb the aircraft entered a full stall and lost several thousand feet of

altitude before control was regained. He said that was enough for him.”

Gary Peterson was working in a communications facility at Travis and had just stepped

into the back yard and noticed a C-133B making approaches. He said “Just prior to the

crash I saw the plane approaching one of the large power lines suspended between two

towers. My initial thought was that he hit the power line and the aircraft stopped dead in

the air at that second and then crashed to the ground.”

Analysis of the accident contributed by Cal Taylor

Except for Maj. Johnston, the instructor, the pilots on this crew were relatively

inexperienced. Johnston was probably in the right seat, flying copilot to one of the

lieutenants, most likely Lt. Grey. The two unqualified navigators, lieutenants Melda and

Zablan, may have been on the flight because they may have needed four hours flying

per month to receive their flight pay. The three flight engineers would have been on the

flight to receive upgrade training on the local flight. Airman Wittle may have been

aboard simply to get a flight in "his" airplane that he maintained. He only had six months

remaining on his enlistment.



The weather would probably not have been an issue, for it was the typical clear spring

flying weather at Travis, with clouds well above pattern altitude. The airplane would

have been quite light, with little or no cargo and fuel for only four hours plus requiredreserves.

The maneuver was a circling approach, the name for any landing out of an instrument

approach that required a heading change of more than 30° or when the final was to one

runway then landing was changed to another. For 90523, this might have occurred by

turning from a final to runway 21R to land on 21L, quite near the runway approach end.

If neither pilot noticed that the airspeed was low, the airplane could have developed a

power-on stall at low altitude. In a turn, the stall would have been accelerated and the

rolling tendency exaggerated. Stall recovery from an altitude of less than 1,200' might

not have been possible, resulting in a crash. A contributing factor may have been asubtle spatial disorientation for the pilot. A pilot can become accustomed to the sight

picture of the runway at normal pattern altitudes, which place the airplane well off to the

side of the runway on downwind. In the final phase of a circling approach where the pilot

changes heading to the landing runway, the airplane is at a lower altitude and will be

closer to the runway. If the pilot fails to adjust for the lower altitude, he may find himself

turning more sharply at the lower altitude to make the final landing alignment. These

steeper turns could lead to an approach stall at a high power setting and an altitude far

too low for recovery. As Nick Modders, an 84' MAS pilot, has said, "There are lots of

opportunities to die in a circling approach. If the pilot feels he is overshooting the turn to

final approach and over-banks and pulls on the yoke to force the over-banked turn whenstalling speed is above what it would be for level flight then the plane could easily stall.”

Lastly, one of the young pilots may have tried to muscle the airplane to where he

wanted it and entered an accelerated stall at an altitude too low to recover, even if Maj.

Johnston was able to take the controls.

C-133 stall and accident history:

The C-133 had a bad reputation for stalls, and crews listened intently for any signal of

them especially during climb out when the aircraft was heavy and full of fuel. One

crewmember found that the airplane had a subtle stall warning device: the windshieldwipers. “When we’d enter a stall, the windshield wiper would vibrate,” “If you saw that,

you better be putting the nose down.” Delivering outsized cargo all over the world,

Cargomaster crews flew thousands of uneventful hours. However, there was sort of a

mystique around the aircraft because it had a mysterious reputation because so many

of them crashed with no official cause. Ten C-133s were lost due to accidents resulting

in 61 men killed. In 1964, the C-133’s accident rate per 100,000 flying hours stood at

2.7, while the C-130’s was 1.9. The overall Air Force rate at the time was 7.7.



Crash site explored:

The remains of C-133 serial number 59-0523 can still be found scattered across a field

outside Travis AFB. A couple of intrepid crash explorers set out to discover what

remains at the site from the tragic event that occurred so long ago. On another typical

spring day in the Travis area the two headed out to the derived location to begin the

search. Fortunately near the site, the pair met a county water worker who was adjusting

valves in the vicinity. He was also interested in history and he agreed to escort them to

the site. The trio headed out into the lonely field in search of any evidence from the

crash. Upon arrival at the derived coordinate, nothing was visible to indicate anything

had ever happened in the area. The field was barren and empty except for one lonely

calf. A search was begun with a metal detector and it did not take long to get a hit. Less

than 10 feet away, the first small piece of metal from the plane was found. The morearea that was searched, the more the detector signaled hits. The debris pattern is

believed to be huge, but only a small section was explored. One large artifact was found

to confirm the site and end the hunt. All in all, it was an interesting day exploring the

location and history of the C-133 Cargomaster.

Searching the site



Part of the C-133 Cargomaster found hidden in the grass at the crash site



Dave Trojan holding a piece of wreckage from the Cargomaster

story chasing a c-133 cargomaster

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