March - March

On May 13, 1952 at 12:00 AM, March - March experienced a crash involving Boeing B-29 Superfortress, operated by United States Air Force - USAF, with the event recorded near Oceanside California.

The flight was categorized as training and the reported phase was flight at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

17 people were known to be on board, 11 fatalities were recorded, 6 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 64.7%.

Crew on board: 17, crew fatalities: 11, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The crew was engaged in a training sortie from March AFB when the heavy bomber collided in unclear circumstances with a USN Vought F4U-4 Corsair registered 81218 from VMA-251 flying out from MCAS El Toro. The 4 plane Corsair formation was on a GCI and Camera Gunnery flight. Apparently they were asked by the B-29s to make head on gunnery passes. The first three Corsairs did so, but the fourth, piloted by 2nd Lt Joe K. Jensen did not. Following the collision, both aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 30 miles west of Oceanside. The pilot of the Corsair was killed as well as 11 crew members from the Superfortress, six other have been rescued.

Aircraft reference details include registration 44-62119, MSN 11596, year of manufacture 1944.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 33.1959°, -117.3795°.