Hurlburt Field - Hurlburt Field

On April 16, 1968 at 09:00 AM, Hurlburt Field - Hurlburt Field experienced a crash involving Fairchild C-123 Provider, operated by United States Air Force - USAF, with the event recorded near Bruce Florida.

The flight was categorized as training and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

4 people were known to be on board, 4 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 4, crew fatalities: 4, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The airplane departed Hultburt Field AFB at 0800LT on a training mission under call sign Moose 09. The assigned mission was a routine SEA serial spray training flight. The formation proceeded to a point 25 nm northwest of Panama City, Florida (the designated spray training area), arriving there at 08:35 CST. At this time a series of simulated defoliation runs were conducted over an open field. At approximately 08:50 CST Aircraft 54-0602 assumed the number three position in a right echelon formation for practice defoliation runs along a series of roads. At the completion of the first run the lead aircraft gave a command to place the aircraft in a "piggy back" formation, then climbed from 150 feet AGL to approximately 300 feet AGL and executed a 270 degree turn to the right. While in this turn the Number Three aircraft contacted the ground in a left wing low position, cartwheeled, immediately caught fire and was destroyed. The instructor pilot, two student pilots, and the flight engineer sustained fatal injuries.

Aircraft reference details include registration 54-0602, MSN 20051, year of manufacture 1954.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 30.4724°, -85.9652°.