Mather - Mather

On December 16, 1982 at 12:00 AM, Mather - Mather experienced a crash involving Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, operated by United States Air Force - USAF, with the event recorded near Sacramento-Mather California.

The flight was categorized as training and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

9 people were known to be on board, 9 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 9, crew fatalities: 9, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The crew was engaged in a local training flight at Sacramento-Mather AFB, consisting in a Minimum Interval Takeoff and Landing (MITO) mission. The crew started the takeoff procedure 10 seconds after a first USAF B-52 that departed the same runway. After liftoff, during initial climb, the airplane encountered wake turbulences. The pilot-in-command decided to reduce the engine power but his reaction was excessive, causing all eight engines to flame out. Due to a loss of speed, the aircraft stalled and struck the ground. It exploded on impact and debris were found on a 400 yards distance. All nine crew members were killed. Crew: Maj James Henry York, pilot, Cpt Lyle Allen Brunner, instructor, Cpt Dennis Earl Davis, electronic warfare instructor, M/Sgt Jere E. LeFever, gunner, 2nd Lt Scott A. Semmel, student copilot, 2nd Lt Peter M. Riley, student copilot, 2nd Lt Richard P. Robeson, student navigator, 2nd Lt Benjamin C. Berndt, student navigator, 2nd Lt Daniel N. Bader, student navigator.

Aircraft reference details include registration 57-6482, MSN 464187, year of manufacture 1957.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 38.5696°, -121.2963°.