Accident description
Last updated: 20 August 2013
| Status: | |
| Date: | 25 FEB 1985 |
| Type: | Boeing RC-135T |
| Operator: | United States Air Force - USAF |
| Registration: | 55-3121 |
| C/n / msn: | 17237/4 |
| First flight: | 1957-03-07 (27 years 12 months) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 15072 |
| Engines: | 4 Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-102 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | near Valdez Municipal Airport, AK (VDZ) (United States of America)
 |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK (EIL/PAEI), United States of America |
| Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK (EIL/PAEI), United States of America |
Weather at Valdez Municipal Airport, AK (VDZ) was very poor. Boeing RC-135T, call sign Mary 24, approached the airport for some practice MLS approaches. The first two approaches were uneventful. The third approach was commenced some four miles (6,4 km) north of the prescribed MLS inbound course. The crew descended until the airplane flew into the side of a mountain. The wreckage was not located until August 2, 1985.
The crew had used an approach procedure certified for de Havilland Canada DHC-7, a STOL airplane. The glide slope and missed approach for this airplane are significantly steeper than those for an RC-135 jet.
Events:
Sources:
» ExploreNorth
» Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker (Aerofax Series) / Robert S Hopkins, III
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK to Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK as the crow flies is NAN km (NAN miles).
Distance from Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK to Fairbanks-Eielson AFB, AK as the crow flies is NAN km (NAN miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
