B-57 USAF Canberra Crash

[Tony Kambic]

Does anyone have any details about this crash?

52-1563 Martin B-57B-MA

USAF 766th BS (461st TBG).
Sep 8, 1955: Crashed while landing at Langley AFB, VA due to engine failure..

[Leendert]

For now: pilot was Capt. Charles W(haley) Ables Jr. (1920-1969).
It appears there were no fatalities in this crash.

Leendert

[Tony Kambic]

Leendert,

Thanks for this. Wondering how you identified this pilot's name. And if he was the pilot or co-pilot. Also, she stated circling DC but another posting from WW2.Aviation.net states this crash happened in Hampton, Virginia, which is closer to Langley.

Here's the reason I was asking about it. My sister is working with a woman who said her father was killed in a B-57 crash in 1955 when she was 2 months old.

Her name is Daryln Brewer Hoffstott. Not sure if her last name is Brewer (maiden ? ) or Hoffstott ( married ?).

She told my sister her father was a West Point grad. She said there were 5 B-57s departing Langley. She said that her Dad's was the first one, they circled around DC, and then his plane started to fail. She said her Father and the co-pilot were able to eject, but he hit some part of the plane on ejection, and was lost. The co-pilot survived , severely injured, and lost both legs.

Thanks, Tony

[Leendert]

Name of Ables Jr. is given with the 8 Sep 1955 crash on website www.aviationarchaeology.com. Usually only the name of the pilot is mentioned there.

There was a fatal B-57 accident in Poolesville, Maryland, nearer to DC, on 8 Feb 1955, same 461st BG from Hill AFB, UT. Name of pilot here Capt. William Todd Jr. who got killed.
See https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news/128862933/

Not sure if date matches with Ms. Brewer-Hoffstott's age at that date.

Leendert

[Leendert]

Ms Hoffstott's father was involved in the 8 Feb 1955 accident indeed, as written in latter part of story here: https://www.usma1950.com/memorial/william-s-todd-jr.

Her name is mentioned in tribute...

Leendert

[Leendert]

Injured man was Lt. Masaru 'Dick' Uyehara from Compton (CA) at time of crash. See https://www.veterans-in-blue.af.mil/.../dick-uyehara/ and https://discovernikkei.org/en/resources/military/15724/

B-57 had just started a ferry flight to Tinker AFB (OK).

Leendert

[Tony Kambic]

Leendert,

Thank you so much for this and your time to research.

Tony