1972 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident

1972 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident
	A Canadair Sabre, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date	September 24, 1972
Summary	Runway overrun on takeoff due to pilot error
Site	Sacramento Executive Airport, Sacramento, California, U.S. ; 38°31′16″N 121°29′57″W / 38.52111°N 121.49917°W
Total fatalities	22
Total injuries	28
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Canadair Sabre Mk 5
Operator	Spectrum Air
Registration	N275X
Flight origin	Sacramento Executive Airport
Destination	Oakland International Airport
Occupants	1
Crew	1
Fatalities	0
Injuries	1
Survivors	1
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	21 (direct) 1 (indirect)
Ground injuries	27

On September 24, 1972, a privately owned Canadair Sabre Mk. 5 fighter jet, piloted by Richard L. Bingham, failed to take off while leaving the "Golden West Sport Aviation Air Show" at Sacramento Executive Airport in Sacramento, California, United States. The airplane crashed into a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, killing 22 people on the ground and injuring 28, including the pilot.^[1]

Accident

The crash occurred on September 24, 1972, at approximately 4:25 pm. The Canadair Sabre failed to gain sufficient altitude upon takeoff, with eyewitnesses suggesting the nose was over-rotated. The F-86 Sabre has a dangerous and often fatal handling characteristic upon takeoff if the nose is raised prematurely from the runway.^{[clarification needed]} This handling characteristic of the F-86 was acknowledged from the early 1950s.^[2]

The aircraft overran the runway, struck an earthen berm, and ripped through a chain link fence. Two external underwing fuel tanks ruptured and ignited upon impact with the fence, creating a massive fireball. The plane continued across Freeport Boulevard, crashing into a moving car, and struck a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor at around 150 miles per hour (240 km/h).^[3] Occupants of the parlor included the Sacramento 49ers junior football team.^[4]

22 people on the ground died, including 12 children.^[5] An eight-year-old survivor of the accident lost nine family members: both parents, two brothers, a sister, two grandparents and two cousins. A family of four also died in the accident. Two people were killed in the car struck on Freeport Boulevard. Immediately after the crash an elderly couple trying to cross the street to the crash site were struck by a vehicle, killing the wife.^[6] Had either the external fuel tanks not ruptured prior to impact or the aircraft not been slowed by hitting the moving car and other vehicles parked in front of the restaurant, the accident could have claimed many more lives. Bingham, the pilot, suffered a broken leg and a broken arm.^[7]

Aircraft

The Canadair Sabre was a single-engine jet fighter built for the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1954. This Sabre was withdrawn from service in 1961 and placed in long-term storage. It was sold as surplus in the United States in 1971 and was bought by Spectrum Air, Inc., of Novato, California, in the same year.^[1]

Aftermath

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the accident was the result of pilot error as a result of the pilot's lack of experience on the aircraft. Bingham had logged fewer than four hours of flying time in the Sabre. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) modified the rules governing the flight of ex-military jets over densely populated areas and mandated clearance for such flights.^[8] Pilot requirements were also tightened: they would require a checkout by the manufacturer or military, and take-offs and landings would have to be observed by an FAA inspector to confirm proficiency.^[8]

The Firefighters Burn Institute was instituted a year after the accident, funded from donations and special payroll deductions from local firefighters.^[7]

There were at least 26 active lawsuits stemming from the crash, seeking awards for relatives of the dead and for those injured. The trial began on October 26, 1975, with defendants including the aircraft owner, pilot, the City of Sacramento, Sacramento County, the State of California, Farrell’s, and the company’s architect. The aircraft owner, William Penn Patrick, died in the crash of another surplus military plane less than a year after the Sacramento tragedy, and his estate was a party in the suit. Settlements in the amount of 5 million dollars were awarded in May 1976.

Memorial

In 2002, a memorial was built at the site of the accident (now part of Freeport Square Shopping Center) and dedicated in March 2003. It consists of: a rose garden with two benches, a fountain, a concrete marker and two metal plaques with the names of those who died.^[7]

In 2012, a service to commemorate the 40th anniversary was held to remember the victims of the accident.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "Aircraft Accident Report Spectrum Air, Inc. Sabre Mark 5, N275X" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. March 28, 1973. Retrieved July 25, 2017. - Version at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
^ Hoover, R.A. "Bob" (1997). Forever Flying : Fifty Years of High-Flying Adventures, from Barnstorming in Prop Planes to Dogfighting Germans to Testing Supersonic Jets : an autobiography : with Mark Shaw : foreword by Chuck Yeager. New York: Pocket Books. pp. 184. ISBN 0-671-53761-X.
^ Bizjak, Tony (April 1, 2002). "After 30 years, a Farrell's healing". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
^ Magagnini, Stephen (December 31, 1999). "Farrell's disaster claimed 22 lives". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
^ Blubaugh, Ronald; Raimundo, Jeff (September 25, 1972). "Old Jet Plane Kills 22 In Crash Into Crossroads Ice Cream Shop". Sacramento Bee. p. A1. Retrieved September 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "The Crash at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor in Sacramento, CA – September 24, 1972". Check Six. 2002. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Pierleoni, Alan (September 24, 2012). "Somber event recalls Farrell's jet-crash disaster". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Harbour, Mike (September 24, 2012). "Farrell's Crash Remembered 40 Years Later". Flight Journal. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.

External links

Photo gallery of the accident in The Sacramento Bee
Video of the aftermath from Associated Press Archive
NTSB Aircraft Accident Report^[usurped] (archive)
The Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Disaster (YouTube)

[ntsb-1] "Aircraft Accident Report Spectrum Air, Inc. Sabre Mark 5, N275X" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. March 28, 1973. Retrieved July 25, 2017. - Version at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

[2] Hoover, R.A. "Bob" (1997). Forever Flying : Fifty Years of High-Flying Adventures, from Barnstorming in Prop Planes to Dogfighting Germans to Testing Supersonic Jets : an autobiography : with Mark Shaw : foreword by Chuck Yeager. New York: Pocket Books. pp. 184. ISBN 0-671-53761-X.

[3] Bizjak, Tony (April 1, 2002). "After 30 years, a Farrell's healing". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.

[4] Magagnini, Stephen (December 31, 1999). "Farrell's disaster claimed 22 lives". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.

[5] Blubaugh, Ronald; Raimundo, Jeff (September 25, 1972). "Old Jet Plane Kills 22 In Crash Into Crossroads Ice Cream Shop". Sacramento Bee. p. A1. Retrieved September 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[crash-at-farrels-6] "The Crash at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor in Sacramento, CA – September 24, 1972". Check Six. 2002. Retrieved January 12, 2014.

[bee-7] Pierleoni, Alan (September 24, 2012). "Somber event recalls Farrell's jet-crash disaster". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.

[40-years-8] Harbour, Mike (September 24, 2012). "Farrell's Crash Remembered 40 Years Later". Flight Journal. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014.

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v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1970s
1970	Cornfield Bomber (February 1970) Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 (March 1970) ALM Flight 980 (May 1970)* Trans International Airlines Flight 863 (September 1970) Wichita State University football team plane crash (October 1970) Southern Airways Flight 932 (November 14 1970) Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26 (November 27 1970)
1971	B-52C Lake Michigan crash (January 1971) Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash (May 1971) Hughes Airwest Flight 706 (June 6 1971) Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 (June 7 1971) Pan Am Flight 845 (July 1971) Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 (September 1971) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (See D. B. Cooper, November 1971)
1972	Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 (March 1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 (May 1972) American Airlines Flight 96 (June 12 1972) Prinair Flight 191 (June 24 1972)* Lake Winnebago mid-air collision (June 29 1972) Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 (July 5 1972) Delta Air Lines Flight 841 (July 31 1972) Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident (September 1972) Southern Airways Flight 49 (November 1972) United Air Lines Flight 553 (December 10 1972) Chicago–O'Hare runway collision (December 20 1972) Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (December 29 1972) Puerto Rico DC-7 crash (December 31 1972)*
1973	DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet crash (February 1973) Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 (July 23 1973) Delta Air Lines Flight 723 (July 31 1973) TWA Flight 742 (August 1973) World Airways Flight 802 (September 8 1973) Texas International Airlines Flight 655 (September 27 1973) Pan Am Flight 160 (November 3 1973) National Airlines Flight 27 (November 3 1973) Iberia Flight 933 (December 1973)
1974	Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317 (January 6 1974) Pan Am Flight 806 (January 30 1974)* Delta Air Lines Flight 523 (February 1974) Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 (September 1974) TWA Flight 514 (December 1 1974) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231 (December 1 1974)
1975	Golden West Airlines Flight 261 (Janaury 1975) Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 (June 1975) Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 (August 1975) Overseas National Airways Flight 032 (November 1975)
1976	Alaska Airlines Flight 60 (April 5 1976) American Airlines Flight 625 (April 27 1976)* Air Manila Flight 702 (June 1976) TWA Flight 355 (September 1976)
1977	Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 (January 1977) Southern Airways Flight 242 (April 4 1977) Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 (April 12 1977) Encino helicopter crash (August 1977) Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash (October 1977) Air Indiana Flight 216 (December 13 1977) United Airlines Flight 2860 (December 18 1977) Vieques Air Link crash (December 19 1977)*
1978	Continental Airlines Flight 603 (March 1 1978) United Airlines Flight 696 (March 13 1978) National Airlines Flight 193 (May 1978) Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 (September 25 1978) Air Caribbean Flight 309 (September 26 1978)* Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217 (December 4 1978) TWA Flight 541 (December 21 1978) United Airlines Flight 173 (December 28 1978)
1979	TWA Flight 841 (April 1979) American Airlines Flight 191 (May 25 1979) Downeast Airlines Flight 46 (May 30 1979) Air New England Flight 248 (June 17 1979) American Airlines Flight 293 (June 20 1979) American Airlines Flight 444 (November 1979)
This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that either took place in a U.S. territory, or in adjacent waters thereof. Flying Tiger Line Flight 45 (July 1970) occurred in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands