Team Offutt to honor fallen Cobra Ball aircrew members

  • Published
  • By Ryan Hansen
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  The Fightin' Fifty-Fifth's history pages are full of Cold War stories of sacrifice and dedication and on March 15, the members of Team Offutt will pause to remember one of the more tragic chapters.

On that same March day in 1981, six crew members of Cobra Ball 61-2664 lost their lives when their aircraft crashed upon landing in severe weather at Shemya Air Force Base, Alaska.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the event, several survivors of the crash and other members of the Cobra Ball community will participate in a ceremony at the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron headquarters here, where a memorial stands to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

This remembrance event is the first time many of the crew members will have the opportunity to see each other since that fateful day.

"A few of the survivors were there ... 15 years ago when we assembled to commemorate the move of the crash monument from Shemya to Offutt ... and it was a very solemn time for us," said Bill Maxwell, who was a captain and electronic warfare officer on the flight. "For the 30th (anniversary) we're taking a more aggressive approach; contacting as many survivors as possible, including other past members of the 24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron."

The 24 crew members of Cobra Ball 61-2664 were in route to the small Aleutian Island from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, where they had been waiting for poor weather to clear.

As they approached Shemya, the weather had once again deteriorated. Now blizzard conditions with strong crosswinds started moving in. After holding for quite some time due to the inclement weather, the tower gave them the clearance to land.

Upon descent the aircrew knew they were in for a challenge and a rough landing, but they had no idea to what extent.

"The gear came down, the flaps let out and the engines altered their whine," wrote Dr. K.A. Crooks, who was a second lieutenant and electronic warfare officer on the flight, in his article, "The Ides of March: Tragedy on a Small Island." "Then suddenly the aircraft banged, screamed and lurched. I immediately knew we were in for a world of hurt."
According to one eyewitness account, the aircraft's main landing gears were stripped off by the lip of the island's cliff on the approach end of the runway.

As Cobra Ball 61-2664 impacted the end of the runway, engines three and four burst into flames and the fuselage began to break up. Seats and equipment inside were shaken loose and the RC-135 slid roughly 2,000 feet, sliding off the runway surface and plowing and twisting through a large pile of discarded rail ties, building materials and timbers.
In the midst of flaming chaos, the crew members did all they could to exit the aircraft and find their way to safety.

"Because I had been trapped by shifting heavy equipment, I was the last crewmember to exit the aircraft forward of the (electrical systems center) positions near the tail," Dr. Crooks wrote. "I reached the left overwing hatch with flames swirling around me. I looked out at the dark, bitter cold and said to myself, 'I can't believe we landed in this.'"

By the time Lt. Crooks exited the aircraft, the entire fuselage was engulfed in flames.

"The main fireball and explosion ... was like a miniature mushroom cloud extending upward in the night," Mr. Maxwell said. "At that point, we did not have a full accounting of the dead and survivors.

"We got the bad news later," he continued.

As emergency vehicles arrived in dark blizzard, confusion reigned.

"The aircraft was fully enveloped, and I had no idea where anyone was and whether I was one of 24 survivors, or the only one who made it," Dr. Crooks wrote.

Dr. Crooks and Mr. Maxwell were two of 18 survivors that day, but not every crew member was so fortunate. Lost to the Cold War were Maj. William R. Bennett, Capt. Larry A. Mayfield, 1st Lt. Loren O. Ginter, Master Sgt. Steven L. Kish, Staff Sgt. Steven C. Balcer and Staff Sgt. Harry L. Parsons III.

The tragic event was chronicled in the Goldpanner, which was Eielson's base paper at the time, by retired Col. Robert Jensik, who was a captain and electronic warfare officer at the time with the 24th SRS.

As he gathered the details of the incident for his article, Colonel Jensik learned about the heroic acts following the crash performed by Lt. Crooks and Capt. William Van Horn, who was also an EWO on 61-2664. In the midst of the fire and fury, they returned to the aircraft to pull two other aircrew members out of the torn fuselage before the aircraft exploded.

"Several weeks later, when we finally returned to Shemya in the other Cobra Ball aircraft, I was permitted to walk through the wreckage area to get a feel for the effort that had to have been required by Crooks and Van Horn," Col. Jensik said. "Even in broad daylight under no stress, it was extremely difficult to retain one's balance. It was astounding to recognize the two had negotiated their way back to the airplane with Lt. Crooks' leg badly injured to assist one (electrical systems center) crewmember to safety and then return for Lieutenant Ginter."

Realizing their actions deserved recognition; Colonel Jensik submitted them both for the Airman's Medal, which they received in the late summer of 1981.

Even now, with the incident nearly 30 years old, many of the survivors are constantly reminded of it.

"When the massive electronic-array equipment shifted in the crash to pin my leg, it took every bit of effort to get free, resulting in damage for which even my youth couldn't compensate," Dr. Crooks said. "Most of those injuries never healed properly, so my body nudges me daily with reminders of the events of March 15, 1981."

The 61-2664 Cobra Ball II tribute ceremony starts at 3 p.m. with a reception following in the 45th RS Heritage Room. All base personnel are invited to attend.

"I sincerely hope that young flyers who attend will realize they are in a very dangerous business, but what they are doing is honorable and important," Colonel Jensik said. "Taking time to honor those who didn't make it back may just drive the point home in a meaningful way."