1972 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident

1972 aviation accident in the United States

38°31′16″N 121°29′57″W / 38.52111°N 121.49917°W / 38.52111; -121.49917Total fatalities22Total injuries28AircraftAircraft typeCanadair Sabre Mk 5OperatorSpectrum AirRegistrationN275XFlight originSacramento Executive AirportDestinationOakland International AirportOccupants1Passengers0Crew1Injuries1Survivors1Ground casualtiesGround fatalities21 (direct) 1 (indirect)Ground injuries27

On September 24, 1972, a privately owned Canadair Sabre Mk. 5 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. Twenty-two people died and 28 were injured 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. This handling characteristic of the F-86 was acknowledged from the early 1950s.^[2]

The aircraft over-ran 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 at 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor.^[3] Occupants of the parlor included the Sacramento 49ers junior football team.^[4]

Twenty-two people died, including twelve 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] The crash could have claimed many more lives if the external fuel tanks had not ruptured prior to impact, or if the jet had not been slowed by hitting the moving car and other vehicles parked in front of the restaurant. 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 concluded that the accident was a result of pilot error due to lack of experience on the jet. Bingham had logged fewer than four hours 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 crash, 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)

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1972 (1972)

Jan 7

Iberia Flight 602

Jan 21

Turkish Airlines DC-9 crash

Jan 26

JAT Yugoslav Flight 367

Feb 22

Lufthansa Flight 649

Mar 3

Mohawk Airlines Flight 405

Mar 14

Sterling Airways Flight 296

Mar 19

EgyptAir Flight 763

Apr 18

East African Airways Flight 720

May 5

Alitalia Flight 112

May 8

Sabena Flight 571

May 18

Aeroflot Flight 1491

May 30

Delta Air Lines Flight 9570

Jun 12

American Airlines Flight 96

Jun 14

Japan Air Lines Flight 471

Jun 15

Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z

Jun 18

British European Airways Flight 548

Jun 24

Prinair Flight 191

Jun 29

Lake Winnebago mid-air collision

Jul 2

Pan Am Flight 841

Jul 5

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710

Jul 31

Delta Air Lines Flight 841

Aug 14

Königs Wusterhausen disaster

Aug 16

Burma Airways Thandwe crash

Aug 31

Aeroflot Flight 558

Sep 15

Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130

Sep 24

Japan Air Lines Flight 472

Sep 24

Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident

Oct 1

Aeroflot Flight 1036

Oct 13

Aeroflot Flight 217

Oct 13

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

Oct 27

Air Inter Flight 696Y

Oct 29

Lufthansa Flight 615

Nov 10

Southern Airways Flight 49

Nov 15

Ansett Australia Flight 232

Nov 28

Japan Air Lines Flight 446

Dec 3

Spantax Flight 275

Dec 8

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708

Dec 8

United Air Lines Flight 553

Dec 8

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631

Dec 20

Chicago–O'Hare runway collision

Dec 23

Braathens Flight 239

Dec 29

Eastern Air Lines Flight 401

Dec 31

Puerto Rico DC-7 crash

1971 ◄ ► 1973

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1970s
1970	Cornfield Bomber Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 Trans International Airlines Flight 863 Wichita State University football team plane crash Southern Airways Flight 932 Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26
1971	B-52C Lake Michigan crash Colorado Aviation Aero Commander 680 crash Hughes Airwest Flight 706 Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 Pan Am Flight 845 Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (see D. B. Cooper)
1972	Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 Delta Air Lines Flight 9570 American Airlines Flight 96 Prinair Flight 191 Lake Winnebago mid-air collision Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710 Delta Air Lines Flight 841 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident Southern Airways Flight 49 United Air Lines Flight 553 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash
1973	DeKalb–Peachtree Airport Learjet crash Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 Delta Air Lines Flight 723 TWA Flight 742 World Airways Flight 802 Texas International Airlines Flight 655 Pan Am Flight 160 National Airlines Flight 27 Iberia Flight 933
1974	Commonwealth Commuter Flight 317 Pan Am Flight 806 Delta Air Lines Flight 523 Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 TWA Flight 514 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231
1975	Golden West Airlines Flight 261 Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 Overseas National Airways Flight 032
1976	Alaska Airlines Flight 60 American Airlines Flight 625 Air Manila Flight 702 TWA Flight 355
1977	Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 Southern Airways Flight 242 Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 Encino helicopter crash Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash Air Indiana Flight 216 United Airlines Flight 2860 Vieques Air Link crash
1978	Continental Airlines Flight 603 United Airlines Flight 696 National Airlines Flight 193 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 Air Caribbean Flight 309 TWA Flight 541 United Airlines Flight 173
1979	TWA Flight 841 American Airlines Flight 191 Downeast Airlines Flight 46 Air New England Flight 248 American Airlines Flight 293 American Airlines Flight 444
This list is incomplete. ALM Flight 980 ditched in waters near St. Croix. Flying Tiger Line Flight 45 occurred in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands