Summary: The plane and crew assigned to the 34th Heavy Bombardment Group stationed in Blythe, California, departed the airfield from runway 30 at 10:20 PM for a local instrument night navigation flight. A successful take-off was made and the control tower officer cleared the next bomber for take-off. Approximately a minute later, there was an explosion and flash of fire at a position approximately 3 miles northwest of the field on the heading of runway 30. When crash equipment arrived a while later, the plane was completely destroyed and on fire. Tragically, seven of the crew had died in the crash and 2 miraculously survived although with major injuries. The survivors indicated that there was no indication of trouble until the plane's right wing struck the ground while turning right. Investigators speculated that poor visibility due to clouds with no lights for reference played a factor.

The crew: Lt Mark Russell, pilot; Lt. Carl Boland copilot; Lt Donald Brown, Navigator; Lt. John Burford, Bombardier; Sgt Robert Lipczynski, radioman; Sgt Joseph Love, flight engineer; Pfc John Babkewicz, gunner. Two survivors were Sgt Elmer Stred and Cpl Lawrence Jorgensen, gunners.

I visited the site in the early 1990's, and unfortunately, in 2015 the crash site was bulldozed and is now within the Blythe Mesa Solar Power Project property.