=1949= 5/16/49 C-47 6 miles Northeast 6 12/15/49 B-29 2 miles Northwest 7
=1950= 6/1/50 KB-29 12 miles East/Southeast 3
=1955= 6/16/55 T-33 On runway 2 10/3/55 B-47 34 miles West 2
=1960= 2/3/60 KC-135 On runway and ramp 13
The following three basic criteria were used to narrow research efforts to specific accidents for more detailed examinations: were the victims burned, resulting in possible descriptions of “black” “little bodies”?; were the victims transported to the Walker AFB hospital?; and, were the victims autopsied? To facilitate this examination, researchers reviewed official accident reports, organizational and base histories, individual personnel records of victims, and contemporary newspaper accounts of the accidents. Interviews of persons who participated in the aftermath of these accidents were also conducted. As a result, only one accident met the three criteria, the June 1956 KC-97 accident.
Table 2.3 Analysis of Air Force Aircraft Accidents by Year in the Vicinity of Walker AFB 1947–1960 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Aircraft Fatalities Accident Type ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Burned? Taken to WAFB Autopsied? Hospital?
Upon detailed review of records of the 1956 accident and interviews with persons who participated in the recovery and identification of the victims, extensive similarities to the description the witness provided were apparent.
In 1956, Walker AFB, N.M. was the home of Strategic Air Command’s 6th and 509th Bombardment Wings.[120] Additionally, Walker was home of the 509th Aerial Refueling Squadron (509th ARS) equipped with the KC-97G aircraft.
[Illustration: Fig. 7. A KC-97 similar to this of the 509th Aerial Refueling Squadron crashed 8.8 miles south of Walker AFB on June 26, 1956 with the loss of 11 lives. Descriptions of the aftermath of this tragedy are believed to be the basis for some of the reports of “bodies” at the Walker AFB hospital. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]
The accident occurred on June 26, 1956, 8.8 statute miles south of Walker AFB.[121] A KC-97G aircraft with 11 crewmen on board, while on a refueling training mission, experienced a propeller failure four and one half minutes after takeoff.[122] As a result of the propeller failure, a propeller blade was believed to have punctured the deck fuel tank of the fully loaded tanker causing an intense cabin fire.[123] The aircraft was quickly engulfed in flames, spun out of control, and was completely destroyed. All 11 Air Force members were killed instantly by the fire and impact explosion.[124] Due to the isolated rural impact location on property owned by the state of New Mexico, there was minimal collateral damage and no fatalities or injuries to persons on the ground.[125]