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Daniel L Arnes, CMDCM
to remember
Black, Earl G., AEC USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Last Address Chandler, AZ
Date of Passing May 11, 1975
Location of Interment Valley of the Sun Mortuary and Cemetery - Chandler, Arizona
MESA AIR CRASH KILLS SIX. Mesa, Ariz. (AP) -- Investigators were attempting today to determine the cause of a crash of a four-engine plane enroute to Canada which crashed killing all six men aboard. The lockheed constellation crashed about 8 miles after takeoff from Mesa , all four engines failed due to overheating and seized .
The green-striped aircraft barely missed a playground, hit a tree with a tree-house where children had just been playing at Sunshine Acres Children’s Home and belly-landed in open, rocky desert.
Witnesses said it exploded 4 or 5 times after it hit the ground. The Super Connie had been converted by Helitec Corp/Aircraft Specialties into a crop duster/fire fighter. It was fully loaded with 3,500 gallons of fuel for a ferry flight to Canada via Kansas City. The plane was seen trailing black smoke as it took off. The pilot declared an emergency and attempted to circle back to Falcon Field for an emergency landing on the same runway he had taken off from following (first) the failure of the left inboard engine (the prop was feathered already at this point), but he was too low. He lost power on all four engines. The airplane was engulfed in flames when it impacted and the fire extended far out in front of the ship. It is believed the pilot deliberately attempted to avoid going down in a large trailer park east of the airport.
A witness stated, “…I could see the plane clearly. It was about 75 feet up. I could see a man in the cockpit working and the motor on the left was on fire. The pilot kept the nose up and the tail hit the ground first then the whole plane exploded.”
Firemen at the scene stated that all 6 crewmen appeared to have survived the crash landing. At least one made it out of the wreck but could not escape the flames. Others died trying to get out of the front of the plane. The pilot was the only one still strapped into his seat, burned beyond recognition. One crewmember was curled up in a ball behind the melted cockpit after being unable to face the intense heat all around him.
Killed on board were the following crew members:
Alan Moseley, pilot, of Litchfield Park, Arizona
Harold Julien, co-pilot, of Tempe, Arizona
Charles Lynn Jr., flight engineer, of Long Beach, California
Basil Baker, mechanic, of Peoria, Arizona ***Earl Black, mechanic, of Chandler, Arizona***
Sam Frasier, alternate co-pilot, of Glendale, Arizona
Description This Campaign period was from 1 May to 30 June 1970. The allied push into Cambodia during the spring of 1970 brought the SEALORDS forces into a unique operational environment. At 0730 local time on 9 May, 10 days after ground troops crossed the border, a combined Vietnamese-American naval task force steamed up the Mekong River to wrest control of that key waterway from North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces.
The flotilla, led by a Vietnamese naval officer, was composed of American PCFs, ASPBs, PBRs, HAL-3 and VAL-4 aircraft, Benewah, Askari, Hunterdon County, YRBM 16, YRBM 21 and 10 strike assault boats (STAB) of Strike Assault Boat Squadron 20, a fast-reaction unit created by Admiral Zumwalt in 1969. The Vietnamese contingent included riverine assault craft of many types, PCFs, PBRs, and marine battalions.
Naval Advisory Group personnel sailed with each Vietnamese vessel. By the end of the first day, Vietnamese naval units reached the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, while to the south the combined force stormed enemy-held Neak Luong, a strategic ferry crossing point on the river. For political reasons, no U.S. personnel were allowed past Neak Luong, midway to Phnom Penh.
Although the American component pulled out of Cambodia by 29 June, the Vietnamese continued to guard the Mekong and evacuate to South Vietnam over 82,000 ethnic Vietnamese jeopardized by the conflict.
