Ejection Seat Found from B-52 Crash in 1963

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A Maine forest ranger has found an ejection seat from the 1963 crash of a B-52C bomber in western Maine and intends to bring the seat to the permanent memorial site being created to honor the aircrew who died in the mishap, reported the Bangor Daily News May 22. “I had a pretty good idea of what it was, and it was kind of eerie finding something like this in the middle of the wilderness, knowing what happened almost 50 years ago,” said Ranger Bruce Reed, who discovered the seat on a logging road on Elephant Mountain last fall, according to the newspaper. Reed returned to it on May 19 to log its coordinates for its planned recovery on May 24. On Jan. 24, 1963, the B-52 reportedly left then-Westover AFB, Mass., on a low-level training mission when a malfunction caused the unarmed bomber to crash, killing seven airmen. Two airmen survived, according to the account.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org