Aviation Tragedy [Gwinnett County]
N 34° 00.327 W 084° 03.664
16S E 771431 N 3766655
An aviation tragedy here influanced the redesign of the altimeter.
Waymark Code: WM43H
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 11/24/2005
Views: 54
In the evening hours of December 6, 1953 four F-84D jet aircraft of 128th Fighter Bomber Squadron of the Georgia Air National Guard crashed near this site. They were returning from a routine weekend training flight from the Miami area when they encountered unexpected weather and altitude awareness problems as they prepared to land at Dobbins AFB near Marietta, Georgia. All of the pilots perished. No one on the ground was injured although the impact destroyed the home of the Ernest Brooks family that by chance were not home. After the accident the United States Air Force changed the design of the altimeter, the instrument used to determine altitude, making it easier to read. This change probably saved many lives in the future.
The pilots were Captain Idon M. Hodge Jr., 1st Lieutenant Samuel P. Dixon Jr., 1st Lieutenant Elwood C. Kent, and 2nd Lieutenant William A. Tennent.
