Navy Bomber Crash Near Atlantic, VA in 1957 Killed 11 Crewmen - Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com

The coordinates provided are for the north shoulder of Nocks Landing Road about one mile east of Atlantic Road and the Town of Atlantic, VA. The grove of pines and other trees and brush surrounding the gully is reportedly the area of the crash. Please note that this is posted private property. Trespassing is illegal. There is adequate area to pull along the shoulder of the road to pay your respects without leaving your vehicle or pulling onto someone’s private property.

The Crash
On a breezy, overcast and rainy Tuesday, April 2, 1957 morning, shortly after take-off in a P2V-6M Neptune twin-engine aircraft from Chincoteague Naval Auxiliary Air Station (now Wallops Flight Facility), two Navy officers and nine enlisted men died at about 6:55AM in a crash in a potato field about two air miles south of the base runways.

Someone later told a newspaper reporter that the plane was about 200 to 300 feet up in the overcast sky and may have tried to turn back toward Chincoteague Naval Auxiliary Air Station before crashing.

The plane was embedded in a crater about 10 feet deep by 25 feet long and parts were strewn over a wide area.

The owner of an Atlantic, VA general store reported hearing aircraft engines sputtering in the overcast sky, then saw flames rising about 100 feet into the air from the crash site. He drove to the site where he saw a man’s shoe and a foot. Fire equipment and investigators from Chincoteague Naval Auxiliary Air Station arrived shortly after the crash. The wreckage reportedly continued to burn for about three hours.

The crash occurred on the north side of Nocks Landing Road, about one mile east of Atlantic Road near the water (Powell’s Bay).

Around 5:00 PM that day, the Navy announced the names of the deceased:
Cmdr. Eugene T. Allen, USN, Fairview, IL
Lt. Thomas Albert, USN, Chicago, IL
John Graves, AM3, Elmont, NY
Harvey Harrison, AD3, Blooming Rose, WV
Charles S. Tucker, AT3, Alexandria, VA
Franklin C. Cullari, AN, Newark, NJ
William M. Grant, AT1, St. Louis, MO
George Stracka, AD1, Sellersville, PA
Billy C. Nesson, PH1, Pleasant Shade, TN
Arnon McClellan, AD1, Salt Lake City, UT
Dale W. Nelson, AD3, Spokane, WA

Eight of the men were reportedly married. The plane and its crew had been on a routine flight en route to the Navy’s Cherry Point fleet readiness center in North Carolina.

(Chincoteague Beacon, Wednesday, April 3, 1957, Front Page, Naval Station Bomber Crashes)

(Site corroborated by nearby lifelong resident)

Web Address for Related Web Sites: [Web Link] Date of Crash: 04/02/1957 Aircraft Model: Lockheed P2V-6M Neptune Military or Civilian: Military Tail Number: Unknown. Cause of Crash: Witnesses reported possible engine trouble, low altitude and inclement weather. The US Navy's official ruling is unknown.

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