Strategic Bomber XB-70A 'Valkyrie' - Barstow, CA - Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com

North American Aviation XB-70A (62-0207)

The number two XB-70A (62-0207), AV-2, made its first flight from Palmdale, California on 17 July 1965. The crew consisted of Al White and Col. Joseph F. Cotton. The same crew took AV-2 up to Mach 3.05 at 72,000 feet on 3 January 1966 on its 17th flight. They maintained full speed for 32 minutes, covering eight states. The highest flight of the entire XB-70 program occurred on 19 March 1966. Al White and Van Shepard took AV-2 to 74,000 feet. The fastest speed achieved during the program, also in AV-2, was Mach 3.08 on 12 April 1966. The number two XB-70A made 46 flights for a total of 92.28 flight hours.

The XB-70 Valkyrie was originally designed as a strategic bomber capable of traveling to its target at Mach 3, and delivering nuclear or conventional weapons. After a succession of policy changes, it was decided in 1963 to build only two of them for research. The XB-70 was the world's largest experimental aircraft. Capable of flight at 2,000 miles per hour and altitudes of 70,000 feet, it was used to collect flight test data for use in the design of future military and civilian supersonic aircraft.
LINK:http://www.thexhunters.com/

Southeast of this rural address:
44334 Cool Gardie Rd
Barstow, CA 92311

Web Address for Related Web Sites: [Web Link] Date of Crash: 06/08/1966 Aircraft Model: XB-70A Military or Civilian: Military Tail Number: 62-0207 Cause of Crash: XB-70 crash: On 8 June 1966, Al White and Maj. Carl S. Cross took AV-2 up on a flight to make 12 subsonic airspeed calibration runs and one supersonic test. Afterwards, the XB-70 was scheduled to rendezvous with a contingent of jet aircraft, all powered by General Electric engines, for a public relations photo session. The other aircraft included a Northrop YF-5A (59-4898) flown by GE test pilot John M. Fritz, a Northrop T-38A (59-1601) piloted by USAF Capt. Peter C. Hoag with Col. Joe Cotton in the rear seat, a McDonnell F-4B (Bu.No. 150993) flown by USN Commander Jerome P. Skyrud with E.J. Black in the back, and Lockheed F-104N (N813NA) flown by NASA chief research pilot Joseph A. Walker. A Gates Lear Jet flown by H. Clay Lacy, loaded with photographers, recorded the event. It was Walker's 13th XB-70 chase flight and took place just two days before he was scheduled to make his first flight in the XB-70 itself. In this case, he did not perform chase duties during the test mission itself. After the number two XB-70 had completed its test activities, Walker (in NASA 813) joined up in formation near the bomber's right wingtip. Rendezvouz began at 0827 hours with the aircraft arranged in a V-formation. The Lear Jet was positioned about 600 feet out and to the left of the formation. Walker's F-104N was off the starboard wing of the XB-70. The photo session lasted from 0845 to 0925. Suddenly, at 0926, the F-104 collided with the Valkyrie's right wingtip. The F-104 rolled inverted and passed over the XB-70 shearing off the bomber's tail fins. The F-104N burst into flames, disintegrated, and fell towards the desert 25,000 feet below. Walker was killed instantly. Several seconds later, the XB-70 tumbled out of control and began to break apart, impacting 12 miles north of Barstow. The F-104 fell two miles northeast of the XB-70. The cockpit section fell half a mile northwest of the fuselage. It was the blackest day in the history of Edwards Air Force Base. A motion picture camera had recorded all events until just before the collision, and then picked up again shortly afterwards. There were also numerous still photos of the accident sequence. The images showed that the F-104 pitched upward from its position in the formation, tearing through the XB-70's right wingtip. From there, the F-104 rolled inverted as it passed across the top of the XB-70, shearing off both of the ship's large vertical tails. By this point, the F-104 was in several large pieces and trailing a ball of fire from its ruptured fuel tanks. General Electric chief test pilot John Fritz, flying on Walker's right wing in the YF-5A, saw nothing amiss prior to the collision. After the impact, the XB-70 continued in straight and level flight for 16 seconds as if nothing had happened. Someone got on the radio and shouted, "Mid-air, mid-air, mid-air!" Colonel Joe Cotton, riding in the back seat of Captain Pete Hoag's T-38, called frantically to the XB-70 crew. "You got the verticals came off, left and right. We're staying with you. No sweat. Now you're looking good." But, the giant ship rolled ponderously to the right and entered an inverted spiral. As it shed parts, fuel poured from its broken right wing. Cotton and the others began shouting for the stricken crew to eject. "Bail out. Bail out, bail out!" After some difficulty, Al White ejected in his escape capsule. Maj. Carl Cross, possibly incapacitated by extreme g-forces, was less fortunate. Additionally, a seat retraction mechanism failed, making automatic encapsulation impossible. He remained trapped in the stricken jet and died when it struck the ground. The accident investigation board determined that once the horizontal tail of the F-104 came up under the wingtip of the XB-70, it was caught in the wingtip vortex from the bomber. The F-104 lost its trim and pitched up violently, rolling inverted across the top of the bomber. The accident board concluded that the swirling wake vortex only became a contribu

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