Warbird Information Exchange

Randy, all I can say is that Mudge the Cunning Linguist would've been proud.

I am only in my 20s but someday I will fly it at airshows. I am getting rich really fast writing software and so I can afford to do really stupid things like put all my money into warbirds.

10/2/95
The following is the official news release on the loss of
the CAF's Martin B-26 "Carolyn" on 28 Sep 95.

**********

Barbi Woods, Public Relations Coordinator, CAF

For Immediate Release
NR# 95-0928

At 10:56 a.m., Sept. 28, 1995, the Confederate Air Force's
B-26 Marauder (N5546N) "Carolyn" crashed approximately 18
miles south of Midland International Airport. Five crew
members perished in the accident. The crew members were:
Walter A. Wootton, Harlingen, Texas; John Thomas Cloyd,
El Paso, Texas; Vernon E. Thorp, Ocala, Fla; Colin Dunwell,
Surrey, England, UK; and Chris Gardner, Essex, England, UK.
Two of the CAF's most experienced pilots, Thorp and Wootton,
were flying the airplane. The National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the
accident.

The B-26 Marauder is a twin-engine World War II aircraft.
Prior to the accident, the CAF's B-26 was the only flying
Marauder in the world. Manufactured by the Glenn L. Martin
Company, Omaha, Nebraska, the B-26 was delivered to the USAAF
on May 24, 1943. It served at various stations throughout
the United States until April, 1945 at which time it was
transferred to the Defense Plant Corporation, Bush Field,
Georgia, and was dropped from USAAF inventory.

During its civilian life the B-26 "Carolyn" performed varied
missions. It was used as a racer and flew under the name
"Valley Turtle." It was then converted into an executive ship
by the Tennessee Gas Corporation. The CAF bought the aircraft
in 1968 from a bank in Greeley, Colo. Restoration began in
1976 and the aircraft did not fly again until Sept. 11,
1984. Following AIRSHO 95 the plane was to be moved to its
new homebase on the East Coast.

AIRSHO 95, planned to take place Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 at
Midland International, will proceed as scheduled. The
AIRSHO, which is the homecoming show for CAF members, will
be dedicated to the crew members aboard the B-26.

********** End of News Release **********

I am posting this on Monday, after the air show is over.
The air show was dedicated to the five who lost their lives
on the B-26, and appropriate "Missing Man" and other
tributes were performed. Services were held for Tom Cloyd
in Midland this morning.

As a warbird pilot and historian, who had the chance to be
around "Carolyn" quite a bit, and who knew and visited with
all five of the crew in the days before the accident, I
suggest that we all wait for the results of the NTSB
investigation before we try to "guess", even intelligently,
what really happened. Thank you.

Randy Wilson
Colonel, CAF
Aviation Historian & Pilot

P.S. I was authorized by Barbi Woods to post this release,
however the comments are my own, and I do not speak for the
CAF in this matter.

Should never have allowed passengers on that flight. Knew both of them.

I am only in my 20s but someday I will fly it at airshows. I am getting rich really fast writing software and so I can afford to do really stupid things like put all my money into warbirds.

If he had intended to practice stalls and steep turns (as was reported in the accident finding) then he shouldn't have had passengers. Most insurance companies and operating instructions specifically prohibit the carriage of non-essential crew on flights where stalls are being performed. I'm pretty sure the CAF's current regulations are the same.

I am only in my 20s but someday I will fly it at airshows. I am getting rich really fast writing software and so I can afford to do really stupid things like put all my money into warbirds.

From reading the NTSB report, I'm guessing that the cause of the power interruption to both engines was never determined?

Did this happen out over a practice area or at the airport? (I ask because the report states stall/spin but TBM Tony mentions seeing it slide down the runway)

Thanks.

IIRC '95-'96 was a bad period of time for war birds. In addition to the loss of Carolyn, we lost the only airworthy Heinkel, Mossie, and there was the P-38 Lightning crash at Duxford as well. There were others I'm not recalling at the moment. It just seemed that every time I got a copy of a warbird mag during that time, it featured a warbird loss.

IIRC '95-'96 was a bad period of time for war birds. In addition to the loss of Carolyn, we lost the only airworthy Heinkel, Mossie, and there was the P-38 Lightning crash at Duxford as well. There were others I'm not recalling at the moment. It just seemed that every time I got a copy of a warbird mag during that time, it featured a warbird loss.

All that notwithstanding, as I asked, how would it have been on any other flight?

As the performance of the stalls and steep turns, and the presence of passengers, had nothing whatsoever to do with the accident that occurred, I'm still confused by the statement.