Gulfhawk IV crash: gear-up landing or gear failure?

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Al Williams famously crashed his Grumman Bearcat Gulfhawk IV in New Bern, North Carolina in January 1949. The airplane was totally destroyed in the resultant fire originating from the ruptured belly tank that the airplane landed on. I have always been under the impression that the accident was caused by a gear leg folding, but I now find that Corky Meyers' book "Grumman F8F Bearcat" says outright that Williams forgot to put the gear down. (Meyers had checked Williams out in the GIV.)

Which is correct? Failed gear or failed to extend the gear?

I can't find any sort of official accident report, but I should think it would have been obvious even to a curious lineman whether the gear had ever been extended. or not.

[Cubs2jets]

Mr. Wilkinson

Historical CAB aircraft accident reports are housed in the National Archives, (MLR A1 E-34A, boxes 1-511) in the Office of the Secretary.

I did find a newspaper article: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6341362 ... headlines/ Click download to be able to read.

I'd be curious what you discover...

C2j

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Thanks, Cub2, I did know about the National Archives, but I'm not gonna go to DC to get this question answered. The newspaper article is interesting, though by the time I zoom in to try and make it legible, all I can read is the bold-type subtitle, "...landing gear jams." Which is a help since one infers from that, he didn't forget the gear.

[Tulio]

Wouldn't a presidential library have copies of those files, or access to them?

I registered as an investigator at a presidential library, and I was able to request copies of documents through them, from other archives and repositories. It has been a while, but you don't have to go to Washington.

Saludos,


Tulio

[Bob B]

The Robesonian newspaper of Lumberton, NC for January 19, 1949 stated that the "wheels indicator was in the 'down' position but when the plane hit the runway the left wing dipped". The plane slid on the left wingtip, right wheel and belly tank.

Bob

[groggie]

Mr. Wilkinson,

The article reads:

Al Williams' Plane Burns in Crash
Landing Gear Jams; Press writer Unhurt
Maj. Al Williams' new Grumman "Gulfhawk", rated by it's makers as the fastest propeller-driven plane in teh world, was destroyed by fire after a crash landing last night in New Bern, N. C.
Maj. Williams, aviation writer for The Press and other Scripps-Howard newspapers, escaped "without a scratch".
"I ran into bad flying weather on my way from Miami to Roosevelt Field, N. Y.". Maj. Williams related last night by phone. "After a tussle with it, I decided to play it safe and land at the first chance."
Sparks Ignite Fuel
"As I let down at New Bern, the landing gear apparently jammed."
"The belly of the ship scraped the runway, setting off sparks. But I managed to get out without a scratch as they ignited the fuel tank."
Maj. Williams left Florida yesterday, after several days of exhibition flying in Palm Beach and Miami, when he learned of the death of a brother, Joseph. He had ignored warnings of bad weather.
The flight meant an end for his beloved F8F (article showed it as F-8-F) plane which was completed in October.
Maj, Williams' son, Jack, said the new "Gulfhawk", which replaced his famous 12-year-old bi-plane of the same name, had been specially built. It was a first-line Navy fighter plane, stripped down 1200 pounds under standard weight.
It was capable of 450 miles an hour at sea level and was 25 miles an hour faster than it's Navy counterpart.
Jack attributed last night's crash, to an exterior fuel tank used for long flights.
Last Crash 25 Years Ago
The last crash landing for Maj. Williams was 25 years ago.
While barnstorming in North Carolina, he came in for a landing, only to find spectators swarming over the field. He managed to squeeze his plane between tow rows of parked autos. He was unhurt.
In World War I Maj. Williams became a flier after only three hours' instruction. Later he became a test pilot and shattered many U. S. speed records.
Maj. Williams has been manager of Gulf Oil Corp. aviation department here since 1933. He lives at the Royal York Apartments.

I hope that helps.