1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash

1950 Fairfield-Suisun
Boeing B-29 crash
A similar B-29 Superfortress
Accident
Date5 August 1950
SummaryCrashed during emergency landing attempt, post-crash fire and explosion
SiteFairfield-Suisun Air Force Base, California
38°16′15.84″N 121°57′13.01″W / 38.2710667°N 121.9536139°W / 38.2710667; -121.9536139 (Fairfield-Suisun AFB)
Total fatalities19 (including 7 on the ground)
Total injuries173 (49 severe)
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing B-29 Superfortress
OperatorUnited States Air Force
Registration44-87651
Flight originFairfield-Suisun AFB, California
DestinationGuam
Occupants20
Passengers8
Crew12
Fatalities12
Injuries8
Survivors8
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities7
Ground injuries165

Northeast of San Francisco, California, on 5 August 1950, a United States Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber carrying a Mark 4 nuclear bomb crashed shortly after takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base with 20 men on board. Twelve men were killed in the crash, including the commander of the 9th Bombardment Wing, Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, and another seven were killed on the ground when the aircraft exploded. The base was later renamed for Travis.