Today marks the somber 60th anniversary of the tragic KC-135 crash in Wichita
The incident occurred just before 9:30 a.m. when a KC-135A-BN Stratotanker took off from McConnell Air Force Base. The crew was based in Oklahoma.
Shortly after takeoff, the plane struggled to gain altitude and started to yaw. The crew tried to dump fuel and return to base.
But after releasing most of the fuel, the aircraft made a sharp left turn and rolled uncontrollably. It crashed at 20th and Piatt.
The explosion was devastating. It killed 23 people on the ground and injured 27 others. Sadly, all seven crew members lost their lives too.
An official report pointed to several issues that might have led to the crash. One was a crew member accidentally jettisoning a door. Another was a drag chute from a different plane that got blown onto the runway just before takeoff.
In 1971, a memorial was built at the crash site, and in 2007, a large granite monument was added. It honors all the lives lost that day.
