F-86H (#52-1981) Sabre Crash Site

March 8th 2017

Summery : The North American F-86H is upgraded fighter-bomber version of F-86 Sabre transonic jet fighter for U.S.Air Force. On August 25, 1954, Captain Joseph C. McConnell Jr. was test flying this aircraft. During the flight, the aircraft suffered hydraulic failure. McConnell called on his vast experience from his time in Korea. Whilist in-theatre, he had routinely practised landing with just the throttle and rudder, and he tried this technique once again. He tried to fly it back to the landing at Edwards, but unfrotunatelly it was short of the lakebed for several miles. McConnell bailed out just seconds away from landing and it was too low for his parachute to open. He died upon impact with the desert floor, his Sabre cartwheeling into a fireball a couple hundred yards away. It has been reported that in the examination of the wreckage a bolt was found to be missing. Captain Joseph C.McConnell Jr. was credited with shooting down 16 MiG-15s while flying North American F-86 Sabres. He was the first American triple jet-on-jet fighter ace and is still the top-scoring American jet ace.

	Description Manufacturer: North American Base model: F-86 Version: H Nickname: Sabre Designation System: U.S. Air Force Designation Period: 1949-1970 (USAF) Basic role: Fighter-Bomber Serial Number: 52-1981 Year built: 1952 Crash Date: 1954/8/25 Cause of Crash: Mechanial fault Fatalities: 1 Specifications Length: 38'10" 11.84 m Height: 14' 11" 4.57 m Wingspan: 39' 1" 11.92 m Wingarea: 313.4 sq ft 29.11 sq m Empty Weight: 13,836 lb 6,276 kg Max Takeoff Weight: 24,296 lb 11,020 kg Propulsion No. of Engines: 1 Powerplant: General Electric J73-GE-3 Thrust: 8,920 lbf Performance Max Speed: 692 mph 1,113 km/h 601 kt Ceiling: 50,800 ft 15,483 m Range: 1,810 miles 2,912 km
	Other F-86 Link :  Wikipedia Link : North American F-86 (Wikipedia)  Wikipedia Link : North American F-86H Sabre  Wikipedia Link : Joseph C. McConnell (Wikipedia)

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