Evening star., 1954-10-13
Crash Killing
Four Probed
By Air Force
Fother Still Critical; !;
Pilot Tried to Lond
After Fire Signal

Air Force officers are inves-
tigating the flaming crash
Of q pilotless jet fighter, which
burned to death a young Clin-
ton (Md.) mother and her two
children yesterday as they were
feeding pigs in their back yard.
The pilot died when his para
chute failed to open.
The plane. an F-86D North
American Sabrejet all-weather
night fighter. on a routine train
ing flight, crashed seconds after
catching fire on take of.
The Air Force said the pilot
died an instant before the crash
when he was hurled from an
altitude of 800 feet into a corn
field at the end of the runway
by his ejection-seat escape mech
anism. The jet, trailing flames,
crashed a few feet off Moores
lane. 4 miles south of the air
base. in Clinton Heights, about
10 miles from the District on
Maryland route S.
The dead were Mrs. Dorothy
Walters Vaughn, 23; her two
children, Rose Anne. 4, and John
w. Vaughn III, 2. and I'd 1t.
Robert B. Sandberg, 26, of
Wenatchee, Wash, the. pilot.
Husband Burned.
Mrs. Vaughn's husband, John
w. Vaughn, jr., "a, survived
miraculously although he was
only few steps from the point
OF impact. He was reported in
critical condition today in Dis
trict General Hospital. with
burns over 40 per cent of his
body.
Gen. Nathan F. Twining, Chief
of staff of the United States
Air Force. issued this statement
last night:
THE Air Force deeply regrets
the tragic accident in which two
small children, their mother, and
the pilot of an air defense fighter
lost their lives today. The pilot
concerned was experienced, real
lied fully the necessity to avoid
populated areas, and his F-86 D
aircraft had been inspected re-
Gently and had been flown since
inspection.
The pilot had just taken off
from Andrews Air Force Base
and was at an altitude Of only
a few hundred feet when he in
formed the control tower that a
light, which warns of fire in the
aft section of the plane had
flashed on. He advised the tower
that he would return for an
emergency landing. Apparently,
fire prevented him from accom-
plishing that.
The loss Of lives in this acci-
dent is a matter of grave con-
cern to me and to the Air Force.
An investigation is being con-
Quoted by a board of qualified
Air Force officers"
Soon After Take OFF.
Capt. Thomas l.. Moore, An
drews Air Force Base informa-
tion officer, said 1t. Sandberg,
attached to the 95th Fighter
Interceptor Squadron, radioed
the control tower Immediately
after taking off that his aft fire
warning signal was on.
Airborne at 1928 am. from
runway 19, the pilot messaged
the tower: I'm coming around
and declare an emergency"
Tower controlmen said they
could see the plane burning
about 300 feet over the end of
the runway. They said they saw
1t. Sandberg eject from his plane
without a further radio message
from him.
The tower had radioed franti-
cally: (which runway do you
want?" according to Capt. Moore,
but got no response.
Little Warning.
Robert A. King, 80, a witness
to the crash, on a quiet, dead
end dirt lane 2 miles from Clin-
ton and II miles from WASH
ington, said the plane hurtled
into the Vaughn's backyard
with only a seconds warning.
It clipped the tops of trees
for 100 yards. making a "rifhing
sound" Mr.. King said. It then
plunged into a 10-foot deep gully
in back of the Vaughn's trim,
white four-room house. splashing
blazing fuel over a 100-yard
circle.
Members Of the family who
visited Mr.. Vaughn in the hospi-
tai yesterday said he told them
he turned and saw the plane
coming after hearing it crashing
through the tree tops behind
him. Gle turned to get the
children and that's all he re-
membered," said Mr.. and Mrs.
Thomas e. Walters, Mrs. |
Vaughn's parents.
Mr.. Vaughn. according to Mrs. |
Walters, had said ''if Dorothy
ever died he didn't want to
live" Doctors and family men,
bers kept the death of his wife |
and children a secret in visits
yesterday.
Mrs. Walters said her daughter
remained conscious and talked to |
her parents until only q few
minutes before she died.
Not Told Of Children.
"She asked about the children,
but we didn't tell her." Mrs.
Walters said. "She asked several
times about food she had left
on the stove when she stepped
out of the house to the back yard.
She asked If the stove had been
turned OF. We told her that it
had"
The vaughns were struck