Photo courtesy of the Wings of the North Air Museum
A local aviation historian will revisit one of Minnesota’s lesser-known aviation disasters — the 1958 crash of a B-52 bomber in Inver Grove Heights — during a free presentation next month at the Wings of the North Air Museum in Eden Prairie.
The talk, part of the museum’s monthly Speaker Series, will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at 14893 Sierra Lane on Flying Cloud Airport. Admission is free, donations are appreciated, and reservations are not required. Doors open at 6 p.m.
David Mattsson, a Minnesota aviation historian, will recount the evening of Sept. 16, 1958, when a U.S. Air Force B-52D Stratofortress crashed onto the Kahl family farm in Inver Grove Heights. The aircraft destroyed the farmhouse and most outbuildings, injuring eight members of the family — some badly burned — but all survived.
The bomber’s eight crew members did not have time to radio controllers. Some were in ejection seats; others tried to bail out manually. Seven were killed; only the copilot survived. After a lengthy investigation, the cause of the crash was established and described as unusual, according to the museum.
The Wings of the North Air Museum’s Speaker Series typically offers a free presentation on the first Thursday of each month, excluding holidays. Visitors should enter the airport through Gate H, one mile west of Flying Cloud Drive and just south of Pioneer Trail; museum volunteers will direct parking.
For more information, visit wotn.org/museum.
Wings of the North is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Minnesota’s aviation history.