B-52 Defies Odds, Lands Safely After Losing Entire Vertical Stabilizer

A Boeing B-52H Stratofortress was flying over southern Colorado on January 10, 1964, when it encountered severe clear-air turbulence. The violent shake snapped off about 83% of the vertical stabilizer from the back of the bomber.

The crew, led by test pilot Charles 'Chuck' Fisher and co-pilot Richard V. Curry, was flying at 14,300 feet over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on a structural test flight. The aircraft had no warning signs, such as cloud cover or thunderstorms, making it an unexpected event.

The crew quickly discovered that they had to improvise control methods since none of them were trained for flying without a tail fin. They used differential engine thrust, ailerons, and airbrake drag to steer the bomber's heading, replacing the lost rudder. Every adjustment had to be made smoothly and slowly to avoid setting up aerodynamic divergence that could have led to loss of control.

The crew flew for about six hours before landing safely at Blytheville Air Force Base in Arkansas, with no fatalities. The incident showed the B-52's clear-air turbulence load envelope was wrong, prompting Boeing to redesign the fin attachment and increase the load tolerance for production aircraft.