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Weekly 150: The C-119 Crash

Lt. Jenkins’ Ill-fated Hubris

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During the bicentennial celebration in Huntingdon, the story of a Korean War-era military plane crash came to my attention. The Colonial Tea Room displayed a piece of the wreckage that had landed on its roof from the 1954 incident. This week, I am sharing what I have put together of the story, and I’d like to thank Sam McGowan for his compilation of research on the crash.

On Friday, February 26, 1954, there was nothing remarkable to record about the weather conditions as a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar under the command of First Lieutenant Jack C. Jenkins left Fort Benning-Lawson AFB in Columbus, Georgia, at 1334 (1:34 p.m.) ET. Accompanying Lt. Jenkins on the training mission were Co-pilot Second Lieutenant John C. Peachey and flight engineers Franklin D. Levy and David A. Probus.

The orders for the mission were very specific: an hour practicing maximum performance landings at Lawson-AFB then proceed to Brookley AFB at Montgomery, Alabama to fly ten practice ground-controlled radar approaches (GCA). Upon completion, Lt. Jenkins was to proceed to Columbus, Georgia to practice Variable Omni Range (VOR) approaches to finish up the six-hour training flight.

Lt. Jenkins dismissed his mission and decided he would take the nearly brand new C-119 (110 hours) and fairly green flight crew northwest to his hometown of Huntingdon, Tennessee. He had pulled the same stunt two weeks prior. It was reported to the Tennessee Highway Patrol but Federal aviation authorities claimed no information was recorded. It was believed his two flyovers and building buzzes were just to show off for friends and family in the Huntingdon area.

Before he was commissioned in the United States Air Force, he was a graduate of Huntingdon High School. He earned a degree from Bethel College and after his graduation in 1951, he joined the Air Force in hopes of serving during the Korean War (1950-1953). Jenkins applied for pilot training, completing it on June 21, 1952, and was rated as a US Air Force pilot and commissioned as an officer.

He was assigned to the 314th Troop Carrier Group at Ashiya, Japan, and served as a copilot on C-119 transports flying missions over Korea. As the war came to an end, he was reassigned stateside to Lawson-AFB.

According to his military record, in January 1954, he had piloted the required 1,000 plus hours and was assigned as the first pilot or aircraft commander on the C-119. Records also indicate, he was an extra pilot in the squadron and had yet to be assigned a crew due to a shortage of qualified crew members.

From piecing eye witness accounts, it was determined Lt. Jenkins approached “Court Square from the south and passed over it at an altitude estimated to be 100-200 feet.” He then began making a 270-degree turn over Huntingdon High School (Browning Avenue) and made a heading back towards the courthouse.

At this point, Lt. Jenkins rapidly increased the altitude of the aircraft (possibly to avoid clipping business rooftops or crashing into the courthouse). Witness accounts state the incline was so steep they saw and heard sheet metal tearing from the wings. Next came the gushing of aviation fuel trailing in the sky followed by an explosion and smoke as the fuel ignited on the right engine.

Various pieces of debris from the aircraft’s wings rained down on Huntingdon businesses near the square and left a path of approximately 1,700 feet in length. Some businesses that received damage were the Carroll County Electric Department, the telephone company, the Bank of Huntingdon and Priest Motor Company along with numerous damages to private property. Homer DeMoss and Freeman Taylor were treated for burns “requiring hospitalization.”

The C-119 fuselage crashed in a cornfield on the edge of Huntingdon near the current location of Walmart along the Hwy 22 Bypass. Wreckage photos showed Lt. Jenkins had the engines at full power at the point of impact, more than likely in hopes of crash landing outside the city limits. Some witnesses state the C-119 was already at full power (250 mph) before going over the courthouse, which would cause added stress to the wing structure at the apex of the incline. The designed maneuvering speed was approximately 165 mph.

The consensus of the accident report is as follows, “The aircraft disintegrated as a result of stress applied beyond the designed load limits. Inspection of the engines disclosed no malfunction of the power recovery turbines.

The pilot violated several procedures by operating an aircraft in a careless and reckless manner, by flying over a congested area at less than 2,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a radius of 2,000 feet, by disregarding established boundaries of the local flying area and proceeding to a point approximately 170 nautical miles outside of the prescribed flying area while operating on a local flight clearance.

In addition, the pilot failed to follow instructions for accomplishing scheduled crew training published by the squadron training directive and as briefed by the Squadron Operations Officer. The pilot had made two extremely low and high speed passes over the town of Huntingdon.”

After the crash and the years after, the story of the doomed flight began to be filled with rumors and inaccuracies. The biggest fallacy is Lt. Jenkins attempted to “take the flag off of the courthouse.” All the witnesses interviewed by Air Force investigators agreed that the aircraft did not make contact with any object before coming apart.

Another tale comes from a group of men claiming they pulled the bodies out of the airplane. The police chief witnessed the crash and was one of the first people on the scene. The accident report indicated “the bodies were thrown out of the airplane when the cockpit was demolished during the impact and subsequent tumbling.

The police chief said he and his fellow law enforcement officers covered them with parachutes and left them until military authorities in the form of local National Guard personnel, arrived to take custody of remains. With Air Force approval, the bodies were removed and taken to a local funeral home.

The most important part of the story will always remain a mystery and that is why did a capable military pilot blatantly disobey orders putting civilian lives in danger and ultimately leading not only to his death but the death of three crew members?

Some acquaintances said Lt. Jenkins was a daredevil but there were no reports in his file of such behavior. Some say he wanted to impress a girl at the high school. Others claim he was engaged to a girl who was supposed to be outside at the specific time. The only thing that might be concurred is that he was showing off, but that will always be left open for interpretation.