This footage shows a Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft making a low pass over Fort Worth, Texas,
as the strategic bomber completes what is known as a "buzz job."
Recorded by Lt. Col. Frank F. Kleinwechter, Jr., the flight crew was reportedly showing
off for a firefighter convention visiting the nearby airbase.
Panicked residents flooded the Wing Headquarters with irate phone calls.
Many thought the plane had crashed. Others complained that the B-36 had
set fire to a telephone pole and had blown shingles off of their roofs.
One man even claimed that his TV antenna had gotten stuck sucked into a jet pod…
The B-36
The Peacemaker was a strategic bomber created by Convair, used exclusively by the United States
Air Force between 1949 and 1959. The aircraft would go on to become the largest mass-produced
piston engine plane in history. Featuring a notable wingspan of 230 feet, it was the first
American bomber capable of carrying nuclear arms without additional adaptations to its bomb bays.
With a range of 10,000 miles and the capacity for an
87,200-pound payload, the Peacemaker could carry out intercontinental missions without refueling.
It entered service in 1948 and soon became the primary nuclear weapons delivery aircraft for the
Strategic Air Command until its eventual replacement, the B-52 Stratofortress.
By the end of its production in August 1954,
the United States Air Force received over 380 of these planes.
However, it was never actually used in combat. In fact, the aircraft served as a significant
deterrent to nuclear war. It did, however, strike terror in the residents of Fort Worth.
The Plot
The incident was extensively covered by Dario Leone but initially reported
on by Lieutenant Colonel F. Kleinwechter on the 7th Wing B-36 Association Website.
According to the Lieutenant Colonel, the B-36 aircraft demonstrated how fast it achieved
liftoff. Occasionally, tests such as these were conducted with minimum fuel. In October 1954,
an aerial fireman convention in Fort Worth toured Carswell Air Force Base to log flying time.
Regulations stated they had to fly at least four times per month and
register at least 100 hours of flight per year. A flight crew, led by Thad Neal,
wanted to complete this requirement before going on a scheduled leave of absence.
Therefore, they hurriedly arranged a flight demonstration to claim their time.
Kleinwechter was contacted and asked if he'd stand by to film the event.
Although he assumed they would perform a low flyover,
he was not informed that it would be conducted at such a low altitude.
During set-up, he was informed that the team was instructed to carry out
a maximum performance takeoff and return to base in a low pass overall on minimum fuel.
Needless to say, every move had to be precise.
The “Buzz Job” Incident
The plane taxied south and prepared for takeoff. Full power was set.
The plane stuttered and skidded a bit once the brakes were released.
Yet soon enough it took off. The B-36 achieved an altitude of 4,000 feet, flying towards the
northern point of Eagle Mountain Lake and after prepared to return to base.
The crew conducted a shallow dive at full power, almost grazing the runway. Although unconfirmed,
Kleinwechter estimated their speed to be around 180 miles per hour, if not more.
He sat on the nose for ideal visibility and filming. Allegedly,
even operators on the ground ducked as the plane fast approached and almost smacked the concrete.
Next, they headed towards the town. According to Kleinwechter [QUOTE]
"Thad had originally planned on flying directly over his house. Between the Base and West Ridglea,
the ground rises maybe a hundred feet so. Thad could not get a true bead on his house
from the low altitude, so he flew down the road where Ridgmar Mall sits today.
Climbing over the small ridge, he soon spotted his house just a wee bit off to the left."
Instead, they crossed a ridge and decreased their altitude, approaching Mary's Creek.
Then, they overflew highway 377 at a very low altitude. They circled back.
On the front yard of her home, a woman waited to film the plane's approach when it zoomed so
low she dropped her camera. Lieutenant Colonel F.
Kleinwechter's wife was set to record from her back porch.
She successfully filmed their second pass by from about a block away as they flew down the hill.
Kleinwechter recalled flying by the highway, stating, [QUOTE]
"As we flew down the highway, I recall seeing cars stop and people head for the ditches.
Several years later, I was telling this story to some co-workers at General Dynamics,
and one man told me that he was one of those that had sought shelter in a ditch."
Aftermath
The remarkable flight in 1954 reportedly lasted six hours.
They returned to base and landed the aircraft, entirely unaware that their low-level flight
over urbanized Fort Worth would cause so many conflicts. One individual phoned in and demanded
repairs to his TV antenna, apparently lost to the passing plane. He claimed a jet pod yanked it from
his room, and the jet exhaust blew up a phone pole. Furthermore, several residents claimed
the plaster in their homes cracked or suddenly fell, sending in pictures as supporting evidence.
The outrage increased to the point that General Jack Ryan fined Thad Neal and his
team a whole 250 dollars, considerably lower than the actual cost of the alleged damage.
Privately, General Ryan commended the crew for their outstanding, albeit risky buzz job.