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Monday, February 4, 1957 |
Jet Explodes - Rains Destruction |
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Aerial view shows route of ill-fated Air Force jet plane which crashed in the heart of the city only a few minutes away from its Moffett Field destination. The pilot was on a course about parallel with Castro street. Suddenly and without warning the plane exploded in the vicinity of California street, scattering its wreckage for blocks with the heaviest damage at California and Oak streets. Merely a few seconds difference in time, of yards in the route, could have sent the aircraft into the Mountain View High school, the Dana street school, or the Mountain View Academy. Small parts of the disintegrated plane were found as far as six blocks from the point of explosion. Eye witness versions of the plane's course vary to some degree, but it seems fairly well established that just prior to the explosion it was in line with the city's main artery. Aviators at Moffett Field estimate that the plane's speed at the time of the explosion had been reduced to around 200 miles. It is accepted that if the plane had not burnt, and landed out of control, the results may have been much more disastrous. Various estimates put the plane at about 2,000 feet above ground when the explosion occurred. Its suddenness apparently afforded the pilot no chance to use his ejector. The torso of his body was found on Bryant street, near Franklin. |
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Monday, February 4, 1957 |
SV Officials Invited to Attend Meet - Gubser Plans Meet in Wake of MV's Jet Fighter Crash |
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Sunnyvale and Mountain View elected officials are due to be called to Washington for conferences on a solution to the jet traffic problem in the wake of Friday's crash of an Air Force jet fighter in the heart of Mountain View. Representative Charles S. Gubser revealed in Washington today that he has completed arrangements with the Navy Department to frame a conference to include the Chief of Naval Operations and representatives of the two cities which lie under the traffic pattern. |
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Monday, February 4, 1957 |
An Editorial - Death From the Sky |
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The crash Friday afternoon of the Air Force jet in Mountain View underscores in blazing terror the contention that Sunnyvale and the surrounding areas face a real threat in jet operations at Moffett Field. It is to the Navy's credit that their careful flight programs have not resulted in the death of civilians beneath the heavily traveled flight pattern. It is little less than a miracle that Mountain View escaped without a greater tragedy than the pilot's death. Capt. A. S. Hill's statement today that Moffett Field must remain as a jet base for some time to come is undoubtedly valid as far as the Navy is concerned. But there is room for a re-assessment by the Navy Department of the speed in which the transfer of training units can be effected and the future use of the field by jet patrol and transport aircraft. Mountain View's near wholesale tragedy, coupled with Thursday's school yard crash in Pacomia, testify to the validity of the charge that heavy flight programs and high population densities cannot be reconciled. The jet age necessarily will bring hazards which cannot be avoided under our national defense and civilian aircraft programs. But every effort must be made to minimize the ever present danger to the communities which bear the brunt of Moffett air traffic. The Standard trusts that Representative Charles S. Gubser's arrangements for a conference between top Naval officials and Sunnyvale and Mountain View officials will prove fruitful. |
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Monday, February 4, 1957 |
The Second Guess - Planes, People Don't Mix - By Frank Brown |
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The tragedy of the plane crashes in Mountain View Friday and in Pacomia Thursday underscore dramatically what could well happen here. Although the Navy has been diligent about its safety precautions, it is plainly a case of airfields and high population not mixing. It's a tribute to the Navy's skill that what happened to an Air Force plane in Mountain View hasn't happened in Sunnyvale which has more area under the flight pattern. No matter how great the skill, or how many clearance programs, our luck will certainly run out one day. The last real scare, the time a jet bounced off the roof of the Pacific Can Co., and pancaked into a crash landing adjacent to the Hawthorne Park tract, was an example of how luck has been riding with us and the Navy. If the jet had been five feet lower or 100 yards to the west, at least one, and perhaps scores of persons, would have died. Although we have been assured that the new field in Lemoore will take the brunt of jet training units, we question the wisdom of future plans for using the field for jet patrol planes and transports. In this day of vast speeds, the central location of an airfield is a minor point of the larger picture. It seems only that the Navy Department re-assesses its plans for Moffett Field which can only become more and more boxed in by vulnerable civilian populations. |
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Thursday, February 7, 1957 |
Capt. Hill Says Jets, "Defense Sword Edge" |
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"The jet aircraft is the cutting edge of the sword of defense" Capt. Arthur S. Hill, Moffett Field's commanding officer told members of Sunnyvale's Masonic Lodge No. 511 last night... "When the men in the Kremlin decide the time is ripe they will pull the string; then the planes that annoy and frighten you today will be your shield in war," Capt. Hill told his listeners. "Where do you want these planes? Here, or in the desert?" He asked. "Nine out of ten of the civilians I've talked to since the crash in Mountain View last Friday have told me they don't want the jets to leave Moffett Field," Capt. Hill pointed out. |
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Thursday, February 7, 1957 |
Gubser Asks Change from Mare Island - Transfer Could Mean Doubling Of Complement |
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Transfer of Twelfth Naval District headquarters to Moffett Field from Treasure Island will be proposed today to the Navy Department by Congressman Charles S. Gubser... Rep. Gubser said "Since it well established that fleet jet training will be diverted to Lemoore within the next five years, and the Navy is looking around for new sites - which are bound to cost considerable money - it would seem to me that Moffett Field might be the ideal location - and a much less cost to the government." ... Gubser's request that the Navy consider Moffett Field as a new location for the district headquarters follows closely on his request for a speedup in the transfer of jets out of the densely populated Santa Clara Valley. The speedup proposal was given added impetus last Friday when an Air Force Thunderjet crashed into a house in the heart of Mountain View, within three blocks of three schools and the downtown business district. ... |
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Monday, February 11, 1957 |
Funds Withheld - Conflict Over Use of Navy Base Delays Land Purchase |
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Officials at the 12th Naval District said today that "conflicting pressures" concerning the future uses for Moffett Field caused the Navy to suspend plans for the immediate purchase of land under the Moffett flight pattern. ... Presently, Springmeyer said about 15 of the 60 property owners have agreed to the Navy's price tag placed on their property. "Go ahead and plant your crops. If the money becomes available, we'll let you harvest the crops before we buy the land" the real estate chief told the owners Friday night. ... |
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Wednesday, February 13, 1957 |
Operations Chief Curbs Flying Over Crowded Districts |
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Washington. Adm. Arleigh A. Burke chief of US Naval operations Tuesday ordered "Navy planes to avoid all unnecessary flying over cities following two California jet crashes over heavily populated areas. ... |
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Wednesday, February 13, 1957 |
Flight Pattern Switch - Hunter Hits More Planes Above City - Change Was Tried Without Success, Manager Claims |
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Moffett Field is studying the merits of changing the flight pattern to throw a greater number of aircraft over Sunnyvale's northside instead of Mountain View, it was confirmed today by Capt. Arthur S. Hill, USN, commanding officer. The statement brought an immediate reaction from city officials in Sunnyvale. "We are opposed to it!" City Manager H. K. Hunter said, "All the planning in the area has been predicated on the traditional pattern." |
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Thursday, February 14, 1957 |
Moffett Head Infers Reds Behind Anti-Jet Action |
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A new and surprise issue was interjected into the Moffett Field jet situation yesterday when Capt. Arthur S. Hill, USN, made the unsubstantiated charge that Communists may be behind the move to relocate the training planes. The commanding officer of the Navy field made his remarks in a speech before the Mountain View Kiwanis Club. The captain charged that those clamoring to have the jets moved elsewhere probably fell into one of four categories:
The move to get the jets out "would fall into a typical Communist tactic to try to weaken our national security." Captain Hill told the Kiwanians. |
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Thursday, February 14, 1957 |
An Editorial - Hill's Reckless Charges |
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Thursday, February 14, 1957 |
Gubser Declares Jet Needs; Slates SV Meeting Friday |
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Friday, February 15, 1957 |
Officials Ask Speedup on Moving Jets - To Question Navy Secretary to See if Plan Feasible |
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Congressman Charles S. Gubser and local officials from Sunnyvale and Mountain View unanimously agreed today to seek a speedup in the movement of the Moffett jet fighters from the field. |
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Friday, February 15, 1957 |
Capt. Hill's Charges Are Not Official |
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Capt. Arthur S. Hill's statement on those seeking a speedup of the removal of jets from Moffett Field, in which he said they may be Communists or "faint hearts" do not indicate the official Navy position on the matter, the Chief of Public Information said in Washington today. ... |
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Wednesday, February 20, 1957 |
Navy Eyes Moffett as Base For Blimp Radar Operation |
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The return of lighter than air aircraft to Moffett Field was seen as probable today on a report that the Navy plans to establish a six blimp radar picket squadron on the West Coast. A choice will be made between Moffett Field and Tillamook, Ore., Navy sources reported. ... |
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Tuesday, March 5, 1957 |
Speedup on Navy Jet Move - Moffett Jets Slated for Move in 1960 - One Year Sliced From Lemoore Building Schedule |
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Completion of Lemoore Naval Air Station by 1960, one year ahead of its earlier schedule, and transfer of carrier air groups from Moffett Field to Lemoore as soon as facilities are available, are now planned by the Navy, Congressman Charles S. Gubser informed the Sunnyvale Standard today. This was seen as the final concrete achievement of the local campaign to speed the transfer of the jets from Moffett Field. The drive has received added impetus from a crash in the heart of Mountain View, and from three other crashes in the past month. ... |
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Friday, March 8, 1957 |
Navy Land Purchase Is Assured |
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Congressman Charles S. Gubser (R-Gilroy) announced last night that he had "reason to believe" the U.S. Navy will continue to press for purchase of the 500 acres of land at the southern end of the Moffett Field runways. ... The Navy was seeking the land lying between Bayshore Highway, Mathilda ave., California ave. and Mary ave. for a clearance program under critical portions of the jet pattern. ... |
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Friday, December 11, 1959 |
Pilots Escape Moffett Crash - Miss Strip In Fog - By Hugh Scott |
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Two Navy pilots miraculously escaped serious injury early this morning when their T2V trainer jet smashed into a familiar "Wheels" sign at fog shrouded Moffett Field, then belly flopped between the two runways. Lts. David R. Hendrich and Stephen D. Ratcliff were able to walk away from the smashup, only one suffering a slight burn on the hand. Both the craft and sign were totally destroyed. Crash occurred at 2:13 a.m. While the jet was attempting an instrument landing. The plane veered slightly off course and rammed the 13-foot sign, located approximately 300 yards from Bayshore Highway. ... |
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Friday, December 18, 1959 |
Gubser Hits Moffett Rumor; No Money Loss, No Closing - 'No Politics In Jet Move' |
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Reports that Moffett Field would close were branded mere "speculation and rumor" this morning by Congressman Charles S. Gubser (R-Gilroy). The Congressman termed "utterly ridiculous" statements that political pressure from the County Board of Supervisors had led to a Navy decision to transfer jet training facilities to Lemoore Air Station near Fresno. Suggestions that transfer of some operations from Moffett would result in drastic economic harm in the area were likewise ridiculed by Gubser in his press conference in San Jose. ... Even if the Navy should change its policy, the economic value of Moffett land as industrial acreage would likely be just as great, Gubser said. ... |
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