U-2 Crash of 17 September 1956 – Assorted Sources

Who was Howard Carey?

There were supposed to be seven qualified U-2 pilots in the initial group employed and trained by the CIA. One of the seven, Charles Kapuscak, was eliminated from the training program because of sinus problems. The physical exam was performed at the Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque, NM. As a result, only six pilots were available for initial deployment with Detachment "A" in May 1956.

Det "B" eventually deployed to Incirlik with eight pilots in early September 1956. A ninth pilot who had trained with them, Howard Carey, was sent to Det "A" to take up the position which had been vacant since May 1956. Another little known fact about Carey is that he had purchased a new Mercedes "Gullwing" automobile shortly after his arrival. We have been advised that there were only 311 of these units manufactured in 1956 and that the vehicle had less than 50 miles of use at the time of Carey's death.

Howard Carey departed Wiesbaden on a U-2 training flight on 17 September 1956. The aircraft disintegrated during the climbout, crashed, and killed the pilot.

Details pertaining to this incident have remained clouded in mystery for a number of years. CIA files, released in 1998, have conveniently "blacked out" all pertinent detail. We have been fortunate to obtain articles from the Kaiserslautern newspaper "Die Rheinpfalz" - one dated 18 September 1956 (the day after the crash) and a follow-up article from the same newspaper dated 8 March 2005. While some detail is provided - I am left wondering exactly how much was "fact" and how much was a "cover story" provided by American sources. We have also obtained a letter from a German eye witness to the crash, who in turn has provided us with maps that pin-point the exact location of the crash site along with a copy of an official report from the Rockenhausen Fire Brigade - who were the first on the scene after the crash.

So there you have it - we know where the U-2 crashed and we know when the U-2 crashed. As to the actual cause of the crash, Chris Pocock sums it up quite well in mentioning that there are three possible theories. In this regard, we will probably never obtain a definitive answer. Marty Knudson, another U-2 pilot with Det "A" offers his personal thoughts about the incident.

Communication with Marty Knudson: Original U-2 Pilot with Detachment A at Wiesbaden - 30 April 2005

A unique feature of the flight control system was the "gust control". This device made it possible to simultaneously shift both ailerons and wing flaps to an up position. This was called the "Gust" position. Ailerons were shifted 10 degrees and flaps were shifted 4 degrees. This had the dual purpose of reducing both wing and tail structural loads.

The "gust control" was used to shift the surfaces up when flying in turbulent air or when flying at higher speeds in smooth air. The system was electrically actuated by a switch in the cockpit. Normally the gust position was used from just after takeoff until 55,000 feet altitude on the climb-out and again on decent. It was not used at higher altitude due to about a 1.5% loss in range.

It should be noted that the use of downward flaps was HAZARDOUS above 45,000 feet. With reference the flight of Howard Carey on 17 September 1956, I believe the flaps went full down when the pilot returned from gust position to faired position during climb-out at about 55,000 feet due to a electrical malfuntion. This was caused by water (due to condensation) in the relevant relay control box. The fix was a suitably sized drain hole in the bottom of the box.

Communication with Carl Overstreet: Original U-2 Pilot with Detachment A at Wiesbaden - 8 May 2005

It was very likely that Carey's flight on 17 September 1956 was his first flight as a pilot with Det A - although I do not have any personal knowledge of this. My impression was that this was only a training flight, not an operational flight. I was on the ramp at Wiesbaden and personally witnessed the "billow" of fuel when Carey's aircraft began to come apart. My personal impression is that the aircraft was 10 or 15 miles southwest of Wiesbaden and I was unable to see the aircraft itself. Only the cloud of fuel was visable. There did not appear to be an explosion or flame.