The burning houses on North Piatt in Wichita, Kan., after a KC-135 tanker crashed on Jan. 16, 1965. (Photo Courtesy of D.W. Carter)
Nearly 50 years ago, a huge military airplane fell from the sky and crashed into a poor, mostly black neighborhood in Wichita. The KC 135 refueling tanker was fully-loaded with jet fuel. It took near 12 hours to put out the flames... 30 people were killed.
It was the worst military aviation disaster in state history. But - unless you grew up in the Wichita area - you may have never heard about it. No book had ever been written about this tragedy... until now.
Topeka author and historian David Carter served in the Air Force and was once stationed in Wichita. His book, "Mayday Over Wichita" has just been published. Carter will be talking about his book at the University of Kansas this (THUR) evening. We spoke to him in January to learn more about this largely untold story.
D.W. CarterThat's Topeka writer David Carter, a military historian and author of the new book "Mayday Over Wichita." Carter will present a book talk and signing in Lawrence tonight (THUR). The presentation begins at 5 p.m. at the KU Bookstore in the Kansas Union.
(This is an edited version of an interview that originally aired in January of this year.) |