Mayday Over Wichita: The Worst Military Aviation Disaster in Kansas History

by D.W. Carter

On the cold Saturday morning of January 16, 1965, a U.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker carrying thirty-one thousand gallons of jet fuel crashed into a congested African American neighborhood in Wichita, Kansas. When the fire and destruction finally subsided, forty-seven people--mostly African American children--were dead or injured, homes were completely destroyed and numerous families were splintered. As shocking as it may sound, the event was seemingly omitted from the historical record for nearly fifty years. Now, historian D. W. Carter examines the myths and realities of the crash while providing new insights about the horrific four-minute flight that forever changed the history of Kansas.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Military Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2013

Reviews

[MKF · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book about the KC-135 that crashed into a neighborhood in Wichita. The author does a wonderful job recreating the day and the events that followed. Also it goes into depth to discuss race and segregation in Wichita. After discussing the crew of the K-135 at the beginning there is very little about them or their families in the rest of the book. Though there is a lot of detail there remains a lot of questions that the author does not answer. I am not sure if this was done on purpose or it's due to lack of information.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Air Crash information, then WAAAAYYY too much social-political commentary

I suspect there is more than enough information "out there" to allow a book to be focused on an actual airplane accident. This book, however, covers the accident in the first 1/3 of the pages, THEN the rest is followed by social dialog that is not the least bit relevant to the accident, or its cause or any possible changes to make air travel safer.

[Susan Rex · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who has grown up in the Wichita area, I had never heard of this crash. I struggled with the story as it spent a great deal of time detailing how the area of the crash became an area known as “the ghetto”. It spent a good deal of time detailing the crew members. It so not spent the same amount of time detailing victims or the actual event.
It jumped around from time period to time period which did not allow for a smooth read.

[Carol S. Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery unknown

This is a very good write up on what happened 16 Jan 1965.i have heard of the BTK in Wichita but never heard about this accident. Still to this day I think it is never mentioned. This shows what the families on Piatt street went through and the struggles they endure through history.

[Jean King · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of this aircraft accident set in the larger context of what was going on in our country and the world at the time. I really only wanted the story of the accident itself, not the social and political commentary.

[Angela Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for anyone living in Wichita to learn about this historical plane crash and tragedy.

[Tammy Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of the tragedy over Wichita 1/16/1965. Also looked at the impact on the residents of the neighborhood that was largely affected.

[jj Grilliette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sad. Memorial finally installed decades later.

[David Vinther · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a tragedy that I'd never heard anything about, and I've lived in the city it happened in for most of my life. On January 16, 1965, a KC-135 took off from McConnell AFB in Wichita, KS and four minutes later crashed in the middle of a neighborhood, killing all on-board and 23 people in their homes, taking whole families and many children with it. The book tells of the crash, the military people on-board, the poor African-American neighborhood it crashed into, the racial tensions rising in not only Wichita, butt the whole country at the time, and the horrible treatment they received from the air force and Boeing in the aftermath. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about a moment in history, albeit a tragic one.

[Bill Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first knew something horrible had happened that clear, cold January Saturday morning when I heard fire trucks and emergency equipment screeching bad roaring north on Oliver Street. Shortly thereafter, my mother drove to Douglas Avenue in front of East High to pay my newspaper route manager for the Eagles and Beacon subscriptions I delivered.

I could see the large plume of smoke from the KC-135 crash site a couple of miles directly north. For the next several days, I poured over the newspapers I delivered. At home, I raptly followed the television coverage.

D. W. Carter's slim volume is the best single narrative about the crash.

[Clyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. Reading this book helped to clear up a lot of things I was confused about concerning this tragedy and this book was done very well. I expect to read more of his work in the future.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! an impressive amount of research that is well-written without getting bogged down with flight terms. The author covered this "forgotten" tragedy from every angle: aeronautical, military, money, societal, etc. Excellent job!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The prose gets a little flowery at times. But an excellent account of a little-known tragedy. I've lived in Wichita most of my life and didn't hear of this crash until a few years ago.

[Alden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Explores the confluence of tragedy, altruism and racism that characterized the aftermath of the Piatt Street plane crash. Sobering stuff.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sad story, at times laughably written. When Carter puts away his nineteenth-century thesaurus, he still must contend with a lack of vision and organization.