Aircraft Debris

On 8 March 1968, and after an exhaustive search had yielded no trace of the missing B-52 or her aircrew, the US Air Force officially closed the book on the disappearance and declared both “downed in an unknown location.”

Early that same morning, a beachcomber discovered a 1' wide by 2' long by 3" thick piece of B-52 debris near Corpus Christi, Texas and approximately 120 miles south of the most probable crash site. The following day, two more similar-size pieces of debris were discovered nearby.

Boeing, the B-52 manufacturer, immediately conducted an engineering analysis of all three pieces of debris and delivered the following findings to the Air Force investigation team:

  1. All three fragments were from a B-52 B, C, D, E or F model aircraft

  2. Boeing could not forensically tie them to the missing B-52

Note: Since there had never been a B-52 gone missing in the Gulf of Mexico, investigators correctly concluded the debris was from the missing B-52
  3. All three pieces of debris were from the wing-trailing edges nearest the fuselage

     - Thin honeycombed panels secured to the trailing edge of the main wing structure by rivets for the design purpose of aerodynamic streamlining 

   4. All three would have floated on the surface
  5. Panels had not been in the water very long (no evidence of saltwater corrosion or marine plant life)
  6. Scorch marks consistent with a quickly extinguished water-impact explosion-caused fire

     - Not consistent with the aircraft coming apart in the air from an explosion

   7. Aluminum tear patterns consistent with the aircraft contacting the water at a high rate of speed (greater than 400 knots) in an extreme nose-/left-wing down flight attitude

In the days that followed, several more pieces of B-52 debris were found near Corpus Christi and collected by the Air Force. Shortly thereafter, Air Force officials directed local authorities to dispose of any future debris discovered on the beaches surrounding Corpus Christi. 

In 1968, and then again in 2024, a scientific analysis was attempted to trace this debris backwards to a starting point in the Gulf of Mexico. Neither analysis produced a result that could help in pinpointing a potential crash site.

For those who’ve studied this mishap, the most-logical explanation as to why this debris was discovered so far from the most-likely crash site is as follows:

1. Debris separated from the airframe during the crash floated toward shore on the tidal currents and was then picked up by the strong alongshore current that runs counterclockwise in the Gulf during the winter months.
2. Debris was carried alongshore and south where, nine days later, it was pushed ashore by the strong prevailing upswell currents from the deeper Gulf water just offshore Corpus Christi.