Loring AFB,  Maine – May 9, 1962

     In the early morning hours of May 9, 1962, a U. S. Air Force KC-135A jet tanker, (Ser. No. 56-1546), with six men aboard, crashed on takeoff  from Loring Air Force Base.  The plane came down in a wooded area about 1,500 feet north of the end of the runway scattering wreckage for over 300 yards and setting fire to the woods.  There were no survivors. 

     The dead were identified as:

     Pilot: Captain Robert M. Predmesky, 31, of Detroit, Michigan. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/171238406/robert-michael-predmesky

     Co-pilot: Captain James S. Tewart, 30, of Hamilton, Ohio. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147274990/james-steven-tewart 

     Navigator: Captain Ronald L. Cantrell, 29, of Kewanee, Ill. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49163435/ronald-lee-cantrell

     Boom Operator: Staff Sergeant Wallace R. Adams, 27, of Benson, North Carolina. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106299231/wallace-ray-adams

     Crew Chief: Master Sergeant George T. Edmiston, 33, of Golden Bridge, New York. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122912248/george-t-edmiston

     Crew Chief: Tec. Sergeant Raymond J. Brugioni, 43, of Granger, Iowa. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14729988/raymond-joseph-brugioni

     Normally there would have been only four crewmen aboard the airplane, but T/Sgt. Brugioni and M/Sgt. Edmiston were aboard this flight to fulfill requirements qualifying them to participate in tactical aerial flights.  

     The aircraft was attached to the 42nd Air Refueling Squadron at Loring AFB.  

     Source:

     The Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), Jet Tanker Plane Crashes, Killing 6″, May 9, 1962, pg. B-6