NH HISTORY

The disastrous crash of an FB-111A into an apartment complex in Portsmouth, NH has rarely been discussed and almost never seen. These images, taken in January 1981, surfaced during our research into the story and the anonymous photographer has given SeacaostNH.com permission to post them.

Exclusive Images of FB-111A Accident

READ: The Day the Bomber Crashed 

This historic group of Polaroid images has never been published. They show damage to Mariner’s Village caused by the crash of an FB-111A that sprayed flaming jet fuel onto the housing complex at 2:55 pm on January 30, 1981. Researcher Jack Goterch rediscovered the pictures and obtained exclusive use of them on SeacoastNH.com.

Pictures show the dramatic damage to a few apartment buildings in the low-rent Mariner’s Village (formerly Seacoast Village). They also show the crew capsule that was released about 10 seconds before the crash and landed about 1,750 away by parachute. The capsule was then quickly picked up by US Air Force officials from nearby Pease Air Force Base, now closed. One image shows the deflated air bags designed for a water landing that were damaged in the landing and did not fully deploy. No one was seriously hurt and there were no fatalities in the crash and the accident was blamed on pilot error. The photos, loaned by an anonymous source, are provided as a public service of SeacoastNH.com. – JDR

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