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>> on topeka we spoke with us or indeed w. carter about his book may be over wichita which details the worst military aviation disaster in kansas history. >> the house was shaking and i looked out the window and my sisters and brothers -- i couldn't get here fast enough. i couldn't realize all this going on. i started going up and down the street until i got here. >> the plane crash occurred and jane are 16, 1965 and encouraged early that morning around

9:30 a.m. they went down on pine street in wichita, the northeast end of wichita. it crash landed there is typically referred to as the african-american community. 97% were living in this section of wichita so it goes down at about 20 of 10 highest-rated we are talking a 500 foot-high fireball "-end-quotes the entire block. 14 homes immediately destroyed. buyers everywhere, distractions everywhere and ultimately 30 lives are lost is a tragedy. i found anything in the historical record that says this is why the story did not get the attention it deserved. what i did find if there is a lot going on in 1965. i addressed specifically three words occurring. the war in vietnam and a massive amount of our troops are heading to vietnam under them. we had to work poverty declared

on poverty declared him an a and and of course the war in equality. consuming the headlines for 1965 but seemingly the entire decade. thomas payne broke during the american revolution may say that the 1960s because these were turbulent times. everything that was happening, racism is ubiquitous across the nation. this crash and another thought did not get the attention it deserved because it happens in quote, unquote multimedia save wichita kansas. i've never been to kansas before, had no idea what the history of kansas was. that was about it. you can imagine sitting there taking and surrounding and listening to the instructors that were there. did the first-term airmen venture. i am hearing about all of these

things have happened and there's a short blurb about this is where the words disaster in kansas history occurred. i said it used and asked a question and did get the answers i wanted and i went to the library after that i didn't get the answers i wanted them. i found no substantial history there. 30 lives are taken, no memorial and this has been remained the worst non-national disaster in the state's history and there is not more on it. that's darted my initial intrigue with iraq and various other things in the air force had enough time to dive in to it more. i became a police officer and i was stationed right there in that community record 20th in time. so i got to know these people over the years have got to understand hers, tragedies, misunderstandings and that's repairing down the street wichita state university, the archives and that essentially begins a story for me to learn about it.

>> this is an amazing story from sandpoint and the seven men on that thing who were never supposed to be in wichita. at the last minute ticket orders a week prior to partake in this unique refueling commission. it is called ironically occupation number. they write data tuesday, january january 12 and from that time they are not able to take off due to weather. the terrible weather in kansas at the time and finally captain smart, the leader, the commander asked for it had never been done before but they said we just want to get back home. they were stationed at clayton chairman air force base and they said we want to get home. so go ahead. you have approval to do this mission. it is a unique refueling mission casey 135 is supposed to hook up with the b-52 bomber for the air

force. once they hope that they were just going to refill the bomber and head back to clayton chairman air force base in oklahoma. the problem arises generous 16.warning about 11 degrees outside. the men arrived well before 8:00 a.m. they prepped for jack, get ready to go and 9:27 a.m. they depart. they leave the runway but 31,000 gallons of jet fuel and about 30 minutes into the fighter pilot calls mayday, mayday, mayday and they are never heard from again. that is essentially where the story begins on a january 16th morning with seven men who are essentially fighting for their lives in this plan that is now over wichita and overcrowded neighborhood. these are well conditioned and as far as the air force. the commander of 10 years in the air force so well seasoned pilot and that is one of the things that help with looking up rumors that came about is actually checking the service for

captains back and relive looking at how seasons they were. they were excellent pilots. sometimes still doesn't matter. they only had a matter of seconds, a matter of minutes to respond and it was impossible. when i first arrived and started talking to people about the strategy, and admit they cannot immediately that it crash to kill african-americans. you can understand how that can be stimulated over the years and how that can come about. it was simply untrue and that is one of the rumors that came about because a lot of the african-americans in wichita, 97% were living in the scrambled section. the rumor was the plane crashed on purpose and it crash to kill kill african-americans and that was exacerbated by people who came into the community right after the tragedy. there is a complaint that went

about the ones that investigators were done, once the police with true from the community, there was no one there to protect the big guns in the sense people would, souvenir hunters everywhere and people who are spreading rumors in same day near the pilot and why it occurred. so that caused it tends to be acceptance of the rumors began to stir. while a crash because there is a parachute stuck in the engine. will crash because the pilots were inebriated. all these things that came about her terrible. terrible when you understand the event and the true facts and also at the families are going through a two-year these types of things come about. again, that is what happens when there's no limit to clear up misconceptions, to look at the actual record and produce a substantial history and that is something i didn't find in that prompted me to do something

about it. the air force of course that our pilots didn't do anything wrong. they were performing a routine training operation which was a refueling operation if they were right in that sense. they didn't do anything wrong. the federal government had a difficult time responding to this event and i say that in a sense there is a federal torts claim act that limited the amount of compensation victims could receive. there is a $5000 cap. we talk about 23 victims on the ground, but it's not a lot that can be issued out. federal government had to deal with that. air force set up reparations payments or thousand dollars of these payments. they had a command post at 21st to minnesota. this is for anyone to sign paperwork and get some type of reprieve, some type of payment for their immediate concerns. but as they do this, they find not very many people want to

come and sign any paperwork. they don't want to receive the thousand dollars and they didn't understand why. they recruit jim garman, one of the only african-americans recruit to help out with the community and they understand this mistrust. they mistrust. the air force had a tough time assisting people because they're such mistrust. the federal government has a tough time because there's cap someplace. it takes one man who went to law school here in topeka and it helps to lift a $5000 in a different place. by that time, most victims had sought litigation through their own attorneys, justice lewis been one of them and they looked at ways they could receive compensation outside of the mr. clean process they had in place. it was a terrible process, didn't help the victims have not added to the tragedy because in the end, they only received a few thousand dollars for the loss of a loved one.

the last payment was around $400. for a glass of an adult $700. we are not talking great amounts issued out. in many cases loss of property or property damage paid more than loss of a loved one. monetary prompted nation can never equate to the loss of life. we know that. in this case it created a bitterness because they did not feel they received restitution. in many cases and this is the same i found across the board. want to be janine wood says. her husband was a copilot. she gets a knock on the door after she gets a knock on the door she realizes it the air force at the chaplain and she gets the heartbreaking news that her husband has now perish. she's given a thousand dollars by the colonel who was there. he hinted that an as this is for your current affairs. please get this in order but done in ink about suing.

that's one of the last thing as he departs her home. other than that she doesn't receive anything from the air force aside from an estate from her husband. some on the other side will look at someone like irene huber. she lost her husband on the plane. and this tragedy she remembered specifically in this is something i put in the book. she still has today stay a telegram saying sorry for your loss. danny was killed on the plane and that is the last they heard. really they found me. i found it still didn't know why the plane crashed. they still have no idea about no idea of love that the misconceptions in place. but they didn't receive any compensation. we know the victims didn't receive any competent nation. you can see how this continue to fester over the years and puts

an open wound in the community. i've never written a book before. i started out with what was going to be an article about it and i got phone calls across the country from people who live in arizona, lived in phoenix in d.c. and boston and other areas who said i had someone who perished during a someone at the time or is there at the time and i want to tell you my story. what initially started his boat was going to be an article turned into a book because of all the stories that begin to pour in. one of the challenges we have is getting the primary source material. if it's not in the record, how do you create the story? i was fortunate that the community and the united states, the folks who live the folks to lift her at her country contacted me, it gave me their stories and after a couple years the air force gave me the accident report after for your request. this is a heavily redacted

report finally given to me and this mistrust their. what i wanted to do with reporting sharon i wanted the truth to be out. this and they still know why it crash. as a technical term in the aviation community called and scheduled brighter reflection. on a plane takes off and has unscheduled brighter reflection, the largest control of surface on the plane either mostly or less. it turns the nose of the plane. in this case there was a malfunction and the the combination of that with the autopilot while functioning joined the router in one direction and the plane turns upside down and heads into a nosedive. they were fortunate enough to recover all the engines and they were also fortunate to recover the crumpled hill section that could test and they would be able to determine that this is why the plane crash occurred.

the autopilot while functioning in combination with the router caused this to happen. in the report i was able to find that this was top about in the days prior to the crash between the pilot and between the other pilot on the b-52 who sat i see that your brother is squarely. it's moving back and forth. so they are communicating. it is. when you read the report because you know that ultimately led to the accident occurring. it's tough to answer for 1965 and i don't know why the families did not get copies of the accident report. i make copies of the report and sent it to all the families to say these are the findings in with the air force found. there is one good reason for the reduction and that is you don't want the personal information of the crewmen to be out there and there's a lot of personal information in the report. the other thing is the kc 135 is

still flying today in certain things they will not release to the public in terms of the airplane and key secrets about its functionality or maybe they didn't want the public to know at the time. other than that i don't have an answer for why the community at large and specifically why the families didn't get a personal report because i know some of them took the four year request for me to get a copy of it ever so glad i got a copy because now the families can say definitively this is what happened on the plane and we can put that to rest. >> this is a great quote from ju determined. she says her into telling the truth about terrible tragedies are prerequisite both for the healing of individuals that dems. we need to talk about these things but also the restoration of the social order and a lot of times we miss that for things to gok