1948 Georgia USAF Boeing B-29 crash

A $225,000 summary judgment against the government and for the contractor's widows was directed when the government claimed the accident report, as well as documents with surviving crewmember statements, could not be furnished "without seriously hampering national security". However, the Supreme Court overturned the judgment under state secrets privilege. Nevertheless, the Air Force agreed to pay an out-of-court settlement of $170,000. Decades later the declassified accident report indicated the cause to have been a fire and drop in manifold pressure in the number 1 engine, as well as an inadvertent feathering of the number 4 engine, which was not successfully unfeathered prior to the crash. The report indicated the cause of the fire in engine 1 could not be positively determined, but was likely to have been the result of breaks in the right exhaust collector ring. The report further stated that "the fire may have been aggravated by non-compliance with Technical Orders 01-20EJ-117 and 01-20EJ-178." It concluded that the aircraft was "not considered safe for flight" due to non-compliance with these orders. A consequent lawsuit to reopen the case ==See also==