;27 June 1954:KC-97G AF Ser. No.
52-2654 which departed from
Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, encountered poor weather at its destination,
March Air Force Base in California, and attempted to divert to
Norton Air Force Base, but crashed into
Box Springs Mountain north of
Riverside, California, killing all 14 people on board. ;4 May 1955:USAF KC-97G
53-0110 was flying in formation when it crashed into the Atlantic 90 mi off Iceland due to loss of control caused by an engine fire, killing all nine on board. ;6 July 1956:USAF KC-97E
51-0220 crashed in a wooded area 45 mile northeast of Goose Bay, Canada after reporting an engine fire, killing all six on board. ;22 January 1957:a KC-97G AF Ser. No.
53-0222 from
Griffiss Air Force Base, New York, crashed in the foothills of the
Adirondack Mountains, killing its crew of seven. ;9 May 1957:KC-97F AF Ser. No.
51-0258 en route from
Sidi Slimane Air Base, Morocco, to
Lajes AB, Azores, ditched in the Atlantic 550 km (343.8 mls) SE of the Azores Islands following a double engine failure. All seven crew survived. The airplane floated for ten days before being sunk by the battleship
USS Wisconsin. ;18 July 1957:KC-97G AF Ser. No.
52-2737 from the
380th Air Refueling Squadron with a crew of eight, exploded and crashed into
Lake Champlain at 2128 hrs., when two of the four engines failed three minutes after take-off from
Plattsburgh AFB, New York. There were three survivors. ;29 October 1957:KC-97G AF Ser. No.
52-2711 of the
509th Bomb Wing, ;22 July 1959:KC-97 AF Ser. No.
52-2703 of
Pease Air Force Base crashed near
Andover, New Hampshire, while on a nighttime training mission; all seven crewmen were killed. ;14 December 1959:KC-97G AF Ser. No.
53-0231 of the
384th Air Refueling Squadron, out of
Westover AFB, Massachusetts, collided with a B-52 during a refueling mission at an altitude of ~15,000 feet. The aircraft lost the whole left horizontal stabilizer and elevator, the rudder, and the upper quarter of the vertical stabilizer. The crew made a no-flap, electrical power off landing at night at
Dow AFB, Maine; seven crew okay. "Spokesmen at Dow Air Force, Bangor, said the B52 [sic] apparently 'crowded too close' and rammed a fuel boom into the tail of a four-engined KC95 [sic] tanker plane." Aircraft stricken as beyond economical repair. Two crew on the B-52 ejected, parachuted safely, and were recovered by helicopters in a snow-covered wilderness area. The bomber and remaining eight crew safely landed at Westover AFB. ;30 March 1960:KC-97 AF Ser. No.
51-0363 (Manufacturer's Serial Number 16430) ditched and sank off
Cape Canaveral. This particular aircraft was lost due to engine damage caused by hail. The crash resulted in 3 fatalities of the 14 crew. The wreck of the aircraft was discovered in June 2015, in 365 feet of water by divers. ;15 April 1960:KC-97G AF Ser. No.
52-0919 ;27 June 1960:KC-97G AF Ser. No.
52-2728 of the
380th Air Refueling Squadron,
Plattsburgh AFB, New York, suffered failure of lubrication on an engine impeller shaft during an evening four-hour training mission to refuel a Boeing B-47 Stratojet. During rendezvous at 15,500 feet, the tanker's number one (port outer) powerplant caught fire. As the bomber moved away from the burning tanker, the crew tried unsuccessfully to put out the blaze. The plane went into a spin as the wing failed outboard of the engine; the aircraft crashed on Jonathan Smith Mountain, a hill east of
Puzzle Mountain in
Newry, Maine. The flash of the fire was seen from as far away as
Lewiston and
Bridgton. All five crew were killed. Wreckage covering five acres was still there as of 2010. ;28 February 1961:KC-97 AF Ser. No. UNKNOWN of Selfridge Air Force Base, MI. Aircraft crashed shortly after take-off due to engine failure. All five crew members were killed. The aircraft struck houses and an ornamental windmill that was a landmark along Gratiot Rd. (M-25), just north of the base. The attached article incorrectly identifies Selfridge AFB as Selfridge ANGB. Selfridge was not transferred to the Air National Guard July 1971. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-boeing-kc-97-stratotanker-selfridge-afb-5-killed ; 10 December 1962: U.S. Air Force Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter (serial number 52-2685) experienced an in-flight fire, forcing the crew of ten to bail out over Watkins Glen, New York. The aircraft continued flying more than 600 miles before crashing in a remote area near Mistassini Lake, Quebec, Canada. One crew member was killed during the bail-out attempt when his parachute malfunctioned.https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/333185 ; 5 November 1964:KC-97 AF Ser. No.
unknown of Pease Air Force Base crashed on takeoff; all five crewmen were killed. ;19 December 1964: USAF KC-97G
52-907 ran off the runway at
Ernest Harmon AFB after the pilot landed too far down the runway, killing all five on board. The pilot attempted to abort the landing, but the aircraft struck approach lights and crashed into a pond. ;19 January 1969: Wisconsin Air National Guard KC-97L
52-0904 crashed short of the runway at General Mitchell Airport, killing four of 11 on board. ;17 September 1971:KC-97G IAF Serial
4X-FPR/033 of the Israeli Air Force, was shot down by Egyptian missiles over
Suez, Egypt; seven of eight-man crew were killed. ==Surviving aircraft==