SYRACUSE, N.Y., SATURDAY EVENING, NOV. 26. 1955

LT. JOHN J. KESEL FLYING IN GUARD DEFENSE MISSION

A LeMoyne College student flying his Air National Guard fighter jet plane in an air defense mission, was killed today when has aircraft crashed in Onondaga Lake. Dead was Lt. John J. Kesel, 25, of 532 E. Genesee St., Fayetteville, a member of the 138th Fighter Squadron at Hancock Field. The Victim was participating in the air mission with Capt. John F. P. Etherington, 34, of 346 Garfield Ave., who was piloting a second et fighter. Etherington landed safely at Hancock Field.

RUN INTO SNOW SQUALL

Lt. Col. James Erwin, Commanding officer of the squadron, said the pilots ran into a snow squall in an area sough of Baldwinsville. Capt. Etherington, who had flown a dozen or more missions with Lt. Kesel, said the young airman's plane went into a turn and dropped his nose at about 1,000 feet. Lt. Kesel never recovered, his plying companion said. "I talked to him (Kesel) just before he started his turn," said Capt. Etherington, "and he reported no difficulty. About 20 seconds later, the captain reported Kesel's plane struck the water. It sank almost immediately to a depth of about 60 to 80 feet.

Air National Guard officials reported the crash occurred about 9:40 a.m. Less than an hour later dragging operations were underway to recover the body and the plane. Fire Chief Francis Ferren was directing rescue operations of the Syracuse Fire Department. Several boats had been launched. Phoenix firemen were also assisting in the dragging.

DIVER SENT TO SCENE

The U.S. Naval Reserve Training Center at Liverpool sent a diver to the scene. State police and deputy sheriffs recovered a portion of the pilot's seat, a rubber raft and a section of the tip tank. There were no apparent eyewitnesses to the crash, but nearby liverpool residents sped to the north bank of the lake after reporting they heard an explosion. Investigators said the plane apparently exploded as it struck the water. Capt. Etherington said the two took off from Hancock Field about 8:30 a.m. in what he described as "just another routine mission."

HEADED FOR WATER

"I was flying of Kesel's wing in the mission formation," explained Etherington. "We were returning from a training operation over Rome (Griffiss Air Force Base) when we ran into a snowstorm over Onondaga Lake," he said. "I thing he became confused," explained Etherington, "when we hit the snowstorm. "Just before he started to turn he reported no difficulty. "As I was keeping in formation, I did not realize we were dropping so fast.

MATTER OF SECONDS

"The visibility was very low and it was only a matter of 20 to 25 seconds after making his turn that it crashed." Lt. Kesel is survived by his mother, Mrs. Colin Armstrong; two brothers, Thomas and William Kesel. His grandfather, John J. Kesel, was once Syracuse postmaster.

SYRACUSE, N.Y., SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1955

AIRMAN'S JET PLUNGES INTO ONONDAGA LAKE

VERTIGO SEEN CAUSE IN YOUNG FLIERS DEATH

Diving and dragging operations to recover the body of 2nd Lt. John J Kesel, 23, of Fayetteville and the wreckage of his jet plane of the 138th Fighter Squadron of the New York National Guard from Onondaga Lake will resume at 8:00 a.m. today.

A buoy last night marked the spot where the plane is believed wedged in mud in the bottom of the lake in about 60 feet of water. The area is almost the middle of the lake, toward the north end. Bubbles, apparently from an oxygen tank,and raising of a wing tank by a Navy LCPR grappling line located the plane after hours of dragging. A diver, T/Sgt. James Altof, 480 Butternut St. a member of the 138th Fighter Squadron, reported the plane in about 10 feet of mud. He sank into a depth of five feet in his search.

DIVER ON LEAVE

He went down from a State DPW barge, assisted by Gregory Charles, a Navy diver home in Syracuse on leave. The jet plummeted into the freezing waters about 9:45 a.m. yesterday as the pilot was momentarily a victim of vertigo, which causes loss of orientation, preliminary reports of the crash indicated. Parts of the pilot's clothing and helmet indicate that the force with which the plane struck the water shattered it and killed him instantly, investigators said.

Lt. Kesel took off from Hancock Field headquarters of the squadron alone in his jet about 9 a.m. yesterday on an air defense mission. A second jet accompanied him. It was piloted by Capt. John Etherington of Syracuse and carried Capt. Larry E. Sander as radar observer.

FINISHED MISSION

Capt. Sander said the two aircraft had completed their mission and were on their way back to base. "A snow squall," he said, "had reduced visibility to nothing and we were on instruments. We had lost 1,300 feet. As Lt. Kesel's plane was just about to hit I noticed the water and called 'Pull it up Jack! He did and we missed the water by about five feet."

Capt. Sanders explained that, when flying formation at near wingtips, the pilot of the second plane is watching the first, depending on it to lead the way, and is apt not to be on the lookout for obstacles or even to notice quickly a drop in elevation. The plane is believed to have struck the lake at about 375 miles an hour, the force of the impact being heard in Liverpool.

THOUGHT NOISE A BOMB

A fireman said a man ran out of a house in Liverpool, believing Sander's plane had dropped a bomb in the lake. Officials pointed out, however, the noise was caused by the plane striking the water, and were of the opinion it did not explode, as there were no witnesses to a geyser of water which such a blast would have caused.

Among the first rescue units at the scene were Phoenix Enterprise Fire Co. 1, with row boats and grappling hooks; the Phoenix emergency wagon, the Liverpool Fire Department emergency wagon and five Syracuse firemen under District Chief Charles J. Weber. The cruiser of Ned Olnik was at the dock at the Onondaga Yacht Club and the boat, El Tempero III, put out for the area where the plane crashed and picked up a wing tip, seat cushion, the hood over the pilot's seat, part of his helmet, life belt and other plane fragments.

ORDERS VESSEL READIED

Engineman Second Class Eldridge Decker was on watch at the U.S. Naval Training Center, Onondaga Lake boulevard, and he notified Lt. Comdr. John A. Morton, commanding officer, who ordered the unit's LCPR, up for the winter, made ready for use. The LCPR, with Decker at the wheel, put out for the area where the plane landed. The yacht also returned, and numerous small boats, manned mostly by volunteer firemen from Liverpool and Phoenix, joined the search.

Dragging operations were carried on for several hours. The plane's log, torn pieces of the pilot's jacket and other small articles were fished from the lake's surface. Floating in the area of the crash were hundreds of pieces of torn up plywood and kapok, indicating disintegration of the plane was widespread on impact with the water.

HEARD RADIO REPORT

Colvin Armstrong Jr., of Skaneateles, stepbrother of Lt. Kesel, who heard the report of the jet crash on television, raced to the lake and boarded the Navy ship to join in the search. He said Lt. Kesel must have gone on duty yesterday in place of another flier, as he would not have flown under his normal schedule. Syracuse Fire Chief Francis Ferren and Firemen Irving West, Fred Benz, Andrew Whipple, James McSweeney and Anthony Crupi were aboard the LCPR. Jack Killian, EM, U.S. Navy, and Liverpool Firemen Claude Rumsey and Jack Jackson manned the drag lines. Chief Gunner's Mate Mike Meyer aided Comdr. Morton, and Trooper G.I. Dubois of the North Syracuse sub-station operated the radio telephone between the navy craft and the El Tempero III.

CREW CHILLED

After nearly three hours of dragging off the west shore about opposite the Liverpool Yacht Club, the chilled crew and passengers of the Navy boat returned to the dock. There, Cmdr. Morton conferred with Lt. Col. J.C. Irwin, commanding officer of the 138th Fighter Squadron, and it was decided to place the Navy officer in charge of the dragging and salvage operations.

Lt. Kesel, a former enlisted man, was the first from this area to receive a commission and pilot's wings under the aviation cadet procurement policy. He was graduated from the Webb Air Force Base, Texas, flight school and received his wings in 1953.

ACTIVE FLIER

Col. Irwin said the "he was one of our more active fliers." He had 700 jet flying hours to his credit. Lt. Kesel was a junior at Lemoyne College. He had 700 hours of jet flying to his credit. He is the son of Mrs. Colin Armstrong, of Fayetteville and the Late John Kesel Jr. He has two brothers who both are in the military service - Pvt. Thomas Kesel, a graduate of Syracuse University, and William Kesel, at Chanute Air Base, Ill. Vertigo, blamed for the cause of the crash on initial evidence, is reported the cause of many aircraft crashes when planes are in operation near the ground in "marginal weather."

BALANCE OFF

It results from the sense of balance mechanism in the inner ear of humans being temporarily disturbed. It was explained as an experience that occurs to fliers under conditions similar to being spun around in a chair and then attempting to walk along a straight line. Lack of a visible horizon increases the possibilities of vertigo which, it was pointed out, remains only for a few seconds but in a jet going 375 miles an hour, if near the ground, the few seconds are not available for recovery. At 15,000 feet, a flier said, there would be time to recover.

Onondaga County Sheriff Albert Stone and Deputy Sheriff Fred Sommers assisted with Walkie-talkies, and will be on hand at 8 a.m. today to continue assistance with Sheriff Department's equipment. The crash of Lt. Kesel's plane is the third jet accident in this area during the past year. In July, the Plane of Capt. Everett Taylor of Howlett Hill suffered a flameout shortly after he took off and he landed it in an oat stubble field near the traffic circle in Rt. 11, escaping with a back injury. In June, Lt. Thomas E. Nott of Philadelphia ejected himself from his jet near cicero Center while on maneuvers out of Hancock Field. He was uninjured, but the plane was wrecked. It crashed on shore of Oneida Lake. 

SYRACUSE, N.Y., MONDAY NOVEMBER 28, 1955

 'CRUSHING INJURIES' KILLED PILOT;

DRAGGERS RECOVER BODY IN LAKE

Jet Pilot John J. Kesel, 23, of Fayetteville, died of "crushing injuries to the head and body" as his F-94 plane plunged into Onondaga Lake Saturday Morning. It was reported, following recovery of his body yesterday. Dr. Harry L. Gilmore, Onondaga County coroner, said Kesel undoubtedly was killed as his Air National Guard jet crashed into the lake. He ruled out any possibility that Kesel could have drowned.

Kesel, a second lieutenant in the 138th Fighter Squadron, was completing a training mission when the accident occurred. Flying in formation behind the ill-fated jet was Capt. John Etherington of Syracuse with a passenger, Capt. Larry Sanders. Etherington and Sanders said they were in a blinding snow squall when the jet crashed. Sanders said they were only five feet from the lake when Etherington straightened his plane out.

PREPARING TO LAND

The jest were preparing to land at Hancock field when the crash occurred. Kesel's body was found shortly after grappling hooks dug into part of the jet's wreckage, 70 feet below the lake's surface. T/Sgt. James Althoff, a diver, went into the water, removed the hooks from the tail assembly, and found kesel's open parachute 15 feet away. He put the hooks into the chute. The crew of a landing craft boat, operated by the U.S. Naval Reserve, Liverpool, raised the chute. Moments later Kesel's body, still attached to a seat-backed chute, floated to the top.

When the body was sighted, the Navy crew radioed for a priest to administer last rites of the Catholic Church. The Rev. Louis H. Waters of Liverpool was ferried out to the Navy landing craft by Ned Olnik, captain of El Tempo III. After Father Walters administered the rite, Lt. kesel's body was lifted from the water and brought to shore. Main part of the wreckage was scattered over a 500 foot area. Credited with finding the tail section were three members of the North Syracuse Volunteer Fire Department. They are Foster Sponable, Allen E. Tuyrell, and Ralph Daniano.

MANY BOATS DRAG

The search for Kesel's body and the wreck resumed at 8:30 a.m. yesterday after being suspended at nightfall saturday. Three large boats and many smaller craft dragged steadily in an area which officials had pinpointed as the crash scene. The Air National Guard's investigation of the crash continued today, and officials indicated it would continue until all known engineering facts surrounding the crash are assembled. Lt. Col L. J. Dissette, fighter group commander of the local squadron, said the wrecked plane remains beneath Onondaga Lake today. "It's down so deep, it is questionable whether it is worth salvaging," he said.

OBITUARY

Lt. John J. Kesel of 532 E. Genesee St. Fayetteville.  Suddenly November 26, 1955.  He is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Collen Armstrong, two brothers, Thomas and William Kesel, two stepsisters, Mrs. Dexter Lewis of Grand Island, N.Y., and Mrs. Donald Smith of Westfield, N.J.; one stepbrother, Collen Armstrong, Jr., of Skaneateles, his grandmother, Mrs. Mary Kompf.  Funeral services from Eaton-Tubbs Funeral home 130 E. Genesee St. Fayetteville Wednesday 9 and 9:30 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, Fayetteville.  Friends may call Tuesday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.

Area of crash site from Official Crash report

Lt. Kesel's plane will stay at the bottom of the lake
Adobe pdf of Syracuse Post Standard story Nov. 29, 1955

The F-94 jet plane that carried 2nd Lt. John J. Kesel to death Saturday morning in Onondaga Lake will be left at the bottom of the lake, according to Lt. Col Joseph Irwin, commander of the 138th Fighter Squadron.

Col Irwin said the decision was made after a conference with members of the New York State Public Words Department, who said the submerged plane will not cause a navigational hazard.

Irwin cited two condition both of which he classified as "remote" under which raising of the airplane would take place.  He named these as orders from higher headquarters to recover the plane, or if an investigating board of officers decided structural failure contributed to the crash of the plane.

The crash tentatively has been attributed to weather conditions.  Lt. Kesel, leading a two plane formation preparing to land at Hancock Field, plunged into the lake when temporarily blinded by a snow squall.  Preliminary reports indicated he suffered a loss or orientation when the sky and the lake became indistinguishable in the brief storm.

The second plane, piloted by Capt. John Etherington of Syracuse, and carrying Capt. Larry Sanders as radar observer, barely averted following the lead plane into the lake.

Lt. Kesel's plane is nearly 70 feet below the surface, embedded in deep mud.  Irwin discounted the possibility of loose parts from the plane floating to the surface and creating navigational hazards.  He said the plane, weighs eight tons, is solid metal, and that no parts can float except pieces of cork or insulation that will be small. 

Lt. Kesel's body was recovered from the lake Sunday afternoon.

Lockheed F-94B Specifications