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GCA assisted Captain Bagus with alignment, elevation, and distance information and with all other information he asked for. To observers the approach seemed good although the closest observer, a qualified multiengine pilot, noted that control of the aircraft in the pitch plane was jerky and slightly overcontrolled. A short distance from the runway threshold and about 50 feet above the ground the approach was discontinued. At that time Captain Bagus transmitted. "I'm going out north a couple miles. I'm going to try to land this thing on elevator tab instead of autopilot. I get a little better control using power and trim." The flight then proceeded several miles north of the Base.
During the interim other aircraft landed. One provided information for Trip 7002 that little, if any, turbulence was experienced on final approach. The alert GCA controller also kept Trip 7002 advised of current landing conditions including the surface wind, 7 knots from 170 degrees.
Trip 7002 maneuvered with GCA assistance for a long (about nine miles) final approach. Alignment was very good and when the glide path was intercepted, the GCA controller gave, as Captain Bagus had requested, glide path information. The position of the aircraft on the glide path was good. The closest observer noted that pitch control was better but still jerky and overcontrolled. A C-46 pilot suggested through GCA, that Captain Bagus roll in forward trim as soon as touchdown occurred. The captain responded. "Roger, we've already got that figured out."
Touchdown occurred at 1715. It was a "wheel landing" with the aircraft speed greater than normal and with considerable power. The wing flaps appeared to be extended between 10 and 20 degrees. The touchdown was considered excellent by all observers. The aircraft rolled on the main wheels for the next 500–1,000 feet without an audible power reduction. It then skipped about 1–2 feet above the surface and again contacted the runway on the main gear only. This contact caused the tail to rotate downward and the aircraft "porpoised," leaving the runway nose-high. It reached 4–6 feet, then descended slightly nose-down and again contacted the runway, this time with greater force on the main gear. The force amplified the downward tail rotation causing a second, more severe, "porpoise." At this time power, estimated by several observing pilots as full power, was applied. The aircraft climbed in a steep nose-up attitude to 150–200 feet above the runway. There it stalled, pitched down violently, and crashed on the runway in a nose-down angle in excess of 45 degrees.
The fuselage forward of the leading edge of the wing was demolished by impact. This section was torn off and moved 425 feet ahead of the remaining aircraft structure when the cargo broke loose and shifted forward with great force. Relatively, the remaining fuselage and empennage were undamaged. The left wing was sheared off at the attachments to the fuselage and the right wing remained attached only by control cables. Both engines were torn from the mounts. A fire occurred but was extinguished in seconds by the efficient and well-equipped Dyess rescue and firefighting team.
