1959 plane crash at Lake Serene

On October 27, 1959, a Convair B-58 Hustler jet bomber was being flown from Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth, TX, to Eglin AFB in Florida. Three civilian crew members were aboard: the pilot, Everette Wheeler, and two flight engineers, Michael Keller and Harry Blosser. At about 7:30 PM the plane was flying at about 25,000 feet when it developed a problem, and all three crew members ejected from the plane. Keller and Wheeler both landed safely, though Wheeler suffered a broken arm, but Blosser didn't survive. His body was found early the next morning in a field, still strapped into his ejection seat and the parachute open. The plane crashed on a field in Lake Shady (today Lake Serene) about 2 miles south of Highway 98, leaving a crater 30 feet deep and 75 feet wide.

After the crash between 30 and 40 Air Force personnel were sent to investigate. They set up a temporary headquarters in the Oak Grove School auditorium. Anyone who found wreckage was asked to turn it in.