Spaceflight-related accidents and incidents during assembly, testing, and preparation for flight of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft have occasionally resulted in injuries or the loss of craft since the earliest days of space programs.
1960–1969 Three of the five Lunar Landing Research and Training vehicles (LLRV and LLTV) were destroyed in crashes near Houston, Texas: 1968 May 6: LLRV No. 1 crashed at Ellington AFB, Texas, caused by loss of helium pressure that controlled the steering jets. Neil Armstrong ejected safely."Jet Moon Flight Trainer Crashes", St. Petersburg, FL Times newspaper, May 7, 1968 1968 December 8: LLTV No. 1 crashed at Ellington AFB, Texas, caused by failure of the fly-by-wire control system. MSC test pilot Joseph Algranti ejected safely."Moon Lander Crashes In Final Major Test", Oxnard, CA - The Press-Courier, Dec. 9, 1968 1971 January 29: An LLTV crashed at Ellington AFB, Texas, caused by failure of the fly-by-wire control system. NASA test pilot Stuart Present ejected safely."Test Pilot Ejects Safely As Lunar Lander Crashes", Toledo Blade newspaper, Jan. 30, 1971 1960 July 16: Injured during centrifuge training : Soviet cosmonaut Anatoly Yakovlevich Kartashov suffered pinpoint hemorrhages of the spine during centrifuge training. Due to the injuries he was grounded by the medical staff and retired from the cosmonaut group on 7 April 1962"Kartashov" , Encyclopedia Astronautica, Dec 26, 2010 1961 August 19: Parachute training accident, broken left foot : Cosmonaut Pavel Belyayev broke his left foot during a parachute jump related to cosmonaut training. As a result, he was out of cosmonaut training until 30 August 1962."Biography of Pavel Belyayev", Russian Federal Space Agency, Jan 2, 2011 1961 September 2: T-33 jet engine failure, emergency landing : Astronauts Gus Grissom and Alan Shepard experienced a broken rotor blade in the jet engine of their T-33 jet while flying a training mission over Lake Erie. Grissom made an emergency landing at Selfridge Air Force Base near Detroit, MI. Both astronauts left in the same jet a day later."Astronauts In Close Call", Montreal Gazette newspaper, Sep 5, 1961 1962 October 22: Experimental Paraglider, hard landing : Astronaut Gus Grissom was piloting an experimental paraglider at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, that was towed aloft by another aircraft and released. The paraglider made a hard landing that crumpled the nose wheel. The craft remained upright and Grissom walked away unhurt. The craft was part of experiments that were to lead up to landing Gemini spacecraft using a similar paraglider wing on dry land."Grissom Walks Away From Hard Landing", Ocala, FL - Gazette newspaper, Oct 24, 1962 1963 March 13: F-102 jet, ran off paved runway : Astronaut Elliot See was piloting a NASA F-102 fighter jet used to maintain astronaut pilot proficiency when it ran off the end of the paved runway while landing at Ellington AFB near Houston, TX. Officials said the astronaut landed the plane too fast and was unable to stop on the paved portion of the runway. Astronaut See was not injured and the aircraft was not damaged and was flown later in the day by another astronaut."Astronaut Lands Fast in 'Hot" Jet", Spokane, WA - Spokesman-Review newspaper, March 17, 1963 1964 August 25 : Simulated Moon Walk in Spacesuit, fall on steep, rocky lava bed : Astronaut Walter Cunningham was wearing a full spacesuit with 13.5 kg backpack. He was simulating a Moon walk on a rocky lava bed near Bend, Oregon. While climbing a 15-meter, 30 degree slope, he was 3 meters from the top when he fell backward. At first, observers thought he might roll all the way to the bottom of the slope, but Cunningham spread out to slow his motion and a nearby engineer also provided assistance. Cunningham was uninjured, but there was a slight pressure loss in the suit from a glove puncture."Astronaut Falls On Lava Bed In Simulated Walk On Moon", Toledo, OH - Blade newspaper, Aug 26, 1964"Astronaut Takes Spill In Test Of Moon Gear", Palm Beach, FL - Post newspaper, Aug 26, 1964 1964 November 4 : T-38 jet, ran off wet runway, landing gear damaged : Astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad and James Lovell were landing at Ellington AFB near Houston, TX, during a rainstorm, on a flight from Washington, DC. They were returning from the funeral of astronaut Theodore C. Freeman. They were unable to stop their aircraft on the wet runway. The aircraft ran off the runway and into a muddy, grassy area damaging the landing gear. The two astronauts were not injured in the mishap."Astronauts Safe in Bad Landing", Milwaukee Journal newspaper, Nov 14, 1964 1966 January 14 : Altitude Chamber, oxygen valve explosion, fire : Astronaut Edward Givens was testing the Gemini 9 astronaut maneuvering unit (AMU) while wearing a spacesuit in an altitude chamber at the Manned Spacecraft Center (Johnson Space Center), Houston, TX. While in the altitude chamber, an oxygen valve exploded outside the altitude chamber burning four technicians and sending one of them to the hospital. One of the technicians' clothes was set on fire and the other three technicians suffered minor burns extinguishing the burning clothing. Astronaut Givens was not injured in the incident."Explosion at Space Center Injures One", St. Joseph, MO - News-Press newspaper, Jan 16, 1966 1966 January 28 : Zero G Training, dislocated shoulder requiring surgery : Astronaut Donn F. Eisele underwent surgical repair of his left shoulder due to a dislocation received during zero-G flight training in 1965. The shoulder was reinjured during physical training at the Manned Spacecraft (Johnson Space) Center later the same year."NASA Manned Spacecraft Center - 1966 Press Releases", MSC 65-12, January 27, 1966, PDF page 30 accessed 5 Jan, 2011 1966 July 18 : T-38 jet takeoff abort, ran off runway : Astronauts Edward H. White and Russell Schweickart experienced an engine failure during takeoff from El Paso International airport, TX, on their T-38 jet aircraft. The takeoff was aborted and the aircraft ran off the end of the runway, suffering a nose gear collapse and blowouts of both main landing gear tires. The astronauts were flying from Houston, TX to Los Angeles, CA. The stop in El Paso was to refuel. Both astronauts were uninjured and continued their journey on a commercial airliner."Astronauts' Flight Halted, Aircraft's Engines Fail on Takeoff", Reading, PA - Eagle newspaper, Jul 19, 1966 1966 October 8: Parachute training accident, broken foot : Cosmonaut Georgi Grechko broke his foot during a parachute jump related to training for the Soyuz 7K crewed lunar flyby missions. The injury forced him out of training for those lunar flyby missions."Soviet urges space cooperation", Lawrence Journal-World newspaper, Oct 16, 1990"Biography of Georgiy Grechko", Russian Federal Space Agency, Jan 2, 2011 1968 May 15 : Parachute training, fracture : Astronaut Dr. Robert A. R. Parker suffered a fractured coccyx (the final bone in the spine), while taking part in parachute training. The injury occurred at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. The injury was not thought to be serious."Sinus Case Grounds One Astronaut", St. Joseph Gazette newspaper, May 16, 1968 1968 September 26 : Physical training, fractured collar bone : Astronaut Dr. Karl G. Henize suffered a fractured collar bone during a physical development class as part of astronaut training. He was placed on non-flying status for about five weeks."NASA Manned Spacecraft Center - 1968 Press Releases", MSC 68-73, September 27, 1968, PDF page 134 accessed 5 Jan, 2011 1969 : Rope training accident, serious leg injury : Cosmonaut Vladimir Kovalyonok suffered a serious injury to his leg while rope training (climbing?) during cosmonaut training. He recovered and was able to continue cosmonaut training and graduated 18 August 1969."Biography of Vladimir Kovalyonok", Russian Federal Space Agency, Jan 2, 2011 1969 August 2 : helicopter landing accident : During NASA astronaut helicopter flight training, astronaut Edward G. Gibson, flying solo, landed a helicopter on a mud flat, near Laporte, TX. The helicopter sank in the mud, flipped over and its spinning rotor blades tore the craft apart. Gibson was uninjured."A helicopter, piloted by scientist-astronaut Edward Gibson, flipped over during a landing", Reading, PA - Eagle newspaper, August 3, 1969"Astronaut Gibson Is Example of Living Paradox in Program", Lewiston, Maine - Daily Sun newspaper, Nov 16, 1973 1969 August 15: T-33 jet crash landing : Astronaut Joseph Kerwin made a belly landing on a foam covered runway in his T-33 jet trainer at Ellington AFB near Houston, Texas due to a landing gear problem. He survived the crash landing uninjured."Astronaut has close call", Richland, WA - Tri-City Herald newspaper, Aug 17, 1969
1970–1979 1971 January 23: helicopter crash: Eugene Cernan was flying a Bell 47G helicopter as part of his Lunar Module training as Backup Commander for Apollo 14. The helicopter crashed into the Indian River at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Cernan nearly drowned because he was not wearing a life vest and received some second-degree burns on his face and singed hair."Astronaut Cernan Survives Helicopter Crash In River", Spartanburg, SC - Herald-Journal, Jan. 24, 1971 According to official reports at the time, the crash was the result of pilot error due to Cernan incorrectly judging his altitude. Later accounts, written by Cernan himself in an autobiography, admit he was flying too low and showing off for nearby boaters. The helicopter dipped a skid into the water and crashed. James McDivitt, an Apollo Manager at the time, demanded that Cernan be removed from flight status and not be given command of Apollo 17. Cernan was defended by Deke Slayton and given the Apollo 17 command. James McDivitt resigned as an Apollo Manager shortly after the Apollo 16 mission.Check-Six.com - The 1971 Crash of Gene Cernan's Helo 1971 April 2 : T-38 jet, rear cockpit canopy lost, takeoff aborted : Astronaut Richard Truly was taking off from Kellogg Field, Battle Creek, MI in a NASA T-38 jet. During the takeoff roll, the rear cockpit canopy flew off the aircraft. Astronaut Truly aborted the takeoff and was not injured. The aircraft suffered minor damage."Jet takeoff aborted, astronaut not hurt", Windsor Star newspaper, Apr 3, 1971 1972 May 10 : T-38 jet, electrical malfunction, out of fuel, ejected : Astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad ejected safely from his NASA T-38 jet near Bergstrom AFB, Austin, TX. He landed about 90 meters from the base operations building. An electrical malfunction that caused loss of instruments during severe weather was listed by the review board as a major factor in the accident. Conrad was on a flight from Dover, DE via Dobbins AFB, GA to Ellington AFB, Houston, TX. Due to bad weather, he was diverted first to Hobby Airport, Houston because Ellington AFB was below minimums for landing. While on final approach to Hobby Airport, in darkness, heavy rain and lightning, the T-38 generator failed, causing a loss of cockpit lighting and partial loss of navigation instruments. Conrad broke off the approach and tried to climb above the bad weather. The generator was brought back online along with cockpit lighting. Because of the electrical problems, he requested a diversion to an airport that was under visual flight rules. Controllers sent him toward Randolph AFB, San Antonio, TX. It soon became apparent the T-38 did not have enough fuel to reach Randolph AFB. Controllers then diverted him to Bergstrom AFB. The T-38 ran out of fuel as it reached Bergstron AFB. Conrad ejected at 1100 meters. The aircraft was destroyed. He was taken to the base hospital for a routine examination and returned to Houston later that night."NASA Manned Spacecraft Center - 1973 Press Releases ", Release No: 73-91 T-38 Accident Report, July 3, 1973, PDF page 188; accessed 5 Jan, 2011