On September 18, 1961 a routine training mission using a Convair B-58 Hustler supersonic jet prepared for takeoff from the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) base at Carswell. As the aircraft began rotation the left main gear suffered a major failure, with debris tearing a hole in the aft main pod causing 15,000 lbs of fuel being "lit off" by the afterburners as the plane lifted from the runway. Damage to the plane prevented the landing gear from being raised, and also caused pr