The plane was from the 3150th Electronics Squadron,[3] United States Air Force and had tail number 45-21866.

The crash occurred during a climb to altitude from the Robins Air Force Base and killed nine of thirteen men aboard, including three RCA engineers.

Because the flight was a test of the "sunseeker"[dubious – discuss] (a heat-seeking device later used in the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile), the federal government asserted the state secrets privilege to avoid having to provide the Air Force's accident report in a subsequent suit for damages by victims of the crash and their heirs, despite the device playing no role in the crash itself and not being referred to in the report.

The report indicated the cause of the fire in engine 1 could not be positively determined, but was likely to have been the result of breaks in the right exhaust collector ring.

Claim of Privilege: A Mysterious Plane Crash, a Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets.