Archive | Sacramento survivor helps create memorial for 1972 plane crash at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor
The accident was horrific. *** Korean Air *** War jet leaving an air show at Executive Airport crashed into *** fireball, skidding across Freeport Boulevard, slamming into Ferrell’s ice cream parlor. The date September 24, 1972. The death toll 22 killed, 12 of them children. This is the site today. It will soon be the headquarters for Sacramento’s police and fire departments. It will also be *** memorial site thanks to one survivor. I just kind of thought, gee, I wonder if anything’s ever been done, but I just didn’t have enough courage to go back. It hurt too much. Kerry McCluskey and her twin sister were just *** few months shy of their 4th birthday when their babysitter took. For ice cream, Kerry suffered *** broken leg. Her identical twin sister Christy was killed. Initially, Kerry fought City Hall, asking the city to abandon its plans to use the building. The city stuck to its choice, noting that since the crash, runway 1230 has been shortened, the airport moving the landing and takeoff areas farther away from Freeport Boulevard. From the start, the city has Hesitation to commit to *** memorial. My thought was, why isn’t there *** memorial already? Why didn’t we do something? And clearly if other people want to have it, it’s time to do it. The plans for the memorial located near where the former ice cream parlor’s front door was will include *** patio area, benches, and *** plaque. The city has asked Kerry to come up with what the memorial should say. She’s already asked her 4 year old daughter to draw angels for the plaque. It’s an awesome responsibility, but I feel privileged and honored at the same time. The city has already committed $20,000 to the project. Carrie would like to raise more, hoping to add *** fountain and *** rose bush for every victim. This donation was left on her doorstep. If all goes as planned, this memorial will be in place by September of this year, marking the 30th anniversary of this horrific crash. In Sacramento, Tana Castro, KCRA 3 reports.
Archive | Sacramento survivor helps create memorial for 1972 plane crash at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor
Updated: 4:53 PM PDT Sep 24, 2025
As part of our 70th anniversary, KCRA 3 is taking a look through our archives at various community stories we covered over the decades.Wednesday marks 53 years since the Canadair Sabre Korean War-era jet crashed into Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor in Sacramento after failing to take off from Sacramento Executive Airport during an air show. Twenty-two people were killed, including 12 children, after the jet skidded across Freeport Boulevard and slammed into the shop on Sept. 24, 1972. In the video clip above from 2002, our coverage focused on survivor Carrie McCluskey’s efforts to secure a memorial at the site, which is now the Sacramento police headquarters.| RELATED | These are lessons learned after the air disaster at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor in Sacramento
As part of our 70th anniversary, KCRA 3 is taking a look through our archives at various community stories we covered over the decades.
Wednesday marks 53 years since the Canadair Sabre Korean War-era jet crashed into Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor in Sacramento after failing to take off from Sacramento Executive Airport during an air show. Twenty-two people were killed, including 12 children, after the jet skidded across Freeport Boulevard and slammed into the shop on Sept. 24, 1972.
In the video clip above from 2002, our coverage focused on survivor Carrie McCluskey’s efforts to secure a memorial at the site, which is now the Sacramento police headquarters.
| RELATED | These are lessons learned after the air disaster at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor in Sacramento