Crash of a Fairchild C-119C-26-FA Flying Boxcar in Lapine

Date & Time: Apr 1, 1955
Operator:
Registration:
51-2665
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
10654
YOM:
1951
Location:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
An unexpected situation encountered in flight forced the crew to abandon the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in a wooded area located two miles east of Lapine. While the airplane was destroyed, all six crew members were uninjured.

Crash of an Avro 683 Lancaster BIII GR at RAF Newquay-Saint Mawgan

Date & Time: Mar 28, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
SW285
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Saint Mawgan - Saint Mawgan
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
During the takeoff run, the aircraft swerved on runway, went out of control and came to rest. All seven crew members evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Douglas DC-3 in Beauvais: 9 killed

Date & Time: Mar 18, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
F-BAXL
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Beauvais - Beauvais
MSN:
20047
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The crew was conducting a local training flight at Beauvais-Tillé Airport. On takeoff from runway 31, the airplane encountered difficulties to gain height, hit power cables and crashed in a field. The aircraft was destroyed and all nine occupants were killed.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119G-FA Flying Boxcar near Cullman

Date & Time: Mar 10, 1955
Operator:
Registration:
51-8095
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
10989
YOM:
1952
Location:
Crew on board:
11
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Following an engine failure in flight, all 11 crew members bailed out and abandoned the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in a prairie located near Cullman. All 11 crew members were uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Convair B-36B-1-CF Peacemaker at Loring AFB

Date & Time: Mar 5, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
44-92030
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Loring - Loring
MSN:
27
YOM:
1946
Crew on board:
11
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training mission at Loring AFB. Upon landing, the aircraft hit a snow bank with its wing tip, went out of control and came to rest in flames. All 11 occupants were rescued, some of them were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.67 Hastings C.2 at RAF Boscombe Down: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 2, 1955
Operator:
Registration:
WD484
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Boscombe Down - Boscombe Down
MSN:
112
YOM:
1951
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a local training flight at RAF Boscombe Down. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane nosed up and climbed steeply to a height of 300 feet then banked right, stalled and crashed. Two crew members were killed while two others were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Poor flight preparation on part of the crew who did not follow the pre-departure checklist and departed with the elevators still in a lock position.

Crash of an Avro 652 Anson T.21 at RAF Shawbury

Date & Time: Mar 1, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
WB463
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Shawbury - Shawbury
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
After takeoff from RAF Shawbury, while climbing to a height of 100 feet, the pilot raised the undercarriage when the left engine failed. Unable to maintain a sufficient speed, he decided to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft belly landed in a field, hit a hedge and came to rest about 2,5 miles from the airfield. While the pilot was unhurt, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Failure of the left engine during initial climb.

Crash of an Avro 694 Lincoln B.2 in Githunguri: 10 killed

Date & Time: Feb 19, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
SX984
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Nairobi - Nairobi
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
On 19th February 1955, during what the then colonial government referred to as the "Emergency" enacted to combat the Mau Mau uprising, an RAF Lincoln bomber belonging to No. 49 Squadron based at Eastleigh aerodrome, crashed near the town of Githunguri some fifteen kilometers (eight miles) north-north-west of Kiambu. The bomber, serial number SX984, carrying six aircrew, was returning from a bombing and strafing mission over the Kipipiri Forest when the pilot, Flying Officer Alan Hunt, decided to carry out unauthorized low passes over the Police Officers' Mess where he knew a number of his RAF colleagues were spending the afternoon. The Mess was and is situated near the top of a hill overlooking the town with the police station itself lying half way down towards the main Uplands - Ruiru road. On the third pass, Hunt misjudged the height needed to clear the top of the hill with the result that parts of the starboard wing, tail plane and lower rudder were torn off after hitting three rondavel huts and a mess chimney, whereupon the aircraft went out of control, climbed steeply for about one hundred meters, then stalled before going into a near vertical dive and crashing half a kilometer south of the police station. Hunt and four other crew members died instantly in the resulting inferno, but the tail-gunner, Sergeant Stanley Bartlett was thrown clear and taken to Kiambu hospital and then to the Military hospital in Nairobi where he died five hours later as a result of burns and other serious injuries. Four civilians on the ground, one of them a child, also died. The six crew were buried with full military honors in City Park Cemetery.
Crew (49th Squadron):
F/O Hunt, pilot,
Sgt North, flight engineer,
Sgt Hollands, signaler,
Sgt Bartlett, air gunner,
F/O King, navigator,
F/O Parry, navigator.
Source:
Richard Bartlett-May, son of Sgt Stanley Bartlett.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.104 Devon on Mt Shingle Slip Knob: 2 killed

Date & Time: Feb 17, 1955 at 1011 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
NZ1815
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Ohakea - Ohakea
MSN:
04398
YOM:
1953
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a training flight and left Ohakea Airbase at 0917LT. Apparently while returning and flying over the Taratua Forest Park in poor weather conditions, the twin engine airplane hit the slope of Mt Shingle Slip Knob at 1011LT. The wreckage was found three days later few meters below the summit and both crew members have been killed. It is believed the aircraft was off track at the time of the accident and the crew was unaware of the presence of the mountain due the lack of visibility.
Crew:
F/Lt Edward Casey,
F/Lt William Trott.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune near Elmendorf AFB: 11 killed

Date & Time: Feb 17, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
128399
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Elmendorf - Elmendorf
MSN:
426-5245
Crew on board:
11
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
11
Circumstances:
The crew was returning to Elmendorf AFB following a training mission. While descending to the altitude of 2,000 feet, the airplane hit the slope of a mountain located 28 miles northwest of Elmendorf Airbase. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 11 crew members were killed. For undetermined reason, the crew started the approach to Elmendorf prematurely, causing the aircraft to his the mountain.