Crash of a Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina into the Pacific Ocean

Date & Time: Dec 31, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
64089
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
0217
YOM:
1941
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
During a maritime patrol flight over the Pacific Ocean, the crew was forced to ditch the aircraft about 160 km off Midway Island following a fuel exhaustion. All occupants were rescued by the crew of a USN ship while the airplane sank and was lost. The exact date of the mishap remains unknown (somewhere in 1953).
Probable cause:
Fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Grumman G-64A Albatross into the Atlantic Ocean: 5 killed

Date & Time: Nov 15, 1953
Operator:
Registration:
51-036
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
G-111
YOM:
1952
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances into the North Atlantic while performing a flight between Iceland and Greenland. No trace of the aircraft nor the five crew members was ever found.

Crash of a Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune into the Pacific Ocean: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 27, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
127764
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Iwakuni - Iwakuni
MSN:
426-5123
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
While performing a maritime patrol flight over the Pacific Ocean, the crew informed ground about an engine failure and the captain ditched the airplane 350 km southeast of Miyazaki. A crew member was killed while eight others were rescued.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of a Convair RB-36H-45-CF Peacemaker into the Atlantic Ocean: 19 killed

Date & Time: Aug 5, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
52-1369
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Travis – Lakenheath
MSN:
303
YOM:
1952
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
23
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
19
Circumstances:
An engine caught fire in flight. Control was lost and the aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 800 km northwest of the British coast. Six crew members were rescued while 17 others were killed. Later, two of the survivors died from their injuries.
Probable cause:
Engine fire in flight.

Crash of a Martin PBM-5S2 Mariner into the China Sea: 10 killed

Date & Time: Jul 30, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
84760
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Sangley Point - Sangley Point
MSN:
84760
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
15
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
En route, while completing a maritime patrol flight over the South China Sea, the crew informed ground that the left engine caught fire and elected to return for an emergency landing. Shortly later, the seaplane crashed into the sea about 150 km west of Laoag, Philippines. Five crew members were rescued by the crew of a USCG Catalina while ten other occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Left engine caught fire in flight.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.67 Hastings C.1 into the Mediterranean Sea

Date & Time: Jul 22, 1953
Operator:
Registration:
TG613
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Tripoli – Habbaniya
MSN:
91
YOM:
1949
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The aircraft was on its way to Habbaniya and departed Tripoli-Idris Airport with few passengers and a crew of six on board. About 90 minutes into the flight, three engines failed simultaneously. The pilot reduced his altitude and ditched the aircraft 224 km off Benghazi. All occupants were quickly rescued while the aircraft sank and was lost.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the triple engine failure was caused by an technical issue on the hydraulic system.

Crash of a Douglas DC-6A into the Pacific Ocean: 58 killed

Date & Time: Jul 12, 1953 at 0841 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N90806
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Hanoi – Manila – Agana – Wake – Honolulu – Oakland
MSN:
42901
YOM:
1949
Flight number:
TL512
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
49
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
58
Captain / Total flying hours:
10312
Captain / Total hours on type:
729.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
5699
Copilot / Total hours on type:
434
Aircraft flight hours:
6235
Circumstances:
Transocean Air Lines' Flight 512 departed Guam. M. I., at 0004 on July 12, 1953, for Oakland, California, with planned intermediate stops at Wake Island and Honolulu, T. H. The crew consisted of Captain W. L. Word, First Officer H. A. Hudson, Second Officer L. H. Nowell, Navigator J. R. Hay, Flight Engineer G. C. Haaskamp, Student Flight Engineer P. Yedwabnick, flight Purser H. H. Sargent and Stewardess N. L. Downing. Forty-nine passengers were on board including one infant. The flight to Wake Island was accomplished without incident in five hours and 35 minutes. One passenger boarded the aircraft at Wake Island and since none were discharged at this point, there was a total of 50 passengers on board for the Wake Island-Honolulu segment of the flight. Following a briefing by the U. S. Weather Bureau personnel on the expected en route weather conditions, the crew filed an IFR flight plan. This plan indicated that a rhumb-line course to Honolulu was to be flown at a cruising altitude of 15,000 feet at an air speed of 236 miles per hour. Also that the estimated elapsed time was nine hours and three minutes with 11 hours and 15 minutes of fuel on board. Prior to departure the aircraft was serviced with 2,503 gallons of 100/130 octane gasoline (to a total of 4,069 gallons) and 32 gallons of oil. Takeoff from Wake Island was at 0658, July 12, 1953, with the same crew on board. According to the company's records, the total gross weight of the aircraft at takeoff was 94,397 pounds which was within the allowable gross takeoff weight of 100,000 pounds; the load was properly distributed relative to the approved CG limits. Seven minutes after departure, Flight 512 was cleared from the Wake Island CAA Control Tower frequency. At 0729 the flight made the required 100-mile-east position report and stated that it had reached cruising altitude two minutes earlier. At 0829, one hour and 31 minutes after departing Wake Island, the flight made a scheduled position report as 19 degree 48’ north latitude, 171 degree 48’ east longitude, and cruising at 15,000 feet between cloud layers. This was the last known radio contact with the flight. Since the flight did not report over its next scheduled reporting point, an alert was declared by Wake Island ARTC (Air Route Traffic Control) at 1001. An aircraft flying from Honolulu to Wake Island reported at 1212 that a green flare had been seen. This aircraft's position was 19 degree 23’N and 172 degree 05’E at the time the flare was sighted. The U. S. Coast Guard immediately dispatched several aircraft and a surface vessel to search the area. A Preliminary Accident Notice was filed by Wake Island ARTC at 1643, July 12, 1953.
Probable cause:
The Board is unable to determine the probable cause of this accident from the available evidence.
Final Report:

Crash of a Martin PBM-5 Mariner into the Atlantic Ocean: 11 killed

Date & Time: Mar 22, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
85151
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
San Juan – Plymouth
MSN:
85151
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
11
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances into the Atlantic Ocean about 200 km northeast of Turks & Caicos Islands while on a flight from San Juan to Plymouth, Massachusetts. All 11 occupants were killed.

Crash of a Lockheed P2V-2 Neptune into the Atlantic Ocean

Date & Time: Feb 27, 1953
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
39357
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Hamilton – Lajes
MSN:
126-1057
YOM:
1947
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
While cruising at an altitude of 11,000 feet enroute from Hamilton to Lajes, Azores Islands, the manifold pressure on the right engine dropped from 30 to 17 inches. The captain decided to return to Hamilton (Bermuda) for a safe landing but twenty minutes later, the right engine backfired while the manifold pressure increased to 20 inches. In such conditions, he decided to shot down the engine and feathered its propeller. Less than an hour later, while flying at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the left engine started smoking and lost oil. The crew eventually decided to ditch the aircraft near the weather station 'Echo' located in the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Bermuda archipelago. The aircraft sank and was lost while all ten crew members were rescued and evacuated by the crew of the USCGC Coos Bay.
Probable cause:
Double engine failure.

Crash of an Avro 685 York I into the Atlantic Ocean: 39 killed

Date & Time: Feb 2, 1953 at 0301 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-AHFA
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Stansted – Lajes – Gander – Kingston
MSN:
1304
YOM:
1946
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
33
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
39
Captain / Total flying hours:
5590
Captain / Total hours on type:
550.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
2106
Copilot / Total hours on type:
455
Aircraft flight hours:
6418
Circumstances:
The four engine aircraft was on its way from Stansted to Kingston, Jamaica, carrying RAF personnels and their family members. It left Lajes Airport in the Azores Islands at 2325LT on February 1st. While approaching the Canadian coast by night, the crew issued a brief emergency message whose content remains unclear. Shortly later, the aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, about 500 km southeast of Saint John's (approximately 46°15 latitude North and 46°31 longitude West). As the airplane failed to arrive in Gander, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 39 occupants was found. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were considered as good.
Crew:
D. Nicholls, pilot,
P. E. Walton, copilot,
A. E. Chopping, navigator,
J. A. Davis, radio officer,
R. G. Lawrence, flight engineer,
P. M. Newton, stewardess.
Probable cause:
As no trace of the aircraft was found, it was not possible to determine the cause of the accident. However, it was reported that the flying crew was in duty since 19 hours at the time of the accident, which could be considered as a contributory factor.
Final Report: