Crash of a Consolidated C-87-CF on Florida Island: 27 killed

Date & Time: Jul 26, 1944 at 2030 LT
Operator:
Registration:
41-11706
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Canton Island - Honiara
MSN:
202
YOM:
1941
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
21
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
27
Circumstances:
The aircraft left Canton Island (Kiribati) at 1100LT bound for Honiara Airport, on Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands, with an ETA at 2100LT. While on approach by night, the four engine aircraft hit a mountain slope (2,000 feet high) located on the Florida Island, north of Honiara. The wreckage was spotted two days later, on July 28. Debris were found some 200 feet from the summit and all 27 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Hugh W. Prince, pilot,
Frederick F. Gundrum Jr., copilot,
Willard L. Churchill, flight engineer,
Eddie B. Hult, navigator,
J. Arthur Strumph, radio operator,
William A. Staley, traffic clerk.
Passengers:
Air Commodore Isaac John Fitch,
Lt Col John C. Pearson,
Maj R. R. Barton-Tates,
Lt Col Paul H. Berkowitz,
Lt Col Euliss L. Duggan,
Col Charles P. Burnett Jr.,
1st Lt Stephen J. Maliszewski,
2nd Lt William P. Foil,
Cpt Herbert R. Gore,
Cpt John S. Ingraham,
Maj Morton L. Talley Jr. 10
Source, photo and more info on
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Crash of a Consolidated C-87-CF Liberator Express in Merriam: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jul 26, 1944
Operator:
Registration:
43-30565
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Lincoln - Lincoln
MSN:
45
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a training flight from Lincoln and the mission consisted in a test of the embarked compass system. While flying in the region of Kansas City, the crew encountered technical problems with the compass and attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft hit tree tops, electric and telephone cables before crashing onto a house located in Merriam, in the suburb of Kansas City. Three crew members were killed while three others were injured. Four people on the ground were injured as well.
Probable cause:
Compass failure in flight.

Crash of a Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express near Tezpur: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jun 14, 1944
Operator:
Registration:
43-30556
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Tezpur – Kunming
MSN:
36
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The aircraft was lost without trace (maybe in the region of Tezpur) while performing a flight from Tezpur to Kunming. No trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found.

Crash of a Consolidated C-87CF Liberator Express near Loshan: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 18, 1944
Operator:
Registration:
43-30575
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
55
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances some 48 km west of Loshan. All seven occupants were killed.

Crash of a Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express near Lhasa

Date & Time: Jan 31, 1944
Operator:
Registration:
41-23682
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Kunming - Jorhat
MSN:
648
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
En route, crew encountered poor weather conditions with severe icing and strong winds. The aircraft deviated from the prescribed track and in low visibility, hit a mountain slope located in the region of Lhasa, Tibet. SAR operations were suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft was found. The wreckage was eventually spotted in July 1994 at the altitude of 14,000 feet in a glacier.

Crash of a Consolidated C-87-CF Liberator Express in China: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 25, 1944
Operator:
Registration:
42-107262
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Jorhat - Yangkai
MSN:
14
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a flight from Jorhat, India, to the US Airbase of Yangkai located some 33 miles northeast of Kunming, Yunnan, China. En route, pilots encountered poor weather conditions and in an unclear situation, a crew member was able to bail out before the aircraft crashed in a mountainous region located in the northwest part of China. Three crew were killed while the fourth was rescued.

Crash of a Consolidated C-87-CF Liberator Express in Accra: 10 killed

Date & Time: Sep 7, 1943 at 0114 LT
Operator:
Registration:
41-24140
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
935
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
Shortly after take off, while in initial climb by night, the four-engine aircraft went out of control and crashed in a huge explosion 4 km north of the airfield. All ten occupants were killed.

Crash of a Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express near General Zaragoza: 2 killed

Date & Time: Feb 9, 1943
Operator:
Registration:
41-23850
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
West Palm Beach – Georgetown
MSN:
645
YOM:
1941
Country:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane left West Palm Beach Airport at 0030LT on a cargo flight to Georgetown, Ascension Island. While overflying the Bahamas at the assigned altitude of 9,000 feet about 90 miles east of Florida, the crew encountered an unexpected situation. The airplane became unstable and severe vibrations were noted in the tail, the stabs and the control column. In such situation, the captain decided to return to West Palm Beach but approaching Florida, the on-board situation worsened and the crew decided to abandon the aircraft and bailed out. Six crew were found alive about 10 miles east of Hollywood, Florida, while two other occupants were never found. With the autopilot engaged, the aircraft continued to the west, overflew the Gulf of Mexico for about 2,000 km and eventually came down, short of fuel, on a mountain located near General Zaragoza, Nuevo León.
Crew:
1st Lt R. C. Ulmer,
1st Lt C. W. Hauth,
1st Lt R. H. Digby,
Pvt K. J. Riddle,
Pvt S. Gutowski,
2nd Lt B. A. Brannon.
Passengers:
2nd Lt Albert E. Lloyd,
2nd Lt G. P. Knutson.

Crash of a Consolidated C-87-CF Liberator Express off Topham: 18 killed

Date & Time: Feb 7, 1943 at 2100 LT
Operator:
Registration:
41-23903
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
698
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
16
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
18
Circumstances:
On final approach to Topham Airfield (Canton Island), by night, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in to the sea few hundred yards off shore. 18 occupants were killed while three others were rescued. The flight was operated by a United Airlines crew on behalf of the Air Transport Command (ATC).
Source: ASN
Probable cause:
It was deemed possible that an asymmetric flap deployment caused the accident.

Crash of a Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express into the Atlantic Ocean: 26 killed

Date & Time: Jan 17, 1943 at 2300 LT
Operator:
Registration:
41-11708
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Accra – Georgetown – Natal
MSN:
204
YOM:
1941
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
20
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
26
Circumstances:
While overflying the Atlantic Ocean by night, on the leg from Georgetown (Ascension Island) to Natal, while on a flight from Accra to Natal, the aircraft disappeared into the Ocean around 2300LT. SAR operations were conducted for several days but eventually suspended as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. Two life vests were discovered on a Brazilian beach few days later.
Probable cause:
US military authorities reported that at the time of the accident, whose causes remain unknown, weather conditions prevailing above the center of the Atlantic Ocean were marginal due to the presence of thick clouds and heavy rain falls. It is also reported that lifeboats were found on seas nearly 100 km east of Recife on February 4, 1943, with dead bodies on board. This means that some passengers escaped the accident and managed to take refuge in dinghies. Analyses carried out on the bodies determined that the last survivor died of fatigue, hunger and thirst on February 3, 1943, two weeks after the accident. Without concrete elements, no part of the aircraft having been found, investigators were unable to determine the exact cause of the accident.