Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

The morning of the crash, the crew departed from McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma, Washington, where they had picked up “hitchhiker” Corporal Timmons and then flew northward. Radio difficulties developed necessitating a return to McChord. Soon remedied, they departed once more for their first fuel stop, Annette Island, near Ketchikan, Alaska, enroute to their final destination, Anchorage, Alaska. High winds and severe turbulence prevented them from landing at Annette Island. The crew was given a choice – either return to a Canadian airport behind them or proceed north to Gustavus where runway lights and equipment for instrument landings offered better facilities for night landings than even Juneau in those days. The weather in Gustavus was reported as “clear and no winds” to “very slight winds”. The crew elected to go to Gustavus. Although the California pilot was well-trained in multi-engine instrument approaches, he was relatively new to Alaskan conditions. As the plane approached Gustavus, it was dark and beginning to snow. The passengers on the plane realized they had arrived in the Gustavus area, momentarily spotting lights through the dark and snow as they anxiously looked out the windows. The fuel supply was very low, so there were no options of returning to Annette or proceeding to Anchorage. The captain was leery of making the standard instrument approach to Gustavus because it would have required him to fly well beyond the airfield, far out over Glacier Bay with an aircraft that was running precariously low on fuel. On the next attempt – now the third time over the airport area in what the locals described as a snow squall, Mr. Aase reported that, “The pilot was in line for the runway, but got a bit low and the right wing caught a tall tree that made the aircraft start to spin and (it) nosed into the ground. “The front of the plane was badly damaged. At the same time the plane was twisting, the tail slowly lowered into the trees which cushioned it. It set down gently into the trees so that the fuselage from the wall aft was just about in perfect condition. So apparently, while attempting to keep the airfield in sight, he elected to circle and make a “short” visual approach to the runway. All four crew members were killed and the seven passengers were injured.
Crew:
Cpt Robert E. Kafader,
1st Lt Dennis V. Stamey,
S/Sgt Floyd S. Porter,
S/Sgt David A. Dial.
Passengers:
Lloyd Timmons,
2nd Lt Harry S. Aase,
Cpt Robert D. Ellis,
W/O Richard J. Mueller,
M/Sgt James E. O’Rourke,
1st Lt Wallace J. Harrison,
2nd Lt William W. Caldwell.
Source and text by Rita Wilson via
http://www.gustavushistory.org/articles/view.aspx?id=10000

At 1759 hours the aircraft was in contact with Barajas Control Tower and reported normal flight and that the airport was in sight. It requested landing data and asked that the ILS be turned onto test the airborne installation in the prevailing visual meteorological conditions. Barajas replied: "Runway 33, wind calm, QNH 30.13, report on reaching base leg, ILS out of order". At 1803 the aircraft called the Paracuellos Area Control Centre asking for emergency entry clearance as its left engine was on fire. It was given absolute priority for the use of any runway. That was the last contact with the aircraft. Shortly thereafter an engine fell clear, and 30 seconds later an intense light was seen caused by a fire accompanied by columns of black smoke. After making a turn the aircraft began to lose height rapidly and fell to the ground near Getafe. The airplane was destroyed by a post crash fire and all 21 occupants have been killed.

During the takeoff roll, the airplane started to skid and deviated from the centerline to the right. The pilot-in-command decided to rotate but as the aircraft's speed was too low, it stalled and hit the ground. It then overran and took off again. While facing a hill, the crew attempted a sharp turn to the left when the left wing hit the roof of a house. Out of control, the airplane stalled and crashed in flames. All three crew members were killed.

The crew was engaged in a humanitarian mission to South Korea (flight code UNO102) on behalf of the United Nations Organization (UNO). Shortly after takeoff, while in initial climb, the airplane suffered an engine failure, stalled and crashed into houses located in the district of Sunahawa. All four crew members were rescued and there were no injuries on the ground.

The aircraft departed Edmonton at 1137LT on a flight to Port Radium, NWT, with refuelling stops at Fort Smith and Yellowknife, NWT. The aircraft climbed to 9,000 feet on a direct route to Fort Smith. Between Edmonton and Fort McMurray, it encountered light rime ice which was easily disposed of by the deicing equipment. At approximately 1320LT, the aircraft was abeam Fort McMurray and encountered freezing rain about five minutes later. The course was altered for Embarras with the intention of joining the airway and following it as far as Fort Smith. The build-up of ice was very rapid at this time and could not be overcome by the deicing equipment. The crew requested permission to descend to 7,000 feet and during the descent additional ice was picked up. The aircraft could not maintain height at 7,000 feet and went down to 5,000 feet, still running through rain squalls. Throttle and propeller settings were for 40" and 2 500 rpm respectively. Further altitude was lost and at about 4,500 feet, severe turbulence was encountered. This together with the accumulation of ice, caused a further loss of height, and the aircraft collided with trees. The pilot closed the throttles and at 1352LT and carried out a forced landing. Both pilots suffered serious injuries and the aircraft was destroyed.

Shortly after takeoff from Iwo Jima Airport, while in initial climb, the airplane stalled and crashed into the ocean. All 13 occupants were rescued while the airplane sank and was lost.

Crashed shortly after takeoff from Parnamirim AFB in Natal, killing all five crew members.

The crew received the permission to line up on runway 01L at Calcutta-Dum Dum Airport to perform a cargo flight to Pasighat. One minute later, the aircraft was struck by an Airwork Handley Page H.P.81 Hermes IV/A that was landing on the same runway. The C-47 was destroyed upon impact and all four crew members were killed. The Hermes stopped few dozen yards farther and was later considered as damaged beyond repair. At the time of the accident, the visibility was 2,000 yards by night.

Crashed shortly after takeoff for unknown reason, killing all 12 occupants.

The crew was performing a cargo flight on behalf of the 242th OCU and the airplane was carrying a load of various goods. En route, the crew informed ATC about the failure of the right engine that caught fire and requested permission to divert to the nearest airport. The crew was then vectored to RAF Dishforth and started the descent. Few minutes later, while still at an altitude of few hundred meters, the right engine detached. Out of control, the airplane nosed down and plunged into the earth, crashing in a field located 5 miles from Dishforth airbase. A crew who was able to bail out just before impact was seriously injured while three other occupants were killed.