Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

An engine failed in flight. As the crew was unable to feather the propeller, they decided to bail out and abandoned the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in Kagoshima. All five crew members were found uninjured.

Probable cause:

Engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar into the Pacific Ocean: 1 killed

Date & Time: Nov 9, 1955

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

52-5891

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Pope – McClellan – Hickam – Tachikawa

MSN:

11058

YOM:

1952

Location:

Country:

Region:

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Circumstances:

The crew was completing a flight from Pope AFB to Tachikawa with intermediate stops at McClellan AFB and Hickam AFB. While cruising about 1,046 km northeast of Hickam AFB, a propeller blade failed. As the crew was unable to feather the propeller, they decided to bail out and abandoned the airplane that crash into the ocean. A crew member was killed while four others were rescued.

Probable cause:

Propeller blade failure in flight.

Crash of a Kaiser-Frazer C-119J Flying Boxcar in Alexandria: 3 killed

Date & Time: Sep 6, 1955

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

51-8142

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

145

YOM:

1952

Location:

Alexandria

Louisiana

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

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Pax on board:

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Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

During initial climb, the aircraft suffered an engine failure, stalled and crashed 3 miles north of Alexandria Airport. Three crew members were killed and three others were injured.

Probable cause:

Engine failure shortly after takeoff.

Crash of a Kaiser-Frazer C-119F Flying Boxcar in Charleston: 9 killed

Date & Time: Aug 23, 1955 at 0200 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

51-8165

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Charleston - Charleston

MSN:

168

YOM:

1952

Location:

Charleston-Intl

South Carolina

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

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Circumstances:

Shortly after a night takeoff at Charleston Airport, while climbing, one of the engine caught fire and exploded. The airplane lost height and crashed in flames onto several houses located in a residential area, some 1,7 mile from the airfield. Six crew members were seriously injured while five others were killed. Four people in the houses were killed as well.

Probable cause:

Engine explosion during initial climb for unknown reason.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar in Edelweiler: 20 killed

Date & Time: Aug 11, 1955 at 1420 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

53-3222

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Dreux - Stuttgart

MSN:

11238

YOM:

1953

Flight number:

Chalk 8

Location:

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Circumstances:

A group of nine Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar left Dreux, Eure-et-Loir, on a flight to Stuttgart-Echterdingen Airport in southwest Germany under flight code 'Chalk'. Enroute, the pilot of C-119 registered 53-3222 (Chalk 8) called the leader and informed the rest of the formation he lost his left engine and elected to land asap. While trying to leave the formation, 53-3222 made a turn to the left when the top of its empennage hit the base of the cockpit of C-119 registered 53-7841 (Chalk 9). Both aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in a wooded area and a field located near Edelweiler. Both aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 66 crew members on both aircraft were killed.

Probable cause:

Failure of the left engine in flight. It was also determined that the collision was due to the wrong position of 53-7841 because his crew failed to respect the assigned altitude in the formation. In conclusion, the board finds that the primary cause of the accident was pilot error. It is the opinion of the board that if the left wingman (aircraft 53-7841) had held his proper position instead of dropping down and out, the accident would not have occurred. It was established that just prior to the accident, aircraft 7841 had overrun his element leader. Evidence was found that the right wingman (aircraft 53-3222) was in process of losing his left engine and was given instructions to leave the formation. He was in the process of leaving the formation by descending and turning to the left according to normal procedures when the collision occurred. After considering all the available evidence, the board feels that the accident would not have happened if engine malfunction had not occurred, causing the right wingman to break formation. The board found evidence of supervisory error in that the pilot responsible for the accident had not had proper crew rest and his copilot’s experience was extremely low.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar in Edelweiler: 46 killed

Date & Time: Aug 11, 1955 at 1420 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

53-7841

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Dreux - Stuttgart

MSN:

11258

YOM:

1953

Flight number:

Chalk 9

Location:

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Region:

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Circumstances:

Probable cause:

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

Date & Time: Apr 18, 1955

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

51-2648

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

10637

YOM:

1951

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

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Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Following a mismanagement of fuel on part of the crew, the pilot was forced to attempt an emergency landing at Ghisonaccia Airport. The aircraft crashed on landing and was destroyed while all four crew members were unhurt.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119C-26-FA Flying Boxcar near Moulins

Date & Time: Apr 18, 1955

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Operator:

Registration:

51-2645

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

10634

YOM:

1951

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

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Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

An engine failure in flight forced the crew to bail out and to abandon the aircraft that dove into the ground and crashed in a field about 15 km southeast of Moulins. There were no casualties but the aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

Engine failure in flight.