Crash of a Douglas C-47A-75-DL Skytrain near Helena: 6 killed
Date & Time:
Jan 26, 1962 at 1530 LT
Operator:
Registration:
42-100861
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Helena – Cut Bank
MSN:
19324
YOM:
1943
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
On behalf of the Montana Air National Guard, the aircraft departed Helena Airport bound for Cut Bank, carrying a crew of three and three members of the Montana Government who were en route to a speaking engagement. Weather conditions worsened and the crew encountered heavy winds and snow falls. Control was lost and the airplane crashed in the Wolf Creek Canyon located about 25 miles north of Helena. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.
Crew:
Maj Clifford Hanson, pilot,
Maj Joseph Devine, copilot,
M/Sgt Charles Ballard, mechanic.
Passengers:
Donald Grant Nutter, Governor of Montana,
Dennis Gordon, executive secretary,
Edward Wren, commissioner of agriculture.
Crew:
Maj Clifford Hanson, pilot,
Maj Joseph Devine, copilot,
M/Sgt Charles Ballard, mechanic.
Passengers:
Donald Grant Nutter, Governor of Montana,
Dennis Gordon, executive secretary,
Edward Wren, commissioner of agriculture.
Probable cause:
Winds exceeding 100 mph sheared off one of the wings of the plane, causing it to crash in Wolf Creek Canyon north of Helena.
